Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10, 11-18
Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”
Taking care of others
1. Lay down your life. This is shepherding, giving your life. Giving your life for the sheep. This is what a shepherdess mother does, a shepherd father, that priest, that nun… They give their life. Giving your life is not just the heroic act of going to war or dying during a bombing raid. Giving one’s life is going out to work very early in the morning in order to feed the family. It’s what a housewife does, never resting and even becoming an octopus in order to take care of everything. A mother who is attentive to her son or daughter who is in full rebellion and, with her tears, tries to be close and caring, is giving her life for her child. There are many ways in which you can lay down your life for others.
2. Know. Nobody loves what he does not know. You must know yourself in order to know God. Take time to get to know God and don’t be afraid to know and accept yourself as you are because God is in you. He welcomes you imperfect as you are, but sets you on your way, but you must know yourself as He knows you.
3. One flock, one shepherd. I dream and pray for the unity of the Church; I pray that those of us who believe in Christ might put aside our differences and put an end to divisions. On the one hand, we must continue to work on the relationship with our Protestant brothers because we are one. And on the other hand, we must work on unity within the Church, between groups and movements. When will we learn to work together? Let us ask for unity among us.
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus is the gate and the Good Shepherd. It’s a day when we especially pray for priesthood and religious vocations. We ask the Lord to touch the hearts of those who consecrate their lives to God so that they may have the heart of shepherds and be attentive to the sheep. We also pray to God for so many wounded and tired shepherds; shepherds who have got lost in life, perhaps because they’ve gone out to save sheep who’ve got tangled up in their life. Let’s also pray for them.
Remember that something good is on the way.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
