In the readings today, our Lord, we read that God is our shepherd.
Jesus Christ has come among us in the Incarnation and redeemed us, gathering us into his one
flock, which is the Church, and that he feeds us with the loftiness of Christian doctrine
and the richness of grace found in the sacraments.
All of this is found in the first reading of the epistle from the prophet Ezekiel.
Thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I myself will seek my sheep and will visit them, as our Lord visited us with the
Incarnation, came down to earth from heaven, as the shepherd visiteth his flock in the
day when he shall be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered.
So I, so will I visit my sheep and will deliver them out of all the places where they have
been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
Okay.
The cloudy and dark.
Day refers to the wanderings of the souls lost in sin and error, and I will bring them
out from the peoples and will gather them out of the countries and will bring them to
their own land.
And this refers to the formation of the church.
And I will feed them in the mountains of Israel.
Okay.
Now our Lord is talking about how.
He will feed us by the rivers and in all the habitations of the land, I will feed them
in the most fruitful pastures and their pastures shall be in the high mountains of Israel.
Again, the high mountains referring to the loftiness of Christian doctrine there.
They shall rest on the green grass and be fed in fat pastures upon the mountains of
Israel.
And this refers to fat pastures.
Pastures refers to the richness of grace found in the sacraments.
I will feed my sheep and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
Okay.
So you see the references to rest.
They shall rest on the green grass.
I will cause them to lie down.
And this is the rest that we find for our souls in being fed with the truth and grace,
grace and truth.
Come through.
Jesus Christ, I will seek that which was lost and that which was driven away.
I will bring again, right?
The lost souls, those souls who are in mortal sin, and he will bring them back again through
his forgiveness and mercy.
I will bind up that which was broken, right?
So not a soul that was lost, but a soul that was broken and wounded.
Due to not mortal sin, but deliberate venial sins.
And I will strengthen that which was weak.
Okay.
So see how it talks about first the soul in mortal sin, then the soul committing deliberate
venial sins.
And now the soul that's weak refers to the soul that is just weakened by temptation.
All right.
The soul that finds himself fighting and struggling.
Against temptation, our Lord says he will strengthen that soul and that which was fat
and strong, I will preserve, right?
This is referring to the souls that are already well along the way of perfection, right?
They're fat and strong.
And our Lord is saying he will preserve them.
That is, grant them the gift of final perseverance.
And I will feed them in judgment, saith the Lord God.
Almighty.
And that refers to the final reward that we will be fed in the last judgment.
And that is to be brought into our heavenly homeland.
In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.