May 11 Sunday
Why is Jesus the Good Shepherd?
If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine safely on the hills, and go in search of the one that went astray?
Perhaps the sheep that was not with the others in the sheepfold was simply straggling behind. Maybe it was just idly nibbling at the grass along the way, or wandering among the bushes. Or possibly it was already dead, killed by some beast of prey. But no upright shepherd ever abandons a sheep that has gone astray. He leaves the rest of the flock in a safe place and goes off to look for the lost sheep.
Jesus Christ goes in search of the lost sheep, regardless of the difficulties, and he does not give up until He finds it. “Our Lord's perseverance is wonderful! My daughter, my son, if the thought should ever cross your mind, as a diabolical temptation to take your peace away (bear in mind that the devil would strip you, if he could, of all the gifts God has given you, especially faith, purity and vocation); if, as I was saying, you ever suffered the temptation of thinking you had strayed so far from God that you couldn't return, remember how, as in the parable, Christ always goes to look for the soul that has gone astray; and He for his part never denies you the grace to begin again.”
“Then, if you are humble and acknowledge your mistakes, you will persevere. Try to raise your eyes to heaven; don't just look at things from a purely selfish point of view. Have faith and hope, and trust in the love which Jesus has for you. He is the Good Shepherd, and for your sake, He will make his way through crags and ravines, to take you in his arms, hug you to his wounded breast, and urge you to be faithful. It is only if you reject him with a flat "No", or if you are foolishly determined to throw yourself over the precipice, that He will be unable to bring you back to the right path.”
Don't be ashamed of being wretched, if sometimes you are. Don't panic because you find the ‘fomes peccati’ (the inclination of sin) in your heart. Don't be afraid of anything. Be truly faithful! Sincere! Be sincere! Let's have the common sense and the supernatural spirit to realize that God our Father, loves us with a Love that is both fatherly and motherly. Yet He does not force himself on us, he leaves things very much open. And for that very reason, and because you want to be a steady, reliable sheep, with common sense, to let the Good Shepherd work on you.
“Lord, knowing that you are the Good Shepherd and that we are sheep of your flock, how confident we can be, and how easy it is to begin again and persevere!”
“My daughter, my son, if you should ever go astray, either a lot or a little, don't deprive our Lord of the joy of finding you, and of being able to say: ‘Here's a sheep of mine who wants to be faithful, who wants to persevere in my flock’."