The Heart of the Shepherd

"The essential nucleus of Christianity is expressed in the Heart of Jesus: in Christ the whole of the revolutionary newness of the Gospel was revealed and given to us: the Love that saves us and already makes us live in God's eternity. Even our shortcomings, our limitations, and our weaknesses must lead us back to the Heart of Jesus. His divine Heart calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to abandon our human certainties to trust in him and, following his example, to make of ourselves a gift of love without reserve."

- Pope Benedict XVI 

On the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

 THE GOOD SHEPHERD

 

"The Lord God says this: 

I am going to look after my flock myself 

and keep all of it in view. 

As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view 

when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, 

so shall I keep my sheep in view. 

I shall rescue them 

from wherever they have been scattered 

during the mist 

and darkness. 

I shall bring them out of the countries where they are; 

I shall gather them together from foreign countries 

and bring them back to their own land. 

I shall pasture them on the mountains of Israel, 

in the ravines and in every inhabited place in the land. 

I shall feed them in good pasturage; 

the high mountains of Israel will be their grazing ground. 

There they will rest in good grazing ground; 

they will browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. 

I myself will pasture my sheep, 

I myself 

will show them where to rest

–it is the Lord who speaks. 

I shall look for the lost one, 

bring back the stray, 

bandage the wounded 

and make the weak strong. 

I shall watch over the fat and healthy. 

I shall be a true shepherd to them.

- Ezekiel 34:11-16
(Jerusalem Bible)