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Weekly message
from Fr. Chris
4EA - Good Shepherd
April 26th, 2026
Dear SPA Family,
Someone who finds himself in an unknown place needs a guide. Otherwise, he will get lost. A person who lost a map, compass or phone power was drained, and has no one to ask for the way is helpless. When there is a guide, then we follow in his footsteps, and we are sure that nothing bad will happen to us. Things are similar to the way of life. Only sometimes this road is much more dangerous and the consequences of getting lost are worse.
Some of us, every so often, like to arrange ourselves in a prosperous and comfortable life, listening to the advice of those who applaud us, say that everything is OK, and who do not tell us a harsh word. We listen to those who promise more, demand less, because it is more convenient and easier for us. We are looking for a guide that leads along an easier and enjoyable way. However, one should ask what will be the purpose and end of this journey?
This Good Shepherd Sunday shows a completely different guide, a guide who invites us to listen to His voice.
We can point out many resourceful and talented shepherds around us. Many of them lead us to various areas of life which we cannot refuse. But only a few of them will say they are good. The Good Shepherd defends His sheep, He cares for them, and He is even ready to give His life for them. Our Good Shepherd cares for us every day and gives His life for us.
How do we listen to His voice? Do we really know our Master and follow Him? “My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them. They follow me and I give them eternal life” (Jn 10: 27-28). To listen and follow the voice of Christ is a guarantee of taking the right path of life. The Word of the Good Shepherd gives us strength to do what is good. It is a source of life for us, and it is a constant food for our faith. To follow Jesus means to live according to completely different principles and rules that the world proposes to us.
Our Good Shepherd – Good Guide encourages us to be attentive not only to His word but also to His voice. We need to be able to distinguish him from many other voices we hear everywhere. Jesus teaches us how to distinguish His voice from other voices today. Yes, they have wonderful ideas and tips, they give advice on healing every situation. But only the Lord can suggest a proper solution to our problems.
As we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd and as we follow our Good Guide, let us be strong, be courageous and have hope.
Have a blessed Good shepherd Sunday! Fr. Chris
3EA - my Emmaus
April 19th, 2026
Dear SPA Family,
Today we stand before God and before the various situations of our lives in exactly the same condition as those two disciples on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. How often we are absorbed in our own affairs, with hearts filled with sadness and senselessness, and perhaps even with some resistance of our hearts. In such a situation, as in the case of apostles, disappointment and despair arise, because we expected something else, because everything that happens to us was supposed to be different, because something ended ... Depressed by the weight of misunderstanding, the feeling of abandonment and loneliness, thus sometimes we do not pay attention to God and His all-encompassing presence.
The Gospel reminds us that it is to such disciples and to their situation that Jesus enters, bringing his resurrection, his grace that makes them discover something they did not expect to experience and that they will be able to start anew with him.
Jesus accompanies them, listens to them, explains to them, inflames them with God’s word, and finally stays with them and makes himself known to them. It’s good to see such a Jesus stopping by my life, my vocation, and my heart today.
Humanity today is tempted to take the road to Emmaus in the face of all the adversities we face. Emmaus is a place of seeking relief, a place that is not demanding, it is a certain reality of an unreal world where one seeks an escape from what is difficult, and inconvenient, from what costs and hurts. It is a paradise on earth without the cross and suffering.
The risen Christ points to the attitude of disciples whose hearts are slow to believe in everything that the prophets taught. Jesus emphasizes that sometimes it is very easy to selectively understand and apply to ourselves the words of the Lord. The disciples going to Emmaus want to measure everything by their measure of benefit, success, and glory.
Therefore, the Risen Lord invites them – and with them each of us – to patiently relate the history of their lives to God’s word. God wants from us to read and understand what happens to us in the light of His word. It is certainly not an easy task, but it is necessary to discover God in our midst and for life to be filled with his resurrection.
Two disciples teach us today what it means to keep Jesus close to us, especially in the face of the various difficulties of daily life. Their gesture of stopping Christ is a sign of opening their daily lives to Him and offering Him what they have.
May our road to Emmaus be filled with vigilance for the signs of the Risen and for His loving presence.
Have a blessed Easter Season, Fr. Chris