Today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis spoke these words to the faithful and pilgrims that gathered in St Peter’s Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
On this fourth Sunday of Easter, known as the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, the Gospel ( Jn 10: 11-18) presents Jesus as the true shepherd, who defends, knows, and loves his sheep.
He, the Good Shepherd, is opposed by the “mercenary”, who does not care about the sheep, because they are not his. He does this job only for pay, and he does not bother to defend them: when the wolf arrives he flees and abandons them (cf. vv. 12-13). Jesus, on the other hand, a true shepherd, always defends us, saves us in many difficult situations, dangerous situations, through the light of his word and the strength of his presence, which we always experience and, if we want to listen, every day.
The second aspect is that Jesus, the good shepherd, knows – the first aspect: he defends, the second: he knows- his sheep and the sheep know him (v. 14). How beautiful and consoling it is to know that Jesus knows us one by one, that we are not anonymous to him, that our name is known to him! For him we are not “mass”, “multitude”, no. We are unique people, each with his own history, [and He] knows us each with his own history, each with his own value, both as a creature and as redeemed by Christ. Each of us can say: Jesus knows me! It is true, it is like this: He knows us like no one else. Only He knows what is in our heart, the intentions, the most hidden feelings. Jesus knows our strengths and defects, and is always ready to take care of us, to heal the wounds of our errors with the abundance of his mercy. In him the image of the shepherd of the people of God is fully realized, that the prophets had outlined: Jesus takes care of his sheep, gathers them, wraps up that wound, heals the sick one. Thus we can read in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (cf. 34: 11-16).
Therefore, Jesus the Good Shepherd defends, knows, and above all loves his sheep. And for this he gives his life for them (cf. Jn 10:15). L ‘ love for the sheep, that is for each of us, leads him to die on the cross, because this is the will of the Father, that none should be lost. The love of Christ is not selective, it embraces everyone. He himself reminds us of it in today’s Gospel when he says: «And I have other sheep that do not come from this enclosure: those too I must lead. They will listen to my voice and become one flock, one shepherd “( Jn 10:16). These words attest to his universal anxiety: He is the shepherd of all. Jesus wants everyone to be able to receive the love of the Father and meet God.
And the Church is called to carry out this mission of Christ. In addition to those who frequent our communities, there are many people, the majority, who do it only in particular cases or never. But this does not mean that they are not children of God: the Father entrusts everyone to Jesus the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for all.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus defends, knows and loves us all. May Mary Most Holy help us to be the first to welcome and follow the Good Shepherd, to cooperate with joy in his mission.
[00537-EN.02] [Original text: Italian] – Vatican News – Bulletin
Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary
