POPE FRANCIS REGINA CAELI 25 April 2021 Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Buongiorno!
On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, called Good Shepherd Sunday, the Gospel (Jn 10:11-18) presents Jesus as the true shepherd who defends, knows and loves his sheep.
The “mercenary”, the one who does not care about the sheep because they are not his, is the opposite of the Good Shepherd. He does the job only for pay and is not concerned about defending them: when a wolf arrives, he flees and abandons them (cf vv. 12-13). Instead, Jesus, the true shepherd, defends us always and saves us in so many difficult situations, dangerous situations through the light of his word and the strength of his presence that we always experience if we want to listen, every day.
The second aspect is that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows — the first aspect: defend; the second: he knows his sheep and the sheep know him (v. 14). How beautiful and comforting it is to know that Jesus knows us one by one, that we are not unknown to him, that our name is known to him! We are not a “mass”, a “multitude” for him, no. We are unique individuals, each with his or her own story, he knows each of us with our own story, each one with his or her own value, both as creatures and as people redeemed by Christ. Each of us can say: Jesus, knows me! It is true, it is like this: He knows us like no other. Only he knows what is in our hearts, our intentions, our most hidden feelings. Jesus knows our strengths and our defects, and is always ready to care for us, to heal the wounds of our errors with the abundance of his mercy. In him, the image the prophets had provided of the shepherd of the people of God is completely fulfilled: Jesus is concerned about his sheep, he gathers them, he binds their wounds, he heals their ailments. We can read this in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel ( Ez 34:11-16).
Therefore, Jesus the Good Shepherd defends, knows, and above all loves his sheep. And this is why he gives his life for them (Jn 10:15). Love for his sheep, that is, for each one of us, leads him to die on the cross because this is the Father’s will — that no one should be lost. Christ’s love is not selective; it embraces everyone. He himself reminds us of this in today’s Gospel when he says: “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). These words testify to his universal concern: He is everyone’s shepherd. Jesus wants everyone to be able to receive the Father’s love and encounter God.
And the Church is called to carry on this mission of Christ. Aside from those who participate in our communities, there are many people, the majority, who do so only at particular moments or never. But this does not mean they are not God’s children: the Father entrusts everyone to Jesus the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for everyone.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus defends, knows and loves all of us. May Mary Most Holy help us be the first to welcome and follow the Good Shepherd, to joyfully cooperate in his mission.
BENEDICT XVI - JESUS OF NAZARET - "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD" (Jn 10:10) Thoughts - ...The thief comes "to steal, kill and destroy" He sees the sheep as his property, which he owns and exploits for himself. He cares only for himself, everything demands only for himself. On the contrary, the true shepherd does not take away life, but gives it. "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." ...Jesus promises to show to the sheep the "pasture" what they live on, to truly lead them to the sources of life. We can listen here, as a resonance, to the words of Psalm 23: "He makes me rest in green pastures, he leads me to still waters.... You prepare a table before me... Happiness and grace shall be my companions all the days of my life..." In an even more immediate way, Ezekiel's shepherd's speech resonates here: "I will lead them into excellent pastures, and their fold shall be in the high mountains of Israel" (34:14)... Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God is Himself not only the shepherd, but also the nourisher, the true "pasture" He gives life by giving Himself, He who is Life. ...In the light of Psalm 23 "...If I would walk through the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil.... Happiness and grace shall be my companions all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever and ever." They recognized in Christ the Good Shepherd who guides through the dark valleys of life, the shepherd who has personally passed through the dark valley of death; The shepherd who also knows the way through the night of death and who does not abandon me even in that last solitude, leading me out of that valley into the grassy pastures of life, into the place of "refreshment, light, peace" Clement of Alexandria expressed this confidence in the shepherd's guidance in verses that reveal something of this hope and of this optimism of the early Church, often suffering and repeatedly persecuted: "Guide, O holy shepherd, your spiritual sheep ; Guide, O King, your uninjured children. The footsteps of Christ are the path to heaven". Naturally, Christians were reminded of both the parable of the shepherd who follows the lost sheep ( Lk 15), loads it on his shoulders and takes it home, and the speech of the shepherd in the Gospel of John. For the Fathers, these two elements merged into one another: the shepherd who sets out to search for the lost sheep is the Eternal Word Himself, and the sheep that He puts on His shoulders and lovingly carries home is humanity, is the human nature that He assumed. In His incarnation and in His cross He brings home the lost sheep - humanity - He also brings me. The Logos made man is the true "bearer of the sheep" - the Shepherd who follows us through the thorns and the desert of life. Carried by Him, we come home. He gave His Life for us. He Himself is Life.
FAUSTI - JESUS is the Shepherd/God's Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29), He came to set the sheep free and give them life, His life as Son. JESUS identifies Himself as the "Good Shepherd." For the shepherd, the sheep are his: they belong to him and he cares for them as if they were his own life. The hireling, on the other hand, is preoccupied by his salary: the sheep are at the service of his life, not he of their own. That is why he does not hesitate: he acts out of cowardly self-interest. At the moment of danger, he flees from those who have followed him. The wolf, the traditional enemy of the flock, represents the hostile forces of evil. Jesus Himself sent His disciples as lambs in the midst of wolves. Every age has its wolves. Sometimes they have names and surnames. But mostly they are anonymous. Then they are more insidious: they indicate the widespread mentality, the false model of man, the "fashion" that spreads and brings havoc inside the flock. The action of abducting and dispersing is typical of the enemy, the devil: he kidnaps man of his truth and makes him flee from his life. He does the opposite of the Son, who came to give life and to gather all the dispersed, reuniting them to Himself and to the Father. There is a knowledge, an intimacy, a mutual love between the Shepherd and the sheep. He calls each one by name: "I have called you by name; you belong to me .... you are precious in my eyes, you are worthy of esteem and I love you" (IS.43:1-4) The relationship of knowledge and love that exists between Jesus and each one of us is the same as that between the Father and Him: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you." (15,19). The mutual love between Father and Son, the mystery that is their very life, is the same that circulates between us and Him. In fact, the Son does not keep it jealously to Himself. As He receives it, so He gives it, as He is loved by the Father, so He loves His brothers and sisters. John does not so much say that Jesus dies "in the place" of the sheep as that He gives them His own life. He emphasizes the transmission of the "Glory" from the Son to the brothers. There are also other sheep that are not of this enclosure. "This enclosure" is that of the temple, in which Israel stands. There are other religious or secular "fences", which keep man enslaved. The Son has brothers not only in the people of God, but everywhere: everything has been done through Him, light and life of every man, who is son in the Son. For this reason the Father loves the world (3:16) and the Son, Savior (4:42) and Light of the world (8:12), will be lifted up not only to gather all the dispersed of Israel, but for all peoples. Jesus wants to lead them to freedom as well. Christianity is by its nature universal (Catholic): it excludes no one. If one excludes anyone, one denies the Father, Who loves all, and the Son, Who is like the Father. The very concept of "mission" has nothing to do with proselytism. It is the inner impulse of the Son towards his brothers. It is this love that makes him the Shepherd of his brothers. The Son did not come to make a unique fold, a larger enclosure in which to eventually imprison everyone: he removes the brothers from every cage, religious or otherwise, to make them live in the law of freedom, which is love and mutual service.
-->->The union between the churches and between men - the Church is destined for the world! - is the same as that found in God. In the one mutual love, Father and Son are one, in the distinction of each one. The Son has only the one command from the Father: to give life as He receives it, to love as He is loved. It will be the command he will soon give to his disciples (13:34) to make them participants in his life. We still lose our life. But it is not a void to be lost, to be filled as much as possible with things that will also be lost. It is an emptiness to be returned, to be emptied of selfishness as much as possible in order to fill it with love. The idol, after having seduced and squeezed us, always abandons us in our time of need; he does not keep his promise and disappoints the hope placed in him. Jesus, after having spoken of the Good Shepherd in terms of his courage, which makes him expose his own life, now says what he "disposes" in favor of his sheep: he makes available to them his own life, which is the knowledge and love of the Father. For this reason he is the beloved Son, the perfect fulfillment of the Father's Love. Life is love: it is realized in the gift of self. The "power" of the Son is the same as that of the Father: that of loving. In John, the cross is not seen as a defeat, but as "Glory", the manifestation of God-Love, who by His nature gives Himself.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaREGINA CAELI 25 April 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Buongiorno!
On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, called Good Shepherd Sunday, the Gospel (Jn 10:11-18) presents Jesus as the true shepherd who defends, knows and loves his sheep.
The “mercenary”, the one who does not care about the sheep because they are not his, is the opposite of the Good Shepherd. He does the job only for pay and is not concerned about defending them: when a wolf arrives, he flees and abandons them (cf vv. 12-13). Instead, Jesus, the true shepherd, defends us always and saves us in so many difficult situations, dangerous situations through the light of his word and the strength of his presence that we always experience if we want to listen, every day.
The second aspect is that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows — the first aspect: defend; the second: he knows his sheep and the sheep know him (v. 14). How beautiful and comforting it is to know that Jesus knows us one by one, that we are not unknown to him, that our name is known to him! We are not a “mass”, a “multitude” for him, no. We are unique individuals, each with his or her own story, he knows each of us with our own story, each one with his or her own value, both as creatures and as people redeemed by Christ. Each of us can say: Jesus, knows me! It is true, it is like this: He knows us like no other. Only he knows what is in our hearts, our intentions, our most hidden feelings. Jesus knows our strengths and our defects, and is always ready to care for us, to heal the wounds of our errors with the abundance of his mercy. In him, the image the prophets had provided of the shepherd of the people of God is completely fulfilled: Jesus is concerned about his sheep, he gathers them, he binds their wounds, he heals their ailments. We can read this in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel ( Ez 34:11-16).
Therefore, Jesus the Good Shepherd defends, knows, and above all loves his sheep. And this is why he gives his life for them (Jn 10:15). Love for his sheep, that is, for each one of us, leads him to die on the cross because this is the Father’s will — that no one should be lost. Christ’s love is not selective; it embraces everyone. He himself reminds us of this in today’s Gospel when he says: “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). These words testify to his universal concern: He is everyone’s shepherd. Jesus wants everyone to be able to receive the Father’s love and encounter God.
And the Church is called to carry on this mission of Christ. Aside from those who participate in our communities, there are many people, the majority, who do so only at particular moments or never. But this does not mean they are not God’s children: the Father entrusts everyone to Jesus the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for everyone.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus defends, knows and loves all of us. May Mary Most Holy help us be the first to welcome and follow the Good Shepherd, to joyfully cooperate in his mission.
BENEDICT XVI - JESUS OF NAZARET - "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD" (Jn 10:10) Thoughts - ...The thief comes "to steal, kill and destroy" He sees the sheep as his property, which he owns and exploits for himself. He cares only for himself, everything demands only for himself. On the contrary, the true shepherd does not take away life, but gives it. "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly."
RispondiElimina...Jesus promises to show to the sheep the "pasture" what they live on, to truly lead them to the sources of life. We can listen here, as a resonance, to the words of Psalm 23: "He makes me rest in green pastures, he leads me to still waters.... You prepare a table before me... Happiness and grace shall be my companions all the days of my life..." In an even more immediate way, Ezekiel's shepherd's speech resonates here: "I will lead them into excellent pastures, and their fold shall be in the high mountains of Israel" (34:14)...
Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God is Himself not only the shepherd, but also the nourisher, the true "pasture" He gives life by giving Himself, He who is Life.
...In the light of Psalm 23 "...If I would walk through the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil.... Happiness and grace shall be my companions all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever and ever." They recognized in Christ the Good Shepherd who guides through the dark valleys of life, the shepherd who has personally passed through the dark valley of death; The shepherd who also knows the way through the night of death and who does not abandon me even in that last solitude, leading me out of that valley into the grassy pastures of life, into the place of "refreshment, light, peace" Clement of Alexandria expressed this confidence in the shepherd's guidance in verses that reveal something of this hope and of this optimism of the early Church, often suffering and repeatedly persecuted:
"Guide, O holy shepherd, your spiritual sheep ;
Guide, O King, your uninjured children.
The footsteps of Christ are the path to heaven".
Naturally, Christians were reminded of both the parable of the shepherd who follows the lost sheep ( Lk 15), loads it on his shoulders and takes it home, and the speech of the shepherd in the Gospel of John. For the Fathers, these two elements merged into one another: the shepherd who sets out to search for the lost sheep is the Eternal Word Himself, and the sheep that He puts on His shoulders and lovingly carries home is humanity, is the human nature that He assumed.
In His incarnation and in His cross He brings home the lost sheep - humanity - He also brings me.
The Logos made man is the true "bearer of the sheep" -
the Shepherd who follows us through the thorns and the desert of life.
Carried by Him, we come home.
He gave His Life for us.
He Himself is Life.
FAUSTI - JESUS is the Shepherd/God's Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29), He came to set the sheep free and give them life, His life as Son.
RispondiEliminaJESUS identifies Himself as the "Good Shepherd."
For the shepherd, the sheep are his: they belong to him and he cares for them as if they were his own life. The hireling, on the other hand, is preoccupied by his salary: the sheep are at the service of his life, not he of their own. That is why he does not hesitate: he acts out of cowardly self-interest. At the moment of danger, he flees from those who have followed him.
The wolf, the traditional enemy of the flock, represents the hostile forces of evil.
Jesus Himself sent His disciples as lambs in the midst of wolves. Every age has its wolves. Sometimes they have names and surnames. But mostly they are anonymous. Then they are more insidious: they indicate the widespread mentality, the false model of man, the "fashion" that spreads and brings havoc inside the flock. The action of abducting and dispersing is typical of the enemy, the devil: he kidnaps man of his truth and makes him flee from his life.
He does the opposite of the Son, who came to give life and to gather all the dispersed, reuniting them to Himself and to the Father.
There is a knowledge, an intimacy, a mutual love between the Shepherd and the sheep. He calls each one by name: "I have called you by name; you belong to me .... you are precious in my eyes, you are worthy of esteem and I love you" (IS.43:1-4) The relationship of knowledge and love that exists between Jesus and each one of us is the same as that between the Father and Him:
"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you." (15,19).
The mutual love between Father and Son, the mystery that is their very life,
is the same that circulates between us and Him.
In fact, the Son does not keep it jealously to Himself. As He receives it, so He gives it,
as He is loved by the Father, so He loves His brothers and sisters.
John does not so much say that Jesus dies "in the place" of the sheep as that He gives them His own life. He emphasizes the transmission of the "Glory" from the Son to the brothers.
There are also other sheep that are not of this enclosure. "This enclosure" is that of the temple, in which Israel stands. There are other religious or secular "fences", which keep man enslaved.
The Son has brothers not only in the people of God, but everywhere: everything has been done through Him, light and life of every man, who is son in the Son.
For this reason the Father loves the world (3:16) and the Son, Savior (4:42) and Light of the world (8:12), will be lifted up not only to gather all the dispersed of Israel, but for all peoples.
Jesus wants to lead them to freedom as well.
Christianity is by its nature universal (Catholic): it excludes no one. If one excludes anyone, one denies the Father, Who loves all, and the Son, Who is like the Father.
The very concept of "mission" has nothing to do with proselytism. It is the inner impulse of the Son towards his brothers.
It is this love that makes him the Shepherd of his brothers.
The Son did not come to make a unique fold, a larger enclosure in which to eventually imprison everyone: he removes the brothers from every cage, religious or otherwise, to make them live in the law of freedom, which is love and mutual service.
-->->The union between the churches and between men - the Church is destined for the world! - is the same as that found in God. In the one mutual love, Father and Son are one, in the distinction of each one.
EliminaThe Son has only the one command from the Father: to give life as He receives it, to love as He is loved. It will be the command he will soon give to his disciples (13:34) to make them participants in his life.
We still lose our life. But it is not a void to be lost, to be filled as much as possible with things that will also be lost.
It is an emptiness to be returned, to be emptied of selfishness as much as possible in order to fill it with love.
The idol, after having seduced and squeezed us, always abandons us in our time of need; he does not keep his promise and disappoints the hope placed in him.
Jesus, after having spoken of the Good Shepherd in terms of his courage, which makes him expose his own life, now says what he "disposes" in favor of his sheep: he makes available to them his own life, which is the knowledge and love of the Father. For this reason he is the beloved Son, the perfect fulfillment of the Father's Love.
Life is love: it is realized in the gift of self. The "power" of the Son is the same as that of the Father: that of loving.
In John, the cross is not seen as a defeat, but as "Glory", the manifestation of God-Love, who by His nature gives Himself.