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At Mass at Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican, this Sunday (03/05), Good Shepherd Sunday, the Pope directed his thoughts to the many priests and doctors who lost their lives caring for people at this time characterized by the pandemic.
VATICAN NEWS
Francis presided over the mass at the Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican, on the morning of this Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The Mass on May 3 was the 50th Eucharistic celebration in streaming directly from the Domus Sanctae Marthae, since March 9, a sign of the Pope’s proximity to the people of God who in many parts of the world cannot attend mass due to the emergence of the coronavirus. In the introduction, Francis directed his thoughts to priests and doctors:
After three weeks of the Lord’s Resurrection, the Church today, the fourth Sunday of Easter, celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday, Jesus Good Shepherd. This leads me to think of the many pastors in the world who lay down their lives for the faithful, even in this pandemic, many, more than 100 died here in Italy. I also think of the other pastors who care about the good of the people, the doctors. There is talk of doctors, what they do, we must consider that 154 service doctors died in Italy alone. May the example of these priest pastors and medical pastors help us to care for the holy and faithful people of God.
In his homily, the Pope commented on first letter of saint peter (1Pd 2.20b-25) in which the apostle says that by Jesus’ wounds we have been healed: “Walk like lost sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and save your lives.” Jesus is the shepherd who comes to save the lost sheep. The Gospel of the day (Jn 10: 1-10) speaks of the door through which the fold enters: all who do not enter through that door are thieves and thieves, pretended shepherds. In the history of the Church, there have been many good shepherds who exploited the flock, who wanted the money, the career. But the flock knows him and seeks God through his ways. The good shepherd listens to the flock, guides the flock, cares for it, and the flock knows how to distinguish between shepherds, does not make mistakes, the flock trusts the good shepherd of Jesus. Only the shepherd who looks like Jesus gives confidence to the flock. Jesus’ style should be the shepherd’s style. The good shepherd is gentle and tender, he does not defend himself, he has that tenderness of closeness, he knows the sheep by name and cares for each sheep as if they were the only one. The good shepherd, Jesus, always accompanies us on the path of life. It is an idea of community, of tenderness, of kindness, of meekness. It is the Church that Jesus wants and He maintains that Church. This Sunday is a beautiful Sunday of peace and tenderness because the good shepherd takes care of us, as the Psalm says: “The Lord is my shepherd; I’m not missing anything. “
The following is the text of the homily transcribed by Vatican News:
The first letter of the apostle Peter, which we hear, is a passage of serenity. Talk about Jesus. He says: “On the cross, he carried our sins in his own body, so that, dead to sins, we can live for justice. By your wounds you were healed. Walking like street sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and protect your lives. ” Jesus is the shepherd, so Peter sees it, who comes to save, to save the lost sheep: it was us. And in Psalm 22 that we read after this reading, we repeat: “The Lord is my shepherd; I am not missing anything. “The presence of the Lord as a shepherd, as a shepherd of the flock. And Jesus, in chapter 10 of John, which we read, presents himself as the shepherd. In fact, not only the shepherd, but the” door ” Through which the fold enters. All who entered and did not enter through that door were thieves or thieves or wanted to take advantage of the flock: the good shepherds. And in the history of the Church there were many of these who exploited the flock. He was interested only in pursuing a career, politics or money, but the flock knows him, has always known him and has been seeking God in his ways.
But when you have a good shepherd, you have the flock that goes on and on. The good shepherd listens to the flock, guides the flock, cares for the flock. And the flock knows how to distinguish between shepherds, it is not mistaken: the flock trusts the good shepherd, trusts Jesus. Only the shepherd who looks like Jesus gives confidence to the flock, because He is the door. The style of Jesus must be the style of the pastor, there is no other. But Jesus is also a good shepherd, as Peter says in the first reading: “He suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you can follow in his footsteps. He committed no sin, no lies were found in his mouth. When they insulted him, he did not pay for the wounds; tormented, he did not threaten ”, he was meek. One of the signs of the good shepherd is meekness, it is meekness. The good shepherd is meek. A shepherd who is not meek is not a good shepherd. There is something hidden, because meekness shows itself as it is, without defending itself. In fact, the shepherd is tender, he has that tenderness of closeness, he meets the sheep one by one and cares for each one as if he were the only one, to the point that when he returns home after a day of work, tired, realizes that he is missing one, goes out to work again to pick it up and … carry it with you, carry it on your back. This is the good shepherd, this is Jesus, this is the one who accompanies us on the path of life, everyone. And this idea of the shepherd, and this idea of the flock and the sheep, is a paschal idea. The Church in the first week of Easter sings that beautiful hymn for the newly baptized: “These are the new lambs,” the hymn we heard at the beginning of the Mass. It is an idea of community, of tenderness, of kindness, of meekness. It is the Church that Jesus wants and He maintains that Church.
This Sunday is a beautiful Sunday, it is a Sunday of peace, it is a Sunday of tenderness, of meekness, because our pastor takes care of us. “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.”
The Pope invited those who cannot sacramentally receive Communion to do Spiritual communion with the following sentence:
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. I love you above all things, and my soul yearns for you. But since I cannot receive you now in the Blessed Sacrament, come, at least spiritually, to my heart. I hug you as if you were already with me: I join you completely. Ah! Don’t let me part from you again!
The Holy Father ended the celebration with adoration and Eucharistic blessing. Francisco thanked Acli, the Catholic Association of Italian workers, who brought the image of Saint Joseph to the chapel on the occasion of the feast of Saint Joseph, the worker.
Before leaving the Chapel dedicated to the Holy Spirit, the Marian antiphon “Regina caeli”, sung at Easter time:
Queen of heaven, rejoice. Hallelujah!
Because the one you deserved to bring in your bosom. Hallelujah!
He is risen as I said. Hallelujah!
Pray to us for God. Hallelujah!
D. / Rejoice and rejoice, O Virgin Mary. Hallelujah!
C. / Because the Lord is truly risen. Hallelujah!
