At Mass, Pope Francis says "Jesus is the shepherd...who comes to save, to save the wandering sheep:" and Prays for Deceased Doctors and Priests - Full Text-Video

MORNING CELEBRATION BROADCASTED LIVE
FROM THE CHAPEL OF CASA SANTA MARTA

HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

"The mildness and tenderness of the Good Shepherd"

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Introduction

Three weeks after the Resurrection of the Lord, the Church today on the fourth Sunday of Easter celebrates the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, Jesus the Good Shepherd. This makes me think of many pastors who give their lives for the faithful in the world, even in this pandemic, many, more than 100 here in Italy have passed away. And I also think of other pastors who take care of the good of the people: the doctors. There is talk of doctors, of what they do, but we must realize that, only in Italy, 154 doctors have passed away, in the service. May the example of these pastor priests and "medical pastors" help us to take care of the holy faithful people of God.

Homily

The First Letter of the apostle Peter, which we have heard, is a step of serenity (cf. 2,20-25). He speaks of Jesus. He says: «He carried our sins in his body on the wood of the cross, so that, no longer living for sin, we would live for justice; from his wounds you have been healed. You were wandering like sheep, but now you have been brought back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls "(vv. 24-25).

Jesus is the shepherd - as Peter sees it - who comes to save, to save the wandering sheep: it was us. And in Psalm 22 that we read after this reading, we repeated: "The Lord is my shepherd: I lack nothing" (v.1). The presence of the Lord as shepherd, as shepherd of the flock. And Jesus, in chapter 10 of John, which we have read, presents himself as the shepherd. Indeed, not only the shepherd, but the "door" through which one enters the flock (cf. v.8). All those who came and did not enter through that door were thieves and brigands or wanted to take advantage of the flock: the fake shepherds. And in the history of the Church there have been many of these who exploited the flock. They were not interested in the flock, but in making a career or politics or money. But the flock knows them,

But when there is a good shepherd who carries on, there is precisely the flock that goes on. The good shepherd listens to the flock, leads the flock, treats the flock. And the flock knows how to distinguish between the shepherds, it is not wrong: the flock trusts the good Shepherd, trusts Jesus. Only the shepherd who looks like Jesus gives confidence to the flock, because He is the door . The style of Jesus must be the style of the shepherd, there is not another. But even Jesus the good shepherd, as Peter says in the first reading, "suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in his footsteps: he did not commit sin and found no deception on his mouth; insulted, he did not respond with insults, mistreated, he did not threaten revenge "( 1Pt 2,21-23). It was mild. One of the signs of the good shepherd is mildness. The good shepherd is mild. A shepherd who is not mild is not a good shepherd. It has something hidden, because mildness shows itself as it is, without defending itself. Indeed, the shepherd is tender, has that tenderness of closeness , knows the sheep one by one by name and takes care of each one as if he were the only one, to the point that when he returns home after a day of work, tired, he realizes that he misses one, goes out to work again to look for it and [found it] carries it with him, carries it on his shoulders ( cf.Lk15.4-5). This is the good shepherd, this is Jesus, this is who accompanies us all on the journey of life. And this idea of ​​the shepherd, this idea of ​​the flock and the sheep, is an Easter idea. In the first week of Easter the Church sings that beautiful hymn for the newly baptized: "These are the new lambs", the hymn we heard at the beginning of the Mass. It is an idea of ​​community, of tenderness, of kindness, of meekness. It is the Church that wants Jesus, and He guards this Church.

This Sunday is a beautiful Sunday, it is a Sunday of peace, it is a Sunday of tenderness, of gentleness, because our Shepherd takes care of us. "The Lord is my shepherd: I lack nothing" ( Ps 22.1).

Spiritual communion

My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
I love you above all things and I desire you in my soul.
Since I cannot receive you sacramentally now,
at least spiritually come to my heart.
As already come, I embrace you and I join you all;
do not allow me to ever separate you from You.

Words at the end of the Mass

I would like to thank the ACLI association [Italian Christian Workers Associations] which has facilitated for us these beautiful statue of St. Joseph for us to accompany us on the feast of St. Joseph the worker.