Sunday Daily TV Mass Sunday April 26, 2026

Thomas Cardinal Collins

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:02

From the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Center in Pickering, Ontario. The National Catholic Broadcasting Council presents the Sunday TV Mass.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Welcome to the celebration of the Sunday TV Mass on the fourth Sunday of Easter and the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. I'm Cardinal Collins. The televising of this Mass is made possible by the contribution from the members of the Catholic Women's League of Canada on the feast day of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the patroness of their organization. This Mass is offered for living and deceased members, their families, spiritual advisors, and the well-being of the League in its 106th year. On behalf of all of the faithful across Canada and around the world gathered for this celebration, we thank the Catholic Women's League of Canada for the gift of this Mass and for the extraordinary service to the Church, which they offer all the time. Catholic organizations such as the Catholic Women's League, the Knights of Columbus, and Sarah Clubs around the world, together with the faithful everywhere, join in a special way on this Good Shepherd Sunday to pray for vocations. The Daily TV Mass community has also been united in prayer throughout this week of Masses for Prayer for Vocations. Let us continue to keep all of those discerning their vocational call and all of those already living that call in our prayers.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Blessed Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of Vocations, we turn to you as we seek to follow your Son's call. In a world filled with uncertainty and confusion, guide us to become pilgrims of hope, embracing our vocations as journeys of love and service. Intercede for us that we may respond generously to God's invitation, trusting in his providence and sharing his light with all. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

We thank the Daily TV Mass community for their ongoing prayers and their support for vocations. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.

SPEAKER_06 2:32

And with your spirit.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

As we prepare now to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we call to mind our sins and ask God's mercy. You were sent to heal the contrite of heart. Lord have mercy.

SPEAKER_05 2:44

Lord have mercy.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

You came to call sinners. Christ have mercy. You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord have mercy. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory. Lord God, Heavenly King, O God, Almighty Father, Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us, for you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Let us pray. Almighty, ever-living God, lead us to a share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may reach where the brave shepherd has gone before, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. When the day of Pentecost had come, Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd. Let the entire house of Israel know with a certainty that God has made him both Lord and Christ, with Jesus whom you crucified. Now, when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, Brothers, what should we do? Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him. And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day were added about three thousand souls. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_07 6:04

He leads me besides. He restores my soul. I shall not He leads me the right pass for his name sick. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil for you with me. Your right and your staff they comfort me.

SPEAKER_02 7:18

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was abused, he did not return abuse. When he suffered, he did not threaten. But he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. Christ himself bore our sins in his whole body on the cross so that, free from sin, we might live in righteousness. For his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and the guardian of your souls. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_07 8:40

I know my sheep and my own.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

unknown 9:08

Glory to your Lord.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Jesus said, Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfole by the gate, but climbs in by another way, is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out out all of his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly, according to the gospel of the Lord. Today is uh Good Shepherd Sunday, and for this past week we've been thinking of the different ways in which people are called to serve in different vocations within the church. And today I just like to reflect upon the vocation to which the Lord God has called me personally in in my life. Sometimes people say, I see you were a priest. Are you a Jesuit? Uh are you a Dominican? Are what order do you belong to? Are you a Franciscan? And I say, I I could I say, no, I'm a diocesan priest. I could say I belong to the Order of the Good Shepherd. But I I never actually say that, oh, I'm saying it now. But I'm a diocesan priest. I was ordained for the diocese of Hamilton by my my bishop is a predig on May 5th, 1973. And uh I served in that capacity as a priest of Hamilton for 24 years, and then I was called to follow the Good Shepherd in another and fuller way as a bishop. Diocean priests sometimes are called secular priests. Uh that means they're immersed in the world. They're there with their people. As uh the Lord says, the Good Shepherd hears they the the flock hear the voice of the shepherd and and they follow him. He they care for him, they care for the flock entrusted to them. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. That is the mission which the priests of a diocese are called to follow in their life as their servants of the Good Shepherd, Christ our Lord. They're directly related to a bishop. They don't belong to a religious order. They do not elect their superior, uh, they're ordained by their superior. I often say the reason I became, one of the reasons I became a diocesan priest is I wanted the one who gives me my orders, like go to this parish, go to that parish, to give me my orders. The same one who ordained me, gave me my holy orders, is the one who then gives me my orders. It's a direct connection. Then you're sent by the bishop. Uh and I have been blessed in my life with uh wonderful priests of my diocese. I I think of, well, so many, Father Noonan, Father Ryan, Father Newstead, so many. My pastors, my spiritual directors, confessors, teachers. They touched my heart when I was growing up. And so when Father Newstead said to me, You should think about becoming a priest, boy, I sure had a lot of weight because he's such a holy priest. And I I have had wonderful bishops. Uh Bishop Ryan, Bishop Reading, Bishop Tonus, true shepherds of the flock. You know, the people when they they hear the voice of Christ and the these ones who really cared for the flock and trusted to them. That's why Bishop has this shepherd's staff when he's in formal situations. I you kind of imagine mine here. This is as formal a situation. But there it is. It reminds the bishop to care for the flock, care for those entrusted to your care. And so that is one of the vocations that we think of on Good Shepherd Sunday and during this week. It is the vocation of a diocesan priesthood. They're essentially sanitry particular territory under the care of a bishop. Now it turns out in my 24 years as a priest of Hamilton, I was only in Hamilton for two of them. Because my bishop sent me to study in Rome. He sent me to a seminary to teach or a parish priest to teach them to come and serve the Lord in the priesthood. So it may vary different things, you know. You you may have different types of missions given to you, but you are a priest of that community and you are united with your bishop, and you pray that your bishop and you and all the others will be faithful and fulfilling the mission committed to them. And so during this week we pray for all of those who are called to particular ministries, and we all are in different ways, but we think of particularly of the vocation, the priesthood, religious life, the diaconate, uh, many different married vocation, many other different calls within that each of us are called to. And the ultimate vocation is the call to bad baptism and confirmation, to serve the Lord with gladness, to come before him singing for joy. That's the one that we will celebrate and think of most when we come before the Lord at the end of time. And until that moment, we are celebrating, we hear his word, and we're encountering the Lord. We will meet on the day of our death, right here in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Now let us join together in professing our faith. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, but is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. On this world day of prayer for vocations, Good Shepherd Sunday, we unite with the Universal Church in praying for all vocations. As Christ the Good Shepherd calls us by name, may many respond generously to become laborers in his harvest, including those called to the faithful single life lived in dedication to him. For all those named in our Daily TV Mass Prayer Intentions book, especially those submitted for prayers for vocations, may God strengthen them in discernment and fill them with courage, we pray to the Lord.

unknown 16:48

Lord your prayer.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

For an abundant harvest of vocations to priesthood, diaconate, consecrated life, marriage, missionary service, and the faithful single life, that all may hear and follow the Good Shepherd's voice with joyful fidelity, we pray to the Lord.

SPEAKER_08 17:04

Lord your prayer.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Blessed Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of Vocations, on this world day we entrust to you every vocation and every prayer offered this week, including the faithful single life. Hear us, carry our petitions to your son, and guide us all as pilgrims of hope in his service through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

For the praise and glory of this name, for our God and the good of all his holy church.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that we may always find delight in these paschal mysteries, so that the renewal constantly at work within us may be the cause of our unending joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. The Lord be with you. Lift up your hearts.

SPEAKER_08 19:24

Lift them up to the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right and just truly right and just our duty and our salvation at all times to acclaim you, O Lord. But at this time above all to lodge you yet more gloriously when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. For he is the true Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world. By dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising restored our life. Therefore, overcome with Paschal joy, every land, every people exults in your praise, and even the heavenly powers with the angelic hosts sing together the unending hymn of your glory as they acclaim. Make holy, therefore, these gifts we pray, by sending down your spirit upon them like the Jew fall, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion, he took bread and giving thanks broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you. For this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant. Which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me. The mystery of faith.

SPEAKER_07 22:22

We proclaim your death allowed and profess your resurrection until come.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the bread of life and the chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you. Humbly we pray that, partaking of the body and blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, your church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with Leo, our Pope, and Francis, our bishop, and all the clergy. Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy, welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all, we pray, that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with Blessed Joseph, her spouse, with the blessed apostles, and all the saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be co-heirs to eternal life, and may praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ. Through him and with him and in him. O God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours forever and ever.

SPEAKER_07 24:15

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

At the Savior's command and form by divine teaching, we dare to say, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil. Graciously grant peace in our days, that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church. Graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen. The peace of the Lord be with you always. And yours to us. Let us offer to one another a sign of the peace of Christ.

SPEAKER_07 25:50

You take all the little sins of love.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

Behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter my room, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.

SPEAKER_04 27:12

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this holy sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things, and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul, so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Let us pray. Look upon your flock, kind shepherd, and be pleased to settle in eternal pastures, the sheep you have redeemed by the precious blood of your Son, who lives and reigns forever and ever.

SPEAKER_08 28:08

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 28:09

The Lord be with you.

SPEAKER_08 28:10

And with your spirit.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever. Our help is in the name of the Lord. And may Almighty God bless you and remain with you always, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_05 28:24

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Let us go in the peace of Christ. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_05 28:30

Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Our thanks to our donors for the gift of this man.