Praise be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.
Today's reading we hear of Jesus as being the Good Shepherd.
We hear that in the Gospel, taken from John chapter 10.
We also heard it in Psalm 23, the Sponsorial Psalm, the Divine Shepherd Psalm.
In the ancient Near East the shepherds were not just those who took care of sheep, but there were also the leaders and the kings were called shepherds too.
We even speak today of priests and bishops as shepherds of God's people.
So what can we learn about our Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, our Good King?
What can we learn about him from today's scripture passages?
First let's look at the Gospel and then we'll look at the Psalm.
In John 10 verse 2 it says, Jesus says that the Good Shepherd enters the sheepfold through the door or through the gate, not through some other sneaky means.
What does that mean? It means essentially Jesus does things the right way.
The sheepfold is an image of the church, so Jesus acts through his church.
He enters the sheepfold through the door of the church.
He joins his children through the sacraments.
Vaticanism at number 12-13 calls baptism the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives us access to the other sacraments too.
Also Jesus uses this means that he's established too.
He uses the sacraments, he uses the hierarchy of the church, both of which he has established in order to reach his children, who are us, with the sheep basically.
Shepherds in the church who have the heart of the Good Shepherd therefore act in accord with and in conformity to the church.
They don't get to the sheep by going around the church or by ignoring the church or by disobeying the church.
Those who do this, to quote our Lord's words, are thieves and robbers, he says in John 10 verse 1.
Secondly, the Good Shepherd calls his own sheep by name, John 10 verse 3.
When we were baptized, each one of us, we were given a Christian name.
We were given a baptismal name.
We read that in the Catechism number 21-56 talks about that.
Through this name, Jesus the Good Shepherd knows you personally, each and every one of you.
So through baptism, we belong to Jesus, but after baptism we continue to belong to him.
How? If we listen to his voice.
He says in John 10 verse 27, meaning that we belong to Christ if we live our life in conformity to his teachings and his commandments.
If we strive to be faithful to the commandments, then Jesus really does know us on an intimate, personal level.
What will Jesus say on Judgment Day to those who are condemned?
Have you ever heard this end of the gospel, well, Matthew's gospel, the end of the Sermon on the Mount?
What does he say?
To those who are condemned, he says, Matthew 7 verse 23.
So when Jesus speaks to you now, when he speaks to you in your conscience, or when he speaks to godly people in your life, we need to hear his voice.
We need to listen to him when he does that.
Thirdly, the Good Shepherd goes before his sheep and he leads them.
We read that in John 10 verses 3 and 4.
The shepherds in Palestine, you know what they do?
They actually walk ahead of the flocks so that they're in front, the flock is behind them.
In other places in the world, sometimes it's the opposite.
Shepherds in the back, the flock goes in front.
Christ leads us so that we can follow him, so we can see his example before us, so that he himself too can foresee and ward off anything that would be dangerous to our soul and would guide us in a different direction if he needs to.
That's why he goes before us.
Fourthly, Jesus is also the door to the sheep.
We heard that in verse 9.
At times, the shepherds in Israel, they were both the sheep, they were both the shepherd and the door, meaning that, what did that mean?
Well, the shepherd would actually sleep in front of the narrow entrance way that led to the sheep in order to protect them at night because there really wasn't a door in a lot of places.
There was just an open entry way to the sheepfold.
So the shepherd would actually sleep there to guard the sheep.
So you had to go through the shepherd in order to get to the sheep at night.
What does that mean?
No one can enter the kingdom of God, no one can enter heaven except through Christ.
Again, through his sacraments, through his grace, through the work of the church, which is also called the universal sacrament of salvation.
Catechism says that in number 776.
Fifthly, the good shepherd gives life and abundant life to the sheep.
We read that in John 10 verse 10.
So Jesus isn't content for us merely to exist or just get by in life.
He wants us to be alive spiritually.
He wants us to have an abundant life of grace and virtue, to be led by the Holy Spirit.
Most importantly, he wants us to have the abundant life of paradise when we die, which is where the real life is in the next life.
How does Jesus obtain for us abundant life?
I think we know this, right?
By six, laying down his life for his sheep.
John 10 verses 11 and 17.
Our shepherd, who is Jesus, died for us.
He paid for our sins with his own blood.
He doesn't lay down his life for us begrudgingly or with anger or with frustration or resentment.
He doesn't do that.
He gives us his life freely, willfully, joyfully, even though it cost him a tremendous amount of pain and suffering to do that, too.
I don't know, has anyone in your life actually died for you?
Has anyone laid down their life for you?
Jesus did.
He did it willingly.
He said he would do it again if he had to do it.
Seven, according to the Good Shepherd discourse in John 10, the Good Shepherd knows his sheep and they know him.
Verse 14, to know means to be on familiar terms with someone.
It doesn't just mean, well, I've heard him or I've seen him on the internet somewhere or I've run into him somewhere at a party or I've seen him on the street.
Jesus knows us personally and intimately if we are his disciples.
And he says we know him at the same time, too.
How about Psalm 23?
What can we learn about the Good Shepherd there?
Psalm 23 talks about someone who seeks to live in a way that's pleasing to God.
What do we learn about Jesus there?
Well, in verse one it says that with him, with the Lord as my shepherd, I lack nothing.
If Jesus is guiding you, you're not going to lack anything.
You're going to have everything you need.
Jesus provides for us.
God provides for his children.
What he wants for us is to simply trust in him, trust in his guidance, trust in his providence.
How do I put God first in my life?
Again, same thing we said before, keeping his commandments.
By living how he tells me to live, saying no to sin and temptation, saying yes to what's good and what's right.
St. Augustine, when he commented on this Psalm, he said, When you say the Lord is my shepherd, no proper grounds are left for you to trust in yourself, he says.
So if Christ is my shepherd, that means I'm entrusting my life to him.
I'm shifting my dependence from depending upon myself to depending upon him.
That might sound scary, then you can ask our lady for help with that.
Tell our lady that's kind of scary.
I need some help with that, blessed mother.
She'll help you to trust in her son.
She'll do that.
Verses two and three of Psalm 23 says that the good shepherd leads us to safe places and to righteous places.
It doesn't mean that God's going to protect you from all suffering.
It's not what it means.
Suffering in this life is part of this life.
It's part of becoming Christ-like, too.
We can't always avoid it.
When the psalmist says that God leads us to safe places, it means that God knows when and how to rescue you from any suffering that would cause you to lose him or would damage your relationship with him.
And he'll also make us godly and righteous as he walks with us through the difficult times in life.
And verse three says that the Lord leads me in paths of righteousness.
Why does he do that?
It says for his namesake.
For his namesake.
If I entrust my life to the Lord, God will guide me in part because he's got a reputation to protect.
That's kind of what he's saying there.
If he lets me down, he'll be letting himself down.
God can't let himself down.
Can't do that.
It's impossible.
St. Augustine says again, he says, he has guided me along the narrow paths of his righteousness where few people walk.
And this is not for any merit of mine, but for the sake of his own name.
So God guides us for the glory of his own name.
When you think about that, if you can actually reflect on that, that's actually pretty awesome when you think about that.
Verse three also says that the Good Shepherd restores my soul.
Again, God knows best how to give you consolation and relief when you need it.
The consolation and relief might be right now that the homily ends quickly.
It will end very soon.
Don't worry.
That could be a consolation maybe for all of us, right?
But God will give you consolation when you need it, especially if you ask him for it, too.
He'll also give you a new spirit in difficult times.
He'll give you a new spirit.
He'll restore your spirit.
He'll give you strength to continue when things are difficult.
The Good Shepherd also helps us to fear no evil, he says in verse four.
Fear is a natural human response to threats and to danger.
So God understands at times we're going to be afraid of things, but he doesn't want us to live in a state of fear.
It's one thing to be fearful.
It's one thing to live in a state of fear.
You say, I live in the state of Indiana, not in the state of fear.
You don't want to live in the state of fear.
Fear is a terrible place to be.
Okay.
It's probably more where I'm from in Massachusetts.
That's more of a state of fear than Indiana is.
Saint Paul says in Galatians 5.1, he says, Psalm 23 verse 4 also says that God stays with us all the time.
It says, The rod and the staff are what shepherds would use to beat off predators, animals, and also to kind of goad the sheep when they needed to goad them to get them to move, to get them going in the right direction.
The rod also corrects us because sometimes God does need to correct us.
Sometimes we need correcting, even priests, we needed to, and we get it as well.
You are with me, says the psalmist.
God is always with his children.
Even when you don't see him or feel him, God is always with you.
Deuteronomy 31 verse 6 says, Some translations say he will not fail you or forsake you.
Both are true.
God won't fail you.
He won't leave you.
He won't forsake you.
He's always at your side, protecting you, correcting you, comforting you.
So we can have confidence in good in the midst of trouble.
And our confidence is always in the Lord and in his presence too.
Whether we feel it or not, whether we see it or not, God is present to us.
He's with us.
Verse 5 says, You know what the feast is that the Lord prepares for you every Sunday?
It's what we're doing right now.
It's actually his most important feast.
It's the feast of the Eucharist.
He prepares it for us every Sunday in the presence of all those who would say you shouldn't go to Mass or that's ridiculous.
He still prepares it for us every Sunday and invites us to it.
Where do we get the grace and strength to resist those who would destroy our souls?
We get it here at the Mass in the Eucharist from the sacraments.
Some commentators even interpret this whole psalm as a song about the sacraments.
They say the refreshing waters refer to baptism.
The path of righteousness is confirmation.
The rod and the staff, sacrament of penance, the table prepared, again the Eucharist, the Lord being with us as we walk in the dark valley, the anointing of the sick there, the anointing of the head with oil, the overflowing chalice is what?
Holy orders, the sacrament.
Goodness and mercy refer to matrimony.
So for those who have eyes to see, the Good Shepherd is with us as we said before, most especially in his sacraments.
Verse 6, we're almost finished, I promise.
Verse 6 says, So goodness and mercy are kind of like God's sheepdogs that help us to keep going in the right direction and bark at us when we need to go in a different direction.
How does God direct me?
With goodness and love, with goodness and mercy.
And the psalmist ends saying, Guess who lived in the temple in Jerusalem at the time that this was written?
No one. No one lived there.
Only God dwelled there.
That was only the place where he dwelled.
The psalmist is saying that if I live as God tells me to live, then in the next life I'm going to live in his loving presence forever.
That's essentially what the temple refers to there.
Liturgically every year this psalm, Psalm 23, is read or sung in the solemnities of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and in the solemnities of Christ the King.
So the church is pointing us to Jesus always as our guide and protector whenever she sings this psalm.
Just as the shepherd has always his eyes on the sheep and his heart for the sheep, Jesus, the good shepherd, has his eye on each of you and he has a heart for each and every one of you all the time.
So let's ask our lady for the grace to see her son as a loving shepherd, as the loving shepherd, the loving pastor who cares very deeply for us and who lays down his life for us so that we can learn to lay down our lives for him as well.
Praise be Jesus and Mary now and forever.
Thank you.