4th Easter Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday [11 May 2025]

God bless us and may the Virgin protect us! We are in a decisive week for the Church, and the biblical texts of this Sunday help us to better understand the mission of the new pontiff, successor of Peter, who is called to firmly maintain the trust of the Christian people in Jesus the true Shepherd who knows and loves all his sheep. Yes, we are his and we belong to him. The disciples of Jesus, throughout history, really need to rest on the certainty that no one can snatch them from the hand of the Father!

*First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (13, 14.43-52)  

We are in the synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia (in the heart of Asia Minor, today western Turkey) on a Saturday for the celebration of Shabbat. There are many people there with some differences: there are Jews by birth, some proselytes, that is, people who are not Jewish but have converted to the Jewish religion whom Luke calls "converts to Judaism" and pagans called "God-fearers" because having been attracted to the Jewish religion they go to the synagogue on the Sabbath for Shabbat, but even though they know the Jewish Scriptures they do not accept circumcision and all the Jewish practices. When Paul arrived in the city he went to the synagogue and first of all wanted to speak to his Jewish brothers about Jesus of Nazareth. The apostles were all Jews who recognised Christ as the Messiah and tried to convince other Jews to convert to Christ. Paul, preaching in the synagogues, thought that when all the Jewish people are converted, the conversion of the Gentiles will take place, since God's plan foresaw two stages: the choice of the chosen people to whom he revealed himself (this is the election of Israel) and the chosen people are entrusted with the task of proclaiming salvation to the Gentiles.  Of this "logic of election" of God's plan, the prophet Isaiah writes: "I have established you as the light of the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth" (Is 49:6) and, again in this logic, Jesus also told the apostles at the beginning: "Do not go among the Gentiles... go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt 10:5). From the first Saturday, Paul and Barnabas therefore go to the synagogue where they receive a favourable reception that gives them hope that some will become Christians. The following Saturday they return to the synagogue and many people go to hear them. This success of theirs, however, begins to annoy the Jews who "when they saw that crowd, they were filled with jealousy and with insulting words opposed Paul's statements". Luke calls "Jews" those Jews who categorically refuse to recognise Jesus as the Messiah. On the contrary, the pagans (i.e. the God-fearing) seem more favourable as he notes immediately afterwards: 'The pagans rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were destined for eternal life believed'.  In Antioch of Pisidia Paul decides to change his plans: if only a few Jews accept, and the hope of converting the entire Jewish people to Christ must be abandoned for the time being, the rejection of the majority of the Jews must not, however, delay the proclamation of the Messiah to the Gentiles. In this regard, he knew well that it will be the "little Remnant", of whom Isaiah speaks at length (cf. chapters 1- 12 of the book of the prophet Isaiah), who will save Israel and all mankind. Paul understands that the little Remnant formed by Paul and Barnabas with all those who want to follow them, must take on the vocation of apostles of Israel and the pagan nations and says: "It was necessary that the word of God be proclaimed to you first, but since you reject it and do not judge yourselves worthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles" and from that moment they direct their missionary energy first of all to the "God-fearing" and then to the Gentiles. As is clear, here in Antioch of Pisidia there was a decisive turning point in the lives of the early Christians.

*Responsorial Psalm (99 (100) 1-3.5) 

This psalm was composed specifically to accompany a thanksgiving sacrifice and is called the 'psalm for todah' (in Hebrew, 'thanks' is said todah).

Already from the first verses, it is clear that it is meant to accompany a celebration in the Temple: 'Hail... serve... present yourselves to him with exultation'. Just as a hymn book can often be found at the entrance to churches, so the book of Psalms is the Jerusalem Temple's book of canticles suitable for various types of celebrations. This psalm was composed for a thanksgiving sacrifice and, in Israel, when thanks are given, it is always for the covenant. A very short psalm, each line evokes the entire history and faith of Israel and almost every word recalls the Covenant. After all, the heart of the tradition, faith and prayer of this people, the memory that is transmitted from generation to generation is this common faith: election, deliverance, the Covenant. After all, the whole Bible is here. Let us examine a few words: 'Acclaim', the word used indicates a special acclamation reserved for the new king on the day of his coronation and therefore means that the true king is God himself. "Acclaim the Lord": in the Hebrew text, the word Lord is expressed with the four letters YHWH (the Tetragrammaton), which we do not even know how to pronounce or translate because God is beyond our comprehension, and God revealed Himself by this name during the burning bush to Moses (Ex 3). Moses discovered on that occasion the greatness of God, the Totally Other. At the same time Moses receives the revelation of God's total closeness: 'I have seen, yes, I have seen the misery of my people... I have heard their cry... I know their sufferings'. "All the earth": anticipating a future event, Israel already glimpses the day when all mankind will come to acclaim its Lord. Indeed, in the psalms we always find the two themes linked: the election of Israel and the universalism of divine salvation. "Recognise that the Lord alone is God": here is Israel's profession of faith: Shema Israel: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One". "Serve the Lord in joy": in Israel's memory, the Egypt of slavery will be called the "house of bondage". Henceforth, the chosen people will learn 'service' as the choice of free men, and hence the exodus can be said to have been for the Jewish people the transition 'from slavery to service'. "He has made us and we are his": this formula is not a reference to the creation, but to the liberation from Egypt: the people do not forget that they were slaves in Egypt and that God made them free, from fugitives he made the Jews a people. Throughout the Sinai crossing Israel learnt to live in the Covenant proposed by God and the expression "He has made us and we are His" became a customary Covenant formula. The first article of Israel's 'Creed' is not I believe in God the Creator, but I believe in God the Deliverer. 

NOTE: The Bible was not written in the order in which we read it: it did not begin by recounting the creation, then the events of the life of the chosen people, as in a report. Reflection on creation only came much later. Having experienced God as the liberator, Israel realised that this work of liberation has been going on since the creation of the world, and the reflection on creation stems from faith in a liberating God. The ancient formula 'We, his people' typical of the Jewish faith is a reminder of the Covenant, because God, in proposing the Covenant, had promised: 'You shall be my people and I will be your God'.  The expression then "We, his people and the flock of his people" is typical of Israel where the flock was the wealth of the owner, his boast, but also the object of his solicitude and care, and it was for the needs of the flock that the nomadic shepherd would move his tent in the desert, following the clumps of grass for the animals' nourishment. In the same way God moved with his people as they walked in the Sinai desert. Finally "His love is forever" is a refrain of the Covenant that we know well because it recurs in other psalms and here it is joined to the following verse with another traditional formula: "His faithfulness from generation to generation": "love and faithfulness" is one of the few ways to speak of God without betraying him

*Second Reading, from the book of Revelation of St John the Apostle (7:9 -17)  

 The reference to the "immense multitude that no one could count" recalls God's promise to Abraham of an innumerable descendants: "I will make your descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth: if one could count the grains of dust, one could count your descendants!"(Gen 13:16); and a little further on: "Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can...so shall your descendants be!" (Gen 15:5); and again: "I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore" (Gen 22:17). Revelation, the last book of the Bible, makes us contemplate God's project realised: a multitude composed of all nations, races, peoples and languages, four terms to indicate the whole of humanity, as Isaiah had announced: "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God" (Is 52:10). The salvation of which Isaiah speaks is the elimination of all hunger, thirst, and tears, and in chapter 49 we read verbatim: "They shall hunger and thirst no more; the fierce wind and the sun shall smite them no more. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them to springs of water" (Is 49:10). And, above all, salvation is the presence of the One who is at the root of true happiness: "full of compassion", says Isaiah and John translates here: "He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them". When he uses this expression, his readers know what he is referring to: the Jewish people have always aspired to this - that God would 'pitch his tent' in their midst, that is, that God would dwell permanently in their midst: it is the mystery of closeness, of intimacy, of permanent divine presence. In this regard, we note that John in the gospel used the same terms for Christ: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14). In the Jewish people, some already had the honour of living, in a certain way, an anticipation of this intimacy: they were the priests, who served God day and night in the Temple of Jerusalem, a visible sign of God's presence. Here the sacred author glimpses the day when all mankind will be introduced into intimacy with God: 'I saw an immense multitude, which no one could count...all stand before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple'. To describe this immense multitude he uses images from the Jewish liturgy and the Christian liturgy: all this enriches the text while making it complex. When referring to the Jewish liturgy, John alludes to the feast of the Tents or Tents (Sukkot), a feast that is a remembrance of the past and an anticipation of the future promised by God. It recalls the time spent in the desert when one discovered the Covenant proposed by the neighbouring God and lived for eight days in specially built huts. At the same time, the eight days heralded God's promised future, the new creation (as the figure eight reminds us each time, a foretaste of the triumph of the Messiah and with him the fulfilment of God's plan consisting of happiness for all). Among the rituals of the Feast of Tents, John recalls the palms carried in processions around the altar of sacrifices in the Temple of Jerusalem. In fact, in such processions each person waved a bunch (the lulav) composed of various branches, including a palm tree (lulav), a sprig of myrtle (Hadas), a sprig of willow (Aravah) along with a citron (Etrog) lemon-like fruit while chanting "Hosanna", which means both "God gives salvation" and "we pray thee, Lord, give us salvation". Let us read the text of Revelation uncut: "I saw: behold, an immense multitude, which no one could count... they stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands. And they cried with a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!"  Another rite of the Feast of Tanah was the rite of the "Water Libation" (Nisuakh haMayim), the procession to the pool of Siloe on the eighth and last day of the feast, carrying water in procession to sprinkle the altar, a rite of purification prefiguring the final purification promised by God through the prophets, especially Zechariah: "On that day, living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea" (Zech 14:8). It was precisely during a Feast of Tabernacles, on the eighth day, that Jesus said (and it is again St John who reports this): "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and drink who believes in me. As the Scripture says, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37). Here, in echo, John predicts: "The Lamb who stands in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to the springs of the waters of life". From the Christian liturgy, St John has taken the white robe of the baptised and the blood of the Lamb, the sign of the life given, to tell us that all that the Feast of Tents symbolically announced is now fulfilled. In Jesus Christ the expectation of God's people for a definitive purification, a new Covenant, God's perfect presence with us, is fulfilled. Through Baptism and the Eucharist, humanity participates in the life of the Risen One and thus enters into God's intimacy for good.

NOTE: In the immense multitude (v. 9) tradition identifies the Church even though at the end of the first century Christians were not many. However, there is a possible different interpretation: in the preceding verses (v. 3-8), John describes a first crowd ("the servants of our God" whose "forehead is marked with the seal") and it is believed to be the baptised, i.e. the Church. The immense crowd clothed in white robes (the wedding garment) would then be the multitude of the saved, in the line of the Servant theology (cf. the four hymns of the second book of Isaiah), with which the Johannine writings, and not only them, are all imbued. Therefore the immense crowd (vv9 ff.) would be the "multitude" justified by the Servant: "The righteous, my servant, will justify the multitudes" (Is 53:11). Confronted then with persecution, Christians found here a reason to resist because they knew that their sacrifice was a seed of salvation for the multitude.*From the Gospel according to John (10:27-30)

Right after the text proposed to us in this Sunday's liturgy, St John writes: "The Jews again picked up stones to stone him" (v.31). Why did they react so strongly and what had Jesus said that was so extraordinary? In reality, he did not take the initiative but merely answered a question.The evangelist narrates that he was in the Temple in Jerusalem, under the portico called 'Solomon's Portico', and the Jews, in order to corner him, asked him: 'How long will you keep us in uncertainty? If you are the Christ, tell us openly' (v24). In short, we are faced with a kind of ultimatum, such as: Are you the Christ (i.e. the Messiah) or not, say it clearly once and for all. Instead of answering "yes, I am the Messiah", Jesus speaks of "his" sheep, but it is the same thing because the people of Israel willingly compared themselves to a flock: "We are God's people, the flock he leads", this expression recurs often in the psalms, in particular, in this Sunday's psalm: "He has made us and we are his, his people and the flock of his pasture"; a flock often mistreated, neglected, or misguided by the successive kings on David's throne. It was known, however, that the Messiah would be an attentive shepherd, so Jesus truly presents himself as the Messiah. His interlocutors understood this very well and Jesus takes them much further because when speaking of "his" sheep he dares to say: "I give them eternal life and they will not be lost for ever and no one will snatch them out of my hand" (v. 28). But who can ever give eternal life? The expression 'to be in the hand of God' was customary in the Old Testament as we find for example in Jeremiah: 'As clay is in the hand of the potter, so you are in my hand, house of Israel!" (Jer 18:16), or in the book of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes): "The righteous, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God" (Qo 9:1), and also in Deuteronomy: "I make dead and alive, I wound and I heal, and no one can deliver from my hand" (Deut 32:39), and a little further on: "All the saints are in your hand" (Deut 33:3). Jesus refers to all this and adds: "No one can snatch them out of the hand of the Father" (v.29), equating "my hand" and "the hand of the Father". And he does not stop there because he says: "I and the Father are one" (v.30) which is to say: "yes, I am the Christ, that is, the Messiah" making himself equal to God, himself God. For his interlocutors, this was unacceptable because they expected a Messiah who was a man but could not imagine that he could be God: faith in the one God was so strongly affirmed in Israel that it was practically impossible for fervent Jews to believe in the divinity of Jesus. Professing daily the Jewish faith: 'Shema Israel', 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord', they could not tolerate hearing Jesus say: 'I and the Father are one'. This explains why the fiercest opposition to Jesus came from the religious leaders. The reaction was immediate and as they prepared to stone him, they accused him of blaspheming by making himself God. Once again, Jesus came up against the incomprehension of those who had been waiting for the Messiah with greater fervour and this is a constant reflection in John: "He came among his own, and his own did not receive him". The whole mystery of Christ is contained in this, and also, in filigree, his trial. And yet, all is not lost; Jesus faced misunderstanding, even hatred, he was persecuted, eliminated, but some believed in him; John himself says this in the Prologue of his gospel: "He came among his own, and his own did not receive him... but to those who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:11-12). And we know well that it is thanks to these that the revelation has continued to spread. From that little Remnant was born the people of believers: "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life'. In spite of the opposition that Jesus encounters here, in spite of the already foreseeable tragic outcome, there is undoubtedly in these words a language of victory: "No one will snatch them out of my hand"... "No one can snatch them out of the hand of the Father": one perceives here an echo of another phrase of Jesus reported by the same evangelist: "Have courage, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33). Jesus' disciples, throughout history, really need to rest on the certainty that no one can snatch them from the hand of the Father.

+Giovanni D'Ercole

Complete vs Perfect

(Jn 10:22-30)

In the so-called ‘Book of Signs’ of the Fourth Gospel (Jn.1-12), a progressive revelation of the divine Mystery that envelops the Person of Jesus takes place.

As such an unveiling becomes more precise, both adherence and misunderstanding grow around his figure, even of his neighbours - to the extent that He departs from traditional expectations of the Messiah as a glorious leader and executioner.

Thus, in our vocational experience we have often realized that full existence and paths of indestructible quality (vv.28-29) are not subject to immediately satisfying demands of the common mentality.

The Life of the Eternal (v.28) reveals itself as a goad: not to mortify intentions, but to set us on paths of growth.

The Gospel is not confirmation of tastes, of preferences and convictions.

And Jn 10:22-24 applies this criterion blatantly - in the blow by blow friction with the chiefs of conformist religiosity: contradicting the mentality of the experts.

Religious rule developed the idea that the Torah could cleanse the mind of errors, and the inclination of impurities - in order to chisel out a people pleasing to God.

In this way, the authorities felt no need to search for the Mystery of God.

The top of the class wanted Jesus to define himself so that they could judge him according to the fundamentalist criteria that permeated their teaching and common mentality.

The Master, on the other hand, did not place himself in established ideas, into a fixed framework; He was not stuck on a wavelength.

Christ is a fraternal presence for us, not a “ratifier”.

Jesus, the authentic guide, was a «friend of publicans and sinners» in the sense that he taught to broaden the harmony of creaturely being.

The new Rabbi did not want to sterilize emotions or situations.

The inner world and anxieties were not to be silenced at all, but rather encountered and known.

To enter into the life of Faith and become liberators of others, one must be emancipated and tirelessly available, able to shake convictions - starting with oneself.

In short, for those who considered themselves already arrived and masters of the situation, the “new” one always had to present authorizations, credentials, permits - or he would not have the right to speak and act.

Instead, the Lord calls for confidence, unfiltered conversation, collaboration: a propitious climate that allows the Father to reveal himself.

And beyond words, which indeed can always be misunderstood, it is the works of life alone that are eloquent language (v.25).

But it is the soul that does not want to believe: a feeling of those who do not belong to Him (v.26).

The problem is the calibrated eye, or openness. Only the perception of the unsteady is free of affected ballast.

Being One (v.30) has motivated Christ, and still today guides the lesser family members to feel adequate, on an equal footing; He leads them to the Face to face.

Not to disciplinary obedience, but to prophetic likeness.

[Tuesday 4th wk. in Easter, May 13, 2025]

Complete vs Perfect ones

(Jn 10:22-30)

In the so-called Book of Signs of the Fourth Gospel (Jn.1-12) there is a progressive revelation of the divine Mystery that envelops the Person of Jesus.

As this unveiling becomes more precise, both adhesion and incomprehension grow around His figure, even of His neighbours - to the extent that He departs from the traditional expectations of the Messiah, the glorious leader and executioner.

Even in our vocational experience, we have often realised that full existence and paths of indestructible quality (vv.28-29) are not subject to demands immediately satisfying the common mentality.

The Life of the Eternal (v.28) is revealed as a goad: not to mortify intentions, but to set us on paths of growth.

The Gospel is not confirmation of likes, dislikes and convictions.

And Jn 10:22-24 applies this criterion in a blatant manner - in blow by blow friction with the leaders of conformist religiosity: contradicting the mentality of the experts.

The religious rule developed the idea that the Torah could cleanse the mind of errors, and the inclination of people of impurities - in order to chisel out a people pleasing to God.

Anything that disturbed the prescribed balance had to be immediately condemned and punished, as deleterious to fixed stability, mass cohesion, and its very efficiency.

The complete configuration of the indisputable religious proposal, and the magnificence of the official cult structures, guaranteed the eloquence and imperturbability of conditioning (on the misfits).

Doubts and insecurities were immediately branded as disturbing factors in the landscape of reassurance and the profile of normality - to be repressed from adolescence onwards.

The new Rabbi, on the other hand, did not want to sterilise emotions or situations.

The inner world and anxieties were not to be silenced at all, but to be encountered and known.

On the other hand, [as we do today] looking around he realised that it was precisely in observant people, the standard-bearers of ethics or manners, who repressed spontaneous impulses or, conversely, profound criteria, that narrowness and disorders increased.

Precisely those who faced the spiritual path... by increasing dirigisme, manners and control, became exaggeratedly snobbish, confrontational and secretly untrustworthy.

Burdened with suffocating norms, the naive people were reduced to unhappiness.

Everyone felt restlessness and parchedness - precisely because the obsession with sin poured out on the unwell, preventing them from integrating their desires.

In short, what had to be reduced and annihilated for reasons of social, civil, devout consonance, ended up penetrating souls in a more intimate manner, resurfacing here and there in a paradoxical manner, with duplicity and very serious relational imbalances.

Authentic Jesus the Guide was a 'friend of publicans and sinners' in the sense that He taught to expand the harmony of creaturely being.

He himself wanted to learn the art of looking without prejudice, and to treasure various experiences; of all that could emerge even from within.

The perfection he preached to others was in the imperfection of selflessness, in the irrationality of love, in the absurdity of pure gift-giving and tolerance, which gleaned pearls of experience from everywhere.

Indeed, according to the True Shepherd, it was important precisely to be troubled, rather than impassive.

All in order to know in time and make sense even of the signs that worry [even according to a pious, or à la page, and aligned mentality] - thus completing ourselves.

Learning to welcome, not to establish.

The authentic Master and Friend knows that ... Only what touches, involves, and upsets us personally will succeed in shifting our gaze, to grow. To activate exodus to fertile pastures, the land of freedom.

The Feast of the Dedication [Feast of Lights] was being celebrated, a commemoration of the purification of the Temple, consecration and dedication of a new altar [following the Hellenist desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who had forced his hand by imposing the cult to Olympian Zeus in that place].

The debate with the institutional masters takes place as usual in Solomon's Portico - each time trying to educate them to let go of their sense of inquisition and domination, still unbearable today.

The authorities felt no need to seek the Mystery of God.

In this way, the leaders wanted Jesus to define himself, so that they could judge him according to the criteria of their abstract world; which impregnated their teaching and common mentality.

On the contrary, the Master even for us today does not place himself in the armour of established ideas, in a pre-established, contrived, external framework.

He does not stagnate, stuck on a wavelength; as if he were fearful of the unknown - hence for us the bearer of a non-alarming devotion.

Christ is a fraternal presence, certainly - not a 'ratifier'.To enter the life of Faith and become liberators of others, one must be emancipated and tirelessly available, able to shake up convictions - starting with oneself.

In short, for those who consider themselves arrived and masters of the situation, the new must present the imprint of authorisations, credentials, permissions - or one has no right to speak and act.

Instead, the Lord calls for confidence, for conversation, for collaboration: a propitious climate that allows the Father to reveal himself.

He only rejects fanaticism, sophisticated, cerebral, mannered, and one-sided thinking.

In short, Jesus did not want to be mistaken for 'the' [that] expected political Messiah: resembling David. That is why it requires the so-called messianic secret.

And beyond words, which indeed can always be misunderstood, it is the works of life alone that are eloquent language (v.25).

But it is the soul that did not want to believe: the feeling of those who do not belong to him (v.26).

In fact, sincere Faith is activated from a first testimony within, in the being, in one's own character and creaturely imprint (Jn 6:44).

(Vv.25-26) If you do not lead people to think differently, giving evidence is of no use. The problem is the shaky eye, or openness. And it is only the perception of the unhealthy that is free of interested ballast.

The mutual understanding between Jesus and the least of the people is complete transparency, total harmony even on the basis of an elementary sympathy: the natural Way that unites Father and sons.

All this, starting from a sure testimony in oneself, not from a preconceived religious rationalism.

Being One (v.30) motivated Christ, and still leads the voiceless to feel adequate, equal.

It leads them to face-to-face, without the need for models, rigmarole, legalisms, affected manners.

Not disciplinary obedience, but prophetic likeness.

It annoys us to be compared to a flock, but in ancient Israel the archetype of the shepherd who shares everything with his sheep remained even in Jesus' time a prototype of existence and life of communion with God.

The metaphor must be understood in the sense of the family relationship, of total sharing: feeling the burden and the goals together; grasping the spirit of each one and seeing the qualities, or providing for them; trusting even in destitution.

In the life of Faith, the guiding specialists should introduce us into this special relationship with the Father who knows each of his kinsmen, and redeems their loneliness or vice versa.

Immediacy and personal freedom in love are the cornerstone of the new relationship with the Most High.

A frankness that Jesus teaches without looking anyone in the face who is still enraptured by worldly elements - let alone being intimidated by marauders (vv.1.5.8.10.12-13) in angelic garb.

His Word and extreme events are still the Gates that lead [radically] to Heaven and humanity.

All this despite the fact that his Message is considered crazy and demonic by those interested in the status quo (vv.20-21).

Conversely, by crossing all the expected thresholds, in our imbalances we penetrate the furrows of reality and mystery; we introduce ourselves there where royal decisions ripen - finding surpassing fascination.

Perfect correspondence with our vocational trait and yearning for the fullness of life.

Knowledge of the heart

Jesus speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd who gives eternal life to his sheep (cf. Jn 10:28). That of the shepherd is an image well rooted in the Old Testament and dear to the Christian tradition. The title "Shepherd of Israel" is attributed by the Prophets to the future descendant of David, and thus possesses undoubted messianic significance (cf. Ez 34:23). Jesus is the true Shepherd of Israel, in that he is the Son of Man who wanted to share the condition of human beings in order to give them new life and lead them to salvation. Significantly to the term "shepherd" the evangelist adds the adjective kalós, beautiful, which he uses solely in reference to Jesus and his mission. Also in the story of the wedding feast of Cana, the adjective kalós is used twice to connote the wine offered by Jesus and it is easy to see in it the symbol of the good wine of the messianic times (cf. Jn 2:10).

"I give them (my sheep) eternal life, and they shall never be lost" (Jn 10:28). So says Jesus, who shortly before had said: "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (cf. Jn 10:11). John uses the verb tithénai - to offer, which he repeats in the following verses (15.17.18); we find the same verb in the account of the Last Supper, when Jesus "laid down" his garments and then "took them up again" (cf. Jn 13:4.12). It is clear that he wants to affirm in this way that the Redeemer disposes of his life with absolute freedom, so that he can offer it and then take it back freely. Christ is the true Good Shepherd who gave his life for his sheep, for us, by sacrificing himself on the Cross. He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him, just as the Father knows Him and He knows the Father (cf. Jn 10:14-15). It is not a matter of mere intellectual knowledge, but of a deep personal relationship; a knowledge of the heart, proper to the one who loves and the one who is loved; of the one who is faithful and the one who knows that he can be trusted in turn; a knowledge of love by virtue of which the Shepherd invites his own to follow him, and which is fully manifested in the gift he gives them of eternal life (cf. Jn 10:27-28).

[Pope Benedict, homily for priestly ordination 29 April 2007]

The Gospel [...] is only a part of Jesus' great discourse on shepherds. In this passage, the Lord tells us three things about the true shepherd:  he gives his own life for his sheep; he knows them and they know him; he is at the service of unity.

Before reflecting on these three characteristics essential to shepherds, it might be useful to recall briefly the previous part of the discourse on shepherds in which Jesus, before designating himself as the Shepherd, says, to our surprise:  "I am the door" (Jn 10: 7).

It is through him that one must enter the service of shepherd. Jesus highlights very clearly this basic condition by saying:  "he who... climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber" (Jn 10: 1). This word "climbs" - anabainei in Greek - conjures up the image of someone climbing over a fence to get somewhere out of bounds to him.

"To climb" - here too we can also see the image of careerism, the attempt to "get ahead", to gain a position through the Church:  to make use of and not to serve. It is the image of a man who wants to make himself important, to become a person of note through the priesthood; the image of someone who has as his aim his own exaltation and not the humble service of Jesus Christ.

But the only legitimate ascent towards the shepherd's ministry is the Cross. This is the true way to rise; this is the true door. It is not the desire to become "someone" for oneself, but rather to exist for others, for Christ, and thus through him and with him to be there for the people he seeks, whom he wants to lead on the path of life.

One enters the priesthood through the Sacrament, and this means precisely:  through the gift of oneself to Christ, so that he can make use of me; so that I may serve him and follow his call, even if it proves contrary to my desire for self-fulfilment and esteem.

Entering by the door which is Christ means knowing and loving him more and more, so that our will may be united with his will, our action become one with his action.

Dear friends, let us pray ever anew for this intention, let us strive precisely for this:  in other words, for Christ to grow within us and for our union with him to become ever deeper, so that through us it is Christ himself who tends the flock.

Let us now take a closer look at the three fundamental affirmations of Jesus on the good shepherd. The first one, which very forcefully pervades the whole discourse on shepherds, says:  the shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The mystery of the Cross is at the centre of Jesus' service as a shepherd:  it is the great service that he renders to all of us.

He gives himself and not only in a distant past. In the Holy Eucharist he does so every day, he gives himself through our hands, he gives himself to us. For this good reason the Holy Eucharist, in which the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross remains continually present, truly present among us, is rightly at the centre of priestly life.

And with this as our starting point, we also learn what celebrating the Eucharist properly means:  it is an encounter with the Lord, who strips himself of his divine glory for our sake, allows himself be humiliated to the point of death on the Cross and thus gives himself to each one of us.

The daily Eucharist is very important for the priest. In it he exposes himself ever anew to this mystery; ever anew he puts himself in God's hands, experiencing at the same time the joy of knowing that He is present, receives me, ever anew raises and supports me, gives me his hand, himself. The Eucharist must become for us a school of life in which we learn to give our lives.
Free for God

Life is not only given at the moment of death and not only in the manner of martyrdom. We must give it day by day. Day after day it is necessary to learn that I do not possess my life for myself. Day by day I must learn to abandon myself; to keep myself available for whatever he, the Lord, needs of me at a given moment, even if other things seem more appealing and more important to me:  it means giving life, not taking it.

It is in this very way that we experience freedom:  freedom from ourselves, the vastness of being. In this very way, by being useful, in being a person whom the world needs, our life becomes important and beautiful. Only those who give up their own life find it.

Secondly the Lord tells us:  "I know my own [sheep] and my own [sheep] know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father" (Jn 10: 14-15).

Here, two apparently quite different relationships are interwoven in this phrase:  the relationship between Jesus and the Father and the relationship between Jesus and the people entrusted to him. Yet both these relationships go together, for in the end people belong to the Father and are in search of the Creator, of God.

When they realize that someone is speaking only in his own name and drawing from himself alone, they guess that he is too small and cannot be what they are seeking; but wherever another's voice re-echoes in a person, the voice of the Creator, of the Father, the door opens to the relationship for which the person is longing.

Consequently, this is how it must be in our case. First of all, in our hearts we must live the relationship with Christ and, through him, with the Father; only then can we truly understand people, only in the light of God can the depths of man be understood. Then those who are listening to us realize that we are not speaking of ourselves or of some thing, but of the true Shepherd.

Obviously, Jesus' words also contain the entire practical pastoral task, caring for men and women, going to seek them out, being open to their needs and questions.

Obviously, practical, concrete knowledge of the people entrusted to me is fundamental, and obviously, it is important to understand this way of "knowing" others in the biblical sense:  there is no true knowledge without love, without an inner relationship and deep acceptance of the other.
The shepherd cannot be satisfied with knowing names and dates. His way of knowing his sheep must always also be knowing with the heart.

However, it is only possible to do this properly if the Lord has opened our hearts; if our knowing does not bind people to our own small, private self, to our own small heart, but rather makes them aware of the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of the Lord. It must be knowing with the Heart of Jesus, oriented to him, a way of knowing that does not bind the person to me but guides him or her to Jesus, thereby making one free and open. And in this way we too will become close to men and women.

Let us always pray to the Lord anew that we may be granted this way of knowing with the Heart of Jesus, of not binding to me but of binding to the Heart of Jesus and thereby creating a true community.

Lastly, the Lord speaks to us of the service of unity that is entrusted to the shepherd:  "I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd" (Jn 10: 16).

John repeated the same thing after the Sanhedrin had decided to kill Jesus, when Caiaphas said that it would be better for the people that one man die for them rather than the entire nation perish. John recognized these words of Caiaphas as prophetic, adding:  "Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (11: 52).

The relationship between the Cross and unity is revealed:  the Cross is the price of unity. Above all, however, it is the universal horizon of Jesus' action that emerges.

If, in his prophecy about the shepherd, Ezekiel was aiming to restore unity among the dispersed tribes of Israel (cf. Ez 34: 22-24), here it is a question not only of the unification of a dispersed Israel but of the unification of all the children of God, of humanity - of the Church of Jews and of pagans.

Jesus' mission concerns all humanity. Therefore, the Church is given responsibility for all humanity, so that it may recognize God, the God who for all of us was made man in Jesus Christ, suffered, died and was raised.

The Church must never be satisfied with the ranks of those whom she has reached at a certain point or say that others are fine as they are:  Muslims, Hindus and so forth. The Church can never retreat comfortably to within the limits of her own environment. She is charged with universal solicitude; she must be concerned with and for one and all.

We generally have to "translate" this great task in our respective missions. Obviously, a priest, a pastor of souls, must first and foremost be concerned with those who believe and live with the Church, who seek in her their way of life and on their part, like living stones, build the Church, hence, also build and support the priest.

However, we must also - as the Lord says - go out ever anew "to the highways and hedges" (Lk 14: 23), to deliver God's invitation to his banquet also to those who have so far heard nothing or have not been stirred within.

This universal service has many forms. One of them is also the commitment to the inner unity of the Church, so that over and above differences and limitations she may be a sign of God's presence in the world, which alone can create this unity.

Among the sculptures of her time, the ancient Church discovered the figure of a shepherd carrying a sheep across his shoulders. Such images may perhaps be part of the idyllic dream of rural life that fascinated the society of that epoch.

For Christians, however, this figure with all its naturalness became the image of the One who set out to seek his lost sheep:  humanity; the image of the One who follows us even into our deserts and confusion; the image of the One who took upon his shoulders the lost sheep, which is humanity, and carried it home.

It has become the image of the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Let us entrust ourselves to him. We entrust you to him, dear brothers, especially at this moment, so that he may lead you and carry you all the days of your life; so that he may help you to become, through him and with him, good shepherds of his flock. Amen!

[Pope Benedict, presbyteral ordination homily 7 May 2006]

2. It may not always be conscious and clear, but in the human heart there is a deep nostalgia for God. St. Ignatius of Antioch expressed this eloquently: “There is in me a living water that murmurs within me: 'Come to the Father'” (Ad Rom.7). “Lord, show me your glory”, Moses begged on the mountain (Ex 33:18) [...].

Bringing us the direct witness of the life of the Son of God, John’s Gospel points out the road to follow in order to know the Father. Calling upon the “Father” is the secret, the breath, the life of Jesus. Is he not the only Son, the first-born, the loved one towards whom everything is directed, present to the Father even before the world existed, sharing in his same glory? (cf. Jn 17:5). From the Father Jesus receives power over all things (cf. Jn 17:2), the message to be proclaimed (cf. Jn 12:49), the work to be accomplished (cf. Jn 14:31). The disciples themselves do not belong to him: it is the Father who has given them to him (cf. Jn 17:9), entrusting him with the task of keeping them from evil, so that none should be lost (cf. Jn 18:9).

[Pope John Paul II, Message for the 14th WYD]

Today’s passage records these words of Jesus: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (10:27-30). These four verses contain the whole of Jesus’ message; it is the nucleus of his Gospel: he calls us to share in his relationship with the Father, and this is eternal life.

Jesus wants to establish with his friends a relationship which mirrors his own relationship with the Father: a relationship of reciprocal belonging in full trust, in intimate communion. To express this profound understanding, this relationship of friendship, Jesus uses the image of the shepherd with his sheep: he calls them and they recognize his voice, they respond to his call and follow him. This parable is very beautiful! The mystery of his voice is evocative: only think that from our mother’s womb we learn to recognize her voice and that of our father; it is from the tone of a voice that we perceive love or contempt, affection or coldness. Jesus’ voice is unique! If we learn to distinguish it, he guides us on the path of life, a path that goes beyond even the abyss of death.

However Jesus, at a certain point, said: “my Father, who has given them to me...” (Jn 10:29), referring to his sheep. This is very important, it is a profound mystery, far from easy to understand. If I feel drawn to Jesus, if his voice warms my heart, it is thanks to God the Father who has sown within me the desire for love, for truth, for life, for beauty... and Jesus is all this in fullness! This helps us understand the mystery of vocation and especially of the call to a special consecration. Sometimes Jesus calls us, he invites us to follow him, but perhaps we do not realize that it is he who is calling, like what happened to the young Samuel. There are many young people today, here in the Square. There are large numbers of you aren’t there? It’s clear.... Look! Here in the Square today there are so many of you! I would like to ask you: have you sometimes heard the Lord’s voice, in a desire, in a worry, did he invite you to follow him more closely? Have you heard him? I can’t hear you? There! Have you wanted to be apostles of Jesus? We must bet on youth for the great ideals. Do you think this? Do you agree? Ask Jesus what he wants of you and be brave! Be brave! Ask him this!

Behind and before every vocation to the priesthood or to the consecrated life there is always the strong and intense prayer of someone: a grandmother, a grandfather, a mother, a father, a community.... This is why Jesus said: “Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest”, that is, God the Father, “to send out labourers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38). Vocations are born in prayer and from prayer; and only through prayer can they persevere and bear fruit.

[Pope Francis, Regina Coeli 21 April 2013]

«I Am the Gate of the sheep»

(Jn 10:1-10)

In the pastures, during the night the sheep were sheltered in stone enclosures on a slope and the shepherds (taking turns) placed themselves in defense of the flock by curling in the position of the door (below) armed with a stick, as if they were a door, impassable for thieves and predators.

Life’s assiduity allowed the flock - even of different owners - to recognize the typical call and the voice of the corresponding shepherd. Not infrequently did he designate each one by an individual nickname [unrepeatable according to character].

In Jerusalem the great city Gates were opened in the morning and closed at sunset. They were fundamental points of urban social life, obligatory passages to enter and exit the walls.

After decades of deportation, the end of the Babylonian empire and the edict of Cyrus, the Sheep Gate was the first to be restored and the only one consecrated, because through it flocked the herds to be sacrificed to the Temple.

Jesus takes a stand and explicitly denounces the abandonment’ situation of the true ‘flock’ [the people] sacrificed to the interest and logic of the institution which is not interested in people's happiness but only in the defense of privileges.

He is the Shepherd who walks ahead (v.4); doesn’t hide behind the scenes: he takes risks personally. The Lord doesn’t come to take, but to give in abundance. Because God is looking for his people in shortage.

His is a Call by Name (v.3): He respects personal identity, doesn’t impose abstract or unsustainable rhythms, doesn’t force the times; He assesses the conditions of each.

For the authentic Shepherd there are no anonymous crowds.

Therefore He does not close us within the ancient sacred ‘enclosures’ (v.1 Greek text) where mass obsessions lurk. Fences equipped with guardian and gendarmes, where all are uniform - and the sensitive soul no longer breathes, kidnapped by opportunists (v.8).

From His Gate we can go out (vv.3-9). Indeed, it’s He who forces us to overcome it (v.3 Greek text).

The authentic Guide leads to a different richness, more substantial pastures, unexpected amazements.

The true Shepherd obliges to make Exodus, pushing us [with force] out of the restricted sheepfolds.

The guide’s authoritativeness is confirmed both by the direct knowledge of the «guardian-gatekeeper» (v.3) and by that of the people, who recognize the Word, and follow it - pushed by that Call as by a thrill within.

Christ highlights the authority he has over the people, presenting himself with the non-transitory formula «I Am» [full of eminent and profound resonances].

And actualizing, He specifies this expression with the metaphor of the Gate - not so much to close it, but above all to open it wide and let us pass.

In this way and unlike the old guides, the small flock follows Him not out of fear or calculation, as it would do with an inflexible master, but spontaneously.

Taking into account the presence of obstacles without which we cannot grow, in the even excited journey, we will experience the invisible Friend as a Master of clarity, decision, constancy, flexibility, introspection.

Recognized in the Unknown Face that lurks within each of us, we will be made aware ‘up close’, motivated and free ones - so that we may be rendered to Life.

[Monday 4th wk. in Easter, May 12, 2025]

«I am the Gate of the sheep»

(Jn 10:1-10)

In the pastures, during the night the sheep were penned in stone pens on a slope and the shepherds (in turn) stood in defence of the flock by huddling in the position of the doorway at the bottom, armed with sticks, as if it were a door, impassable to thieves and predators.

The custom of life enabled the flock - even of different owners - to recognise the typical call and voice of the corresponding shepherd. He not infrequently designated each one with an individual nickname (unrepeatable according to character).

In Jerusalem, the great Gates of the city were opened in the morning and closed at sunset. They were fundamental points of urban social life, obligatory passages to enter and exit the walls.

After decades of deportation, the end of the Babylonian empire and the edict of Cyrus, the Sheep Gate was the first to be restored and the only one consecrated, because through it flowed the herds to be sacrificed to the Temple.

Because of the social paralysis and alienation of the wretched, the motto 'restoring communion with God' - the criterion for the rebuilding of the Temple and the Holy City - meant for Jesus to take a different point of view.

He takes a stand and explicitly denounces the degradation of the true flock sacrificed to the interest and logic of the official religious institution, which is not interested in people's happiness but only in defending privileges.

The spiritual leaders of the ancient pious life were willing to do anything to secure their usual economic status, as well as visibility, prestige, protection of property and various securities.

Jn 5:2 indicates a pool with five porticoes along which the sick were laid "by the Sheep Gate". Wretches who due to supposed impurity did not have access to the Temple but were laid there awaiting a miracle.

According to the Lord, it is the institution that has to serve the sick and needy, instead of oppressing them through harassment and humbug, sweetened with impressive scripts.

He is the Shepherd who walks ahead (v.4); he does not hide behind the scenes: he risks himself. He does not come to take, but to give in abundance. For God seeks his people in penury.

His is a Calling by Name (v.3): he respects personal identity, he does not impose abstract or unbearable rhythms, he does not force timing; he assesses each person's condition.

For the authentic Shepherd, there are no anonymous crowds - to be milked, sheared, and directed down to the last detail. It is He who puts His face and pays.

So he does not enclose within the ancient sacred fences (v.1 Greek text) where mass obsessions lurk. Fences equipped with guardians and gendarmes, where one is homologated - and the sensitive soul no longer breathes, seized by opportunists, thieves and bandits (v.8).

From his Door we can go out (vv.3-9). On the contrary, it is He who forces us to overcome them (v.3 Greek text).

Does it seem unbelievable? It is the more of Faith: animated by the Spirit, believing that nothing escapes God's grasp.

In synergy with the inner Friend, every authentic Guide leads to a different richness, more substantial pastures, unexpected amazements.

The true Shepherd compels us to make an Exodus, pushing us (forcefully) out of the narrow sheepfolds - bounded and installed; interventionist or overflowing with sophistication, businessmen and faux-devotees - that we must now pass over.

For a new Birth, an ever new Encounter, a more significant experience of abundant and indestructible Life (v.10): that unheard of God totally other and totally near.

The leaders had an attitude of rejection of Jesus and the people. Strangers and greedy, they did not call people by name.

Instead, the authority of Christ is in service and for the life of the sick - in concern for the welfare of the people.

In the Lord's view, the authority of official leaders was not legitimate: because it was made up of climbing and ruthlessness, based on an interpretation of codes that did not liberate people but made them subservient - pigeonholed and incapable of reinventing themselves.

Their pursuit of advantage conflicted with the interests of the dispossessed, kept far away and in the fence. Jesus, on the other hand, makes himself a Gate, that is, a legitimate shepherd, who cares for the flock and knows it intimately.

He feels it to be His, and He comes not to serve and profit from it, but to make them happy - having a loving knowledge of each one. He is not a shepherd-king, but a life-giving shepherd.

The authoritativeness of the guide is corroborated both by the direct knowledge of the "gatekeeper-keeper" (v.3) and by that of the people, who recognise his Word, and follow him - driven by that call as by a tremor within.

Throughout the complex redaction of the Fourth Gospel, many believers had by then abandoned obedience to the law (as expounded by the rabbis): the old masters were no longer followed as before.

E.g. The man born blind does not accept the opinion of the albeit popular religious leaders (Jn 9) who accused the Master of being a sinner (v.24). Thus he embarks on a progressive journey of awareness and emancipation.

Christ emphasises the authority he has over the people, presenting himself with the non-transitory formula "I Am" [filled with eminent and profound resonances].

And bringing this expression up to date, he clarifies it with the metaphor of the Door - not so much to close it, but first of all to open it wide and let it pass.

In this way and unlike the old guides, the little flock follows him not out of fear or calculation, as they would an inflexible master, but spontaneously.

By taking into account the presence of obstacles (without which one does not grow) on the journey, even a frantic one, we will experience the invisible Friend as the Master of clarity, decision, constancy, flexibility, introspection.

Recognised in the unknown face within each one of us, we will be made closely aware, motivated and free - so that we are rendered to life.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Liturgy […] presents to us one of the most beautiful images that has portrayed the Lord Jesus since the earliest centuries of the Church: the Good Shepherd. The Gospel of St John, in chapter 10, describes the special features of the relationship between Christ the Good Shepherd and his flock, a relationship so close that no one will ever be able to snatch sheep from his hand. Indeed, the sheep are united to him by a bond of love and of reciprocal knowledge, which guarantees to them the immeasurable gift of eternal life.

At the same time, the flock’s attitude to the Good Shepherd, Christ, is presented by the Evangelist with two specific verbs: “to listen” and “to follow”. These terms suggest the fundamental characteristics of those who live out the following of the Lord.

First of all by listening to his word, from which faith is born and by which it is nurtured. Only those who are attentive to the Lord’s voice can assess in their own conscience the right decisions for acting in accordance with God. Thus the following of Jesus derives from listening: we act as disciples only after hearing and inwardly accepting the Master’s teachings in order to put them into practice every day..

[Pope Benedict, Regina Coeli 15 May 2011]