By Devadoss P, CSC –
Readings: Acts 2: 14a, 36-41; 1 Pet 2: 20b-25; Jn 10: 1-10
I am from a village. We had cows and sheep. It was customary in our village that all the cows and sheep are sent together for grazing under the guidance of six expert shepherds with well-trained dogs.
In the evening when they returned, my mother would stand in front of our house and call our sheep and cows and they so beautifully separated themselves from the common herd and enter their house. In the same fashion the readings of today speak to us about the true shepherd and let me paraphrase his words:
‘I am the shepherd. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. I know them by name. They know my voice and movements. I call them with tenderness and love, and they answer me. They feel relaxed in my presence. They recognize me by the smell of affection. I feel my sheep; I examine them with care and concern. I hug them with compassion, carry them close to my heart, and carry their young on my shoulders. I sleep in their pen and I watch over them at night. I am willing to protect them from any danger and give my life for them.’
This is every day’s routine of a shepherd: how much he knows, loves, protects, and cares for them. Pope Francis asks the priests: “be shepherds with the smell of the sheep.”