Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”

The Good Shepherd, Bernard Plockhorst, c. 19th century, Germany. Public Domain.

One of the earliest pictures of Jesus, found in the catacombs, depicts him carrying on His shoulders a sheep. It’s comforting, and there have been hundreds more like it over the centuries depicting Christ, the good shepherd who cares for His flock.

There is a good deal of comfort being part of Jesus’s flock. “Sheeple” – ever hear the term? I have, though I don’t recall when or who said it. I remember that it means people who are docile, easily influenced, and can be led. We all have the ability to become docile to those who challenge our faith, compliant to those who would undermine the family or the sanctity of marriage, the culture of death, and misguided compassion for gender-issues.

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat. The sheep thanks the shepherd because he has been saved. The wolf denounces the shepherd for the same act. There is a sheep and a wolf inside all of our pastures. One side wants to act like the children of God. The other wants to denounce and mislead the flock. This is a tough message because in American culture, who wants to be a sheep or listen to the voice of God instead of sensual pleasures.

We need to listen to Jesus’s call because the wolf, inside all of us, will begin to howl.

There is a story of a famous actor invited to a town hall to perform his favorite readings. After performing his own favorites, he opened it to the crowd for requests. An old man, toward the end of the evening, asked if the actor would perform Psalm 23. “Everyone knows Psalm 23!” he said. The actor decided in good humor to have some fun and offered to read it if the old man would read it after him as well. The old man looked embarrassed but agreed. The actor read it with great strength and power in his voice, carrying on and embellishing the passage very very well. Now it was the old man’s turn. His voice was frail, a bit halting, and stumbling. The people withheld judgement because, in his simple way, speaking the words and coming from his own heart. When, finishing in a whisper, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come,” the entire audience heard every word with tears in their eyes. At the conclusion, the actor said to the audience, “The difference between his reading and mine? I know the reading, but he knows the Shepherd!”

Let us all go forth today, knowing the Good Shepherd, who knows His flock.

Deacon Mark Izzo, Permanent Deacon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica and Saint Anthony Parish

R.  (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R.  Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
R.  The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.