Pope at Mass prays for doctors
and priests laying down their lives
In praying for doctors and priests during Mass on Sunday at
the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis likened them to the Good Shepherd laying
down their lives serving the flock.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
Pope Francis celebrated Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Easter,
also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. He prayed in a special way for doctors and
priests. citing the numbers of those who have died in Italy: over 100 priests
and approximately 154 doctors. “May the example of these shepherds, priests and
doctors, help us take care of the holy, faithful People of God”, the Pope
prayed.
Pope Francis then reflected on the image of the Good
Shepherd presented in the reading from the First Letter of Peter (2:20-25) and
the Gospel of John (10:1-10).
Jesus is the Shepherd
St Peter describes Jesus as a shepherd, the one who came to
save His straying sheep. By bearing the sins of the sheep, Jesus freed us from
sin. Due to Jesus’s death, we have returned to our Shepherd, the “guardian of
our souls” (1 Pt 2:25). St John describes Jesus not only as the Shepherd but
also as the “door through which the flock enters”, Pope Francis continued.
The sheep know the Shepherd
Unfortunately, just as Jesus said in the Gospel, many “fake
shepherds” have entered to rob and exploit the Lord’s flock. “They are not
interested in the flock”, the Pope explained. Their interests have been
climbing the ladder, politics or money. But the flock always recognizes who the
good shepherds are and who are the robbers, Pope Francis continued.
A good shepherd is distinguished by its flock. A flock
flourishes because the shepherd listens, guides and cares for the sheep, Pope
Francis noted. The sheep entrust themselves only to those shepherds who are
similar to Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In this respect, the flock never errs, he
said. Only those shepherds who are “like Jesus elicit confidence in their
flock. Jesus’s style must be the pastor’s style. There is no other.”
Jesus's example
That style was spelled out by St Peter. Jesus “suffered” for
the sheep so we could “follow in His footsteps”. He never returned insult for
injury. That is “meekness”, the Pope said. Meekness is “one of the signs of a
good shepherd”. If a pastor is not meek, he is hiding something, for “meekness
makes oneself seen as he or she is, without defenses”.
A good shepherd tenderly draws near each sheep and knows
each one’s name. “He takes care of each one as if it were the only one”, Pope
Francis continued. In fact, if at the end of the day, the shepherd realizes
that one sheep has not returned, he will go out in search of it notwithstanding
how tired he is. “This is a good shepherd,” the Pope said. “This is Jesus”.
An Easter idea
Pope Francis called the image of the shepherd, the flock and
the sheep an “Easter idea”. He recalled that an Easter hymn calls the newly
baptized “newborn lambs”. This is the “Church Jesus wants”, Pope Francis said.
“Jesus takes care of this Church”.
Therefore, “this Sunday is a beautiful Sunday”, the Pope
concluded his homily. “It is a Sunday of peace, tenderness, meekness because
our Shepherd takes care of us. ‘The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I
shall want’ ”.
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