REGINA CAELI 8 May 2022 The Gospel for today’s Liturgy speaks to us about the bond that exists between the Lord and each one of us . To do so, Jesus uses a tender image, a beautiful image of the shepherd who stays with the sheep. And he explains it with three verbs: “My sheep”, Jesus says, “hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” . Three verbs: to hear, to know, to follow. Let us take a look at these three verbs.
First of all, the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd. The initiative always comes from the Lord. Everything comes from his grace: it is he who calls us to communion with him. But this communion comes about if we open ourselves to listen. If we are deaf, he cannot grant us this communion. Opening ourselves to listening, because listening means being available, it means docility, it means time dedicated to dialogue. Today, we are overwhelmed by words and by the urgency to always have something to say or do. Indeed, how often when two people are talking, one does not wait for the other to finish his or her thought, but cuts the other off mid-sentence, and responds…. But if we do not allow another to speak, there is no listening. This is an ailment of our time. Today, we are overwhelmed by words, by the urgency to always have something to say or do. We are afraid of silence. How hard it is to listen to one other! To listen till the end, to let the other express him or herself, to listen to one another in our families, to listen to one another at school, to listen to one another at work, and even in the Church! But for the Lord, it is first of all necessary to listen. He is the Word of the Father, and the Christian is a listening child , called to live with the Word of God at hand. Let us ask ourselves today if we are listening children, if we find time for the Word of God, if we give space and attention to our brothers and sisters, if we know how to listen until the other has fully expressed themself, without cutting off what the other is saying. Those who listen to others also know how to listen to the Lord, and vice versa. And they experience something very beautiful, that is, that the Lord himself listens — he listens to us when we pray to him, when we confide in him, when we call on him.
Listening to Jesus thus becomes the way for us to discover that he knows us. This is the second verb that concerns the Good Shepherd. He knows his sheep. But this does not only mean that he knows many things about us. To know in the biblical sense also means to love. It means that the Lord, “while he reads our inner beings”, loves us, he does not condemn us. If we listen to him, we discover this — that the Lord loves us. The way to discover the Lord’s love is to listen to him. Thus, our relationship with him will no longer be impersonal, cold or a front. Jesus seeks a warm friendship, trust, intimacy. He wants to give us a new and marvellous awareness — that of knowing we are always loved by him and, therefore, that we are never left alone by ourselves. Being with the Good Shepherd allows us to live the experience that the Psalm speaks about: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me ” (Ps 23:4). Above all in our sufferings, in our difficulties, in our crises, which are darkness. He sustains us by going through them with us. Thus, it is precisely in difficult situations that we can discover that we are known and loved by the Lord. So, let us ask ourselves: Do I let the Lord know me? Do I make room for him in my life? Do I bring what I am living to him? And what idea do I have of him after the many times I have experienced his closeness, his compassion, his tenderness? The Lord is near, the Lord is the Good Shepherd.
-->Lastly, the third verb: the sheep who hear, and who discover they are known, follow : they listen, they feel they are known to the Lord and they follow the Lord who is their shepherd. What do those who follow Christ do? They go where he goes, along the same path, in the same direction. They go to seek those who are lost Lk 15:4), they take an interest in those who are far away, take to heart the situation of those who suffer, know how to weep with those who weep, they reach out their hands to their neighbours, carrying them on their shoulders. And me? Do I let Jesus love me, and from allowing him to love me, do I begin to love him, to imitate him? May the Holy Virgin help us listen to Christ, know him always more and follow him on the way of service. Hearing him, knowing him, following him .After the Regina Caeli
Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday, in San Ramón, Peru, María Agustina Rivas Lopez was beatified. Known as Aguchita, she was a woman religious of the Congregation of our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, killed in hatred of the faith in 1990. While aware she was risking her life, this heroic missionary always remained near the poor, especially indigenous women and peasants, witnessing to the Gospel of justice and peace. May her example spark the desire in everyone to serve Christ faithfully and courageously. A round of applause for the new Blessed!
Today is World Day of Prayer for Vocations, whose theme is “Called to Build the Human Family”. Christian communities in every continent pray to the Lord for the gift of vocations to the priesthood, to the consecrated life, to the missionary choice and to matrimony. This is the day on which, because of our baptism, we should all feel called to follow Jesus, to say yes to him, to imitate him so as to discover the joy of giving one’s life, of serving the Gospel joyfully and enthusiastically. In this context, I want to extend my best wishes to the new priests of the Diocese of Rome who were ordained this morning in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI 29 April 2012 BENEDICT XVI - JESUS OF NAZARET - "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD". (Jn 10:10) ...The thief comes "to steal, kill and destroy" He sees the sheep as his property, which he owns and utilizes for himself. He cares only for himself; he demands everything only for himself. On the contrary, the true shepherd does not take away life, but gives it. "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." ...Jesus promises to show the sheep the "pasture" what they live on, to truly lead them to the sources of life. We can listen here, as a resonance, to the words of Psalm 23: "He makes me rest in green pastures, he leads me to quiet waters.... You prepare a table before me... Happiness and grace will be my companions all the days of my life..." In an even more immediate way, Ezekiel's shepherd's speech resonates with you: "I will lead them into excellent pastures, and their fold shall be in the high mountains of Israel" (34:14)... Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God is Himself not only the shepherd, but also the nourisher, the true "pasture" He gives life by giving Himself, He who is Life. ...In the light of Psalm 23 "...If I walk through the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil.... Happiness and grace shall be my companions all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever and ever." They recognized in Christ the Good Shepherd who guides through the dark valleys of life, the shepherd who has personally passed through the dark valley of death; The shepherd who also knows the way through the night of death and who does not abandon me even in that last solitude, leading me out of that valley to the grassy pastures of life, to the place of "refreshment, of light, of peace." Clement of Alexandria expressed this confidence in the shepherd's guidance in verses that reveal something of the hope and optimism of the early Church, often suffering and repeatedly persecuted: "Guide, O holy shepherd, your spiritual sheep ; Guide, O King, your uninjured children. The footsteps of Christ are the path to heaven". Naturally, Christians were reminded of both the parable of the shepherd who follows the lost sheep ( Lk 15), loads it on his shoulders and takes it home, and the speech of the shepherd in the Gospel of John. For the Fathers, these two elements merged into one another: the shepherd who sets out to search for the lost sheep is the Eternal Word Himself, and the sheep that He puts on His shoulders and lovingly carries home is humanity, is human nature, which He assumed. In His incarnation and in His cross He brings home the lost sheep - humanity - He also brings me. The Logos made man is the true " bringer of the sheep " - the Shepherd who follows us through the thorns and deserts of life. Carried by Him, we come home. He gave his life for us. He Himself is Life.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaREGINA CAELI 8 May 2022
The Gospel for today’s Liturgy speaks to us about the bond that exists between the Lord and each one of us . To do so, Jesus uses a tender image, a beautiful image of the shepherd who stays with the sheep. And he explains it with three verbs: “My sheep”, Jesus says, “hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” . Three verbs: to hear, to know, to follow. Let us take a look at these three verbs.
First of all, the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd. The initiative always comes from the Lord. Everything comes from his grace: it is he who calls us to communion with him. But this communion comes about if we open ourselves to listen. If we are deaf, he cannot grant us this communion. Opening ourselves to listening, because listening means being available, it means docility, it means time dedicated to dialogue. Today, we are overwhelmed by words and by the urgency to always have something to say or do. Indeed, how often when two people are talking, one does not wait for the other to finish his or her thought, but cuts the other off mid-sentence, and responds…. But if we do not allow another to speak, there is no listening. This is an ailment of our time. Today, we are overwhelmed by words, by the urgency to always have something to say or do. We are afraid of silence. How hard it is to listen to one other! To listen till the end, to let the other express him or herself, to listen to one another in our families, to listen to one another at school, to listen to one another at work, and even in the Church! But for the Lord, it is first of all necessary to listen. He is the Word of the Father, and the Christian is a listening child , called to live with the Word of God at hand. Let us ask ourselves today if we are listening children, if we find time for the Word of God, if we give space and attention to our brothers and sisters, if we know how to listen until the other has fully expressed themself, without cutting off what the other is saying. Those who listen to others also know how to listen to the Lord, and vice versa. And they experience something very beautiful, that is, that the Lord himself listens — he listens to us when we pray to him, when we confide in him, when we call on him.
Listening to Jesus thus becomes the way for us to discover that he knows us. This is the second verb that concerns the Good Shepherd. He knows his sheep. But this does not only mean that he knows many things about us. To know in the biblical sense also means to love. It means that the Lord, “while he reads our inner beings”, loves us, he does not condemn us. If we listen to him, we discover this — that the Lord loves us. The way to discover the Lord’s love is to listen to him. Thus, our relationship with him will no longer be impersonal, cold or a front. Jesus seeks a warm friendship, trust, intimacy. He wants to give us a new and marvellous awareness — that of knowing we are always loved by him and, therefore, that we are never left alone by ourselves. Being with the Good Shepherd allows us to live the experience that the Psalm speaks about: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me ” (Ps 23:4). Above all in our sufferings, in our difficulties, in our crises, which are darkness. He sustains us by going through them with us. Thus, it is precisely in difficult situations that we can discover that we are known and loved by the Lord. So, let us ask ourselves: Do I let the Lord know me? Do I make room for him in my life? Do I bring what I am living to him? And what idea do I have of him after the many times I have experienced his closeness, his compassion, his tenderness? The Lord is near, the Lord is the Good Shepherd.
-->Lastly, the third verb: the sheep who hear, and who discover they are known, follow : they listen, they feel they are known to the Lord and they follow the Lord who is their shepherd. What do those who follow Christ do? They go where he goes, along the same path, in the same direction. They go to seek those who are lost Lk 15:4), they take an interest in those who are far away, take to heart the situation of those who suffer, know how to weep with those who weep, they reach out their hands to their neighbours, carrying them on their shoulders. And me? Do I let Jesus love me, and from allowing him to love me, do I begin to love him, to imitate him? May the Holy Virgin help us listen to Christ, know him always more and follow him on the way of service. Hearing him, knowing him, following him
Elimina.After the Regina Caeli
Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday, in San Ramón, Peru, María Agustina Rivas Lopez was beatified. Known as Aguchita, she was a woman religious of the Congregation of our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, killed in hatred of the faith in 1990. While aware she was risking her life, this heroic missionary always remained near the poor, especially indigenous women and peasants, witnessing to the Gospel of justice and peace. May her example spark the desire in everyone to serve Christ faithfully and courageously. A round of applause for the new Blessed!
Today is World Day of Prayer for Vocations, whose theme is “Called to Build the Human Family”. Christian communities in every continent pray to the Lord for the gift of vocations to the priesthood, to the consecrated life, to the missionary choice and to matrimony. This is the day on which, because of our baptism, we should all feel called to follow Jesus, to say yes to him, to imitate him so as to discover the joy of giving one’s life, of serving the Gospel joyfully and enthusiastically. In this context, I want to extend my best wishes to the new priests of the Diocese of Rome who were ordained this morning in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
RispondiElimina29 April 2012
BENEDICT XVI - JESUS OF NAZARET - "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD".
(Jn 10:10) ...The thief comes "to steal, kill and destroy" He sees the sheep as his property, which he owns and utilizes for himself. He cares only for himself; he demands everything only for himself. On the contrary, the true shepherd does not take away life, but gives it. "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly."
...Jesus promises to show the sheep the "pasture" what they live on, to truly lead them to the sources of life. We can listen here, as a resonance, to the words of Psalm 23: "He makes me rest in green pastures, he leads me to quiet waters.... You prepare a table before me... Happiness and grace will be my companions all the days of my life..." In an even more immediate way, Ezekiel's shepherd's speech resonates with you: "I will lead them into excellent pastures, and their fold shall be in the high mountains of Israel" (34:14)... Jesus as the Incarnate Word of God is Himself not only the shepherd, but also the nourisher, the true "pasture" He gives life by giving Himself, He who is Life.
...In the light of Psalm 23 "...If I walk through the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil.... Happiness and grace shall be my companions all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever and ever." They recognized in Christ the Good Shepherd who guides through the dark valleys of life, the shepherd who has personally passed through the dark valley of death; The shepherd who also knows the way through the night of death and who does not abandon me even in that last solitude, leading me out of that valley to the grassy pastures of life, to the place of "refreshment, of light, of peace." Clement of Alexandria expressed this confidence in the shepherd's guidance in verses that reveal something of the hope and optimism of the early Church, often suffering and repeatedly persecuted:
"Guide, O holy shepherd, your spiritual sheep ;
Guide, O King, your uninjured children.
The footsteps of Christ are the path to heaven".
Naturally, Christians were reminded of both the parable of the shepherd who follows the lost sheep ( Lk 15), loads it on his shoulders and takes it home, and the speech of the shepherd in the Gospel of John. For the Fathers, these two elements merged into one another: the shepherd who sets out to search for the lost sheep is the Eternal Word Himself, and the sheep that He puts on His shoulders and lovingly carries home is humanity, is human nature, which He assumed.
In His incarnation and in His cross He brings home the lost sheep - humanity - He also brings me.
The Logos made man is the true " bringer of the sheep " -
the Shepherd who follows us through the thorns and deserts of life.
Carried by Him, we come home.
He gave his life for us.
He Himself is Life.
https://salmiognigiorno.blogspot.com/2025/03/salmo-100-esultanza-di-chi-loda-dio.html
RispondiElimina