From the Second Reading of the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours:
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| Jesus, The Good Shepherd |
Be shepherds like the Lord
A homily by St. Asterius of Amasea, bishop
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Let us then be shepherds like the Lord. We must meditate on the Gospel, and as we see in this mirror the example of zeal and loving kindness, we should become thoroughly schooled in these virtues.
For there, obscurely, in the form of a parable, we see a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. When one of them was separated from the flock and lost its way, that shepherd did not remain with the sheep who kept together at pasture. No, he went off to look for the stray. He crossed many valleys and thickets, he climbed great and towering mountains, he spent much time and labor in wandering through solitary places until at last he found his sheep.
When he found it, he did not chastise it; he did not use rough blows to drive it back, but gently placed it on his own shoulders and carried it back to the flock. He took greater joy in this one sheep, lost and found, than in all the others.
Let us look more closely at the hidden meaning of this parable. The sheep is more than a sheep, the shepherd more than a shepherd. They are examples enshrining holy truths. They teach us that we should not look on men as lost or beyond hope; we should not abandon them when they are in danger or be slow to come to their help. When they turn away from the right path and wander, we must lead them back, and rejoice at their return, welcoming them back into the company of those who lead good and holy lives.
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The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a story that we can apply and must remember in our daily life. I often hear people asking whether it’s the mind or the heart that we should use. I have associated such question with this parable. I comprehend, the only answer is both. We can’t just choose one. As Catholics, both are equally important. Everyday, we are faced by the challenge to decide – in anything – either in a relationship, a person asking for our help, work-related, acts of service or charity – ordinary individual like you and me, especially a leader in authority who ‘shepherds’. Rarely people nowadays manage both, and they usually pick between the other. We can purely determine the righteous if we use both. The shepherd does. If the mind is used alone, then it would be worthless to search just for one unimportant sheep, because this might be ‘unfair’ for the other sheep who are more behaved and better. But if we analyse the scenario with your heart as well, along with the brain saying that even one sheep gone is a loss, our compassion and our love will be driving us to the best decision, which the same way with the shepherd, making us genuinely happy in the end, just when the shepherd finds the sheep.
Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd.
You are our only hope.
You know each of us
and with love, you call us by name
to serve in faith.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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