THEOLOGICAL CLUE

The Second Sunday after Easter used to be titled as Misericordia Domini ("the goodness of the Lord") and was known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Now it is listed as the Third Sunday of Easter, and Good Shepherd Sunday was moved to the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Years A, B, and C. Years A and B now feature the first appearances of Jesus, according to Luke 24; Year C employs John 21:1-14, which is the third appearance of Jesus after the resurrection. This is one way of extending the appearances of Jesus, which were called the apparitions of Jesus in earlier liturgies, beyond the so-called Low Sunday, when, traditionally, the last "appearance story" was read. (Low Sunday today, in Protestant churches, probably is connected to a drop in attendance. In liturgical practice, most major…