S. FAUSTI - He proclaims Himself the Gate through which they enter into Life, the Shepherd who leads toward freedom. Indeed He is the Son who came to lead the brethren out of darkness and death. Jesus clarifies what He said, extending the metaphor of the gate and the shepherd: He shows Himself as gate of salvation as true Shepherd. To the leaders, who have a false model of man, now He presents Himself as the true "model" of man, as the image of the living God. Nobody, indeed before Jesus, saw the Father. From Adam forwad we all have a false image of God and, therefore, a false model of man. Jesus said that the robber does not passe through the gate, now He says, "I am the Gate through which the sheep can come out in freedom and attain life. He Himself, Word become flesh, is the Gate between earth and heaven. The gate is where the prison wall is broken. Whoever is closed in can go out; If he does not want to go out, the light shines however to his eyes Salvation is not to enter into the temple as slaughter sheep, but to go out with Him to enter into Him, the Son, who gives us life to the full. For thieves and brigands the victims have no face or name. It is an anonymous mass to submit and to deprive ... for the Shepherd, indeed oterwise , every sheep has its name: He calls each one by name, in a personal relationship of friendship. When the light comes, in the shepherd leads the sheep out from the fence. Jesus, the light of the world, brings the people out of the fence of the law and the temple,to make it walk in His light. He is, indeed, the loving intelligence of the Father, He saves our humanity, opening it in the light of His truth. Jesus does not propose to go out of the sheep-fold in order to come in again, but to enter into Him, Who is the Gate , to come out definitely from slavery.. They can therefore understand , that whoever will enter into Him will come out of the fold. finding , finally ,food and water . He Himself the Pasture of the flock, the true Bread of Life (6.33-35) that satisfies any hunger and thirst. Jesus is the Shepherd / Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world: He has come to free the sheeps and to give them life, His Son's Life: the Lovely Shepherd. "Lovely" means true, authentic, good, who knows how to do his job; it also recalls something nice, beautiful, indeed. This beauty will save the world, making us unpleasant what we find pleasant. Those who do not have Him as a model , they come into the fence only to profit and steal the sheep, to immolate them in their temple and to destroy them. Now Jesus shows His way of being Shepherd: He shows his life in favor of the sheep Later He will also say that He prepares and lays for them His life. It is the beauty of Love that shows itself in action! As YHWH in Exodus, Jesus leads his people toward the promised land , the sheep follow Him. Indeed, He Himself is the Way that leads to Life. He lives the Love of the Father and of the Brothers in fullness. .The false shepherds oppress us with underhand lies and, if necessary, with violence, terror, and fear; the True Shepherd makes us free, capable of loving and serving, hoping and daring. Everyone is able to feel the difference between the two voices.
"In the beginning was the Word ... And through Him everything has been done ", Everything in which we live in, we move and exist - The Word, the wonderful Word - the Eternal Word, As an unseen threshold Of anything that began to exist, exists and will exist. As if the Word was the threshold. The threshold of the Word, in which everything was in invisible, Eternal and divine way- behind this threshold The events begin! KAROL WOJTYLA
Acts of the Apostles 2,14.36-41. Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: "You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do, my brothers?" Peter (said) to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call." He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. Psalms 23(22),1-3a.3b-4.5.6. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths for His names's sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.
You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. First Letter of Peter 2,20-25. But what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing wrong? But if you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10,1-10. Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came (before me) are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Jesus, Good Shepherd and door of the sheep, is a leader whose authority is expressed in service, a leader who, in order to command, gives his life and does not ask others to sacrifice theirs. One can trust in a leader like this, as the sheep who heed their shepherd’s voice because they know that with him one goes to good and abundant pastures. A signal, a call suffices, and they follow; they obey; they begin to walk, guided by the voice of the One whom they feel as a friendly presence, strong and mild at once, who calls, protects, consoles and soothes. This is how Christ is for us. (Regina Caeli, 7 May 2017)
BLESSED XVI - THE SHEPHERD (OF JESUS OF NAZARETH) The image of the shepherd, with which Jesus presents his mission in both the Synoptics and the Gospel of John, has a long history. The immediate antecedent of Jesus' figurative discourse is naturally found in the Old Testament, in which God himself appears as the shepherd of Israel. This image had a profound impact on the piety of Israel and became a message of consolation and trust, especially in times of calamity. Perhaps Psalm 23 sums up this trusting piety most beautifully: the Lord is my shepherd - "Though I walk through the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. The image of God the shepherd is further developed in Ezekiel (chapters 34-37), whose vision, found in a concrete way in the present, is welcomed in the synoptic parables of the shepherd and in the discourse of John the shepherd as a prophecy of the activity of Jesus. Faced with the selfish shepherds whom Ezekiel encountered and denounced in his time, the prophet announces the promise that God himself will seek out his sheep and take care of them (34:13, 15, 16). Faced with the murmurs of the Pharisees and scribes about his friendliness with sinners, the Lord tells the parable of the 99 sheep left in the fold and the only one lost, whose search the shepherd puts on his shoulders all happy and brings it home. With this parable, Jesus says to his opponents: have you not read the Word of God in Ezekiel? I am only doing what God, as a true shepherd, has announced: "I will seek out the lost sheep and bring the lost back to the fold"... We can listen here to the words of Psalm 23 as a resonance: "On the grassy pastures he makes me rest, by the still waters he leads me... Before me you prepare a table ... 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 to good pastures and their fold will be on the high mountains of Israel" (34:14). The Fathers saw in the mountains of Israel and in the pastures of their peaks, where there is shade and water, a picture of the heights of Holy Scripture, of the distribution of the food of the Life of the Word of God. Man lives by the truth and to be loved, to be loved by the Truth. He needs God, the God who approaches him and explains the meaning of life. Of course, man needs bread, he needs the food of the body, but in the deepest sense, he needs above all the Word, Love, God himself. He who gives him this, gives him "life in abundance". And so he also releases the forces by which man can reasonably shape the earth, he can find for himself and for others the goods that we can only have in reciprocity.
S. FAUSTI - He proclaims Himself the Gate through which they enter into Life, the Shepherd who leads toward freedom. Indeed He is the Son who came to lead the brethren out of darkness and death. Jesus clarifies what He said, extending the metaphor of the gate and the shepherd: He shows Himself as gate of salvation as true Shepherd.
RispondiEliminaTo the leaders, who have a false model of man, now He presents Himself as the true "model" of man, as the image of the living God. Nobody, indeed before Jesus, saw the Father.
From Adam forwad we all have a false image of God and, therefore, a false model of man.
Jesus said that the robber does not passe through the gate, now He says, "I am the Gate through which the sheep can come out in freedom and attain life.
He Himself, Word become flesh, is the Gate between earth and heaven.
The gate is where the prison wall is broken. Whoever is closed in can go out; If he does not want to go out, the light shines however to his eyes
Salvation is not to enter into the temple as slaughter sheep, but to go out with Him to enter into Him, the Son, who gives us life to the full.
For thieves and brigands the victims have no face or name. It is an anonymous mass to submit and to deprive ... for the Shepherd, indeed oterwise , every sheep has its name: He calls each one by name, in a personal relationship of friendship.
When the light comes, in the shepherd leads the sheep out from the fence.
Jesus, the light of the world, brings the people out of the fence of the law and the temple,to make it walk in His light.
He is, indeed, the loving intelligence of the Father, He saves our humanity, opening it in the light of His truth.
Jesus does not propose to go out of the sheep-fold in order to come in again, but to enter into Him, Who is the Gate , to come out definitely from slavery..
They can therefore understand , that whoever will enter into Him will come out of the fold. finding , finally ,food and water .
He Himself the Pasture of the flock, the true Bread of Life (6.33-35) that satisfies any hunger and thirst. Jesus is the Shepherd / Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world: He has come to free the sheeps and to give them life, His Son's Life: the Lovely Shepherd. "Lovely" means true, authentic, good, who knows how to do his job; it also recalls something nice, beautiful, indeed.
This beauty will save the world, making us unpleasant what we find pleasant.
Those who do not have Him as a model , they come into the fence only to profit and steal the sheep, to immolate them in their temple and to destroy them.
Now Jesus shows His way of being Shepherd: He shows his life in favor of the sheep
Later He will also say that He prepares and lays for them His life.
It is the beauty of Love that shows itself in action!
As YHWH in Exodus, Jesus leads his people toward the promised land , the sheep follow Him.
Indeed, He Himself is the Way that leads to Life.
He lives the Love of the Father and of the Brothers in fullness.
.The false shepherds oppress us with underhand lies and, if necessary, with violence, terror, and fear; the True Shepherd makes us free, capable of loving and serving, hoping and daring. Everyone is able to feel the difference between the two voices.
"In the beginning was the Word ...
RispondiEliminaAnd through Him everything has been done ",
Everything in which we live in, we move and exist -
The Word, the wonderful Word - the Eternal Word,
As an unseen threshold
Of anything that began to exist, exists and will exist.
As if the Word was the threshold.
The threshold of the Word, in which everything was in invisible,
Eternal and divine way- behind this threshold
The events begin!
KAROL WOJTYLA
Acts of the Apostles 2,14.36-41.
RispondiEliminaThen Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: "You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do, my brothers?"
Peter (said) to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call."
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.
Psalms 23(22),1-3a.3b-4.5.6.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for His names's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
First Letter of Peter 2,20-25.
But what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing wrong? But if you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10,1-10.
Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came (before me) are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaJesus, Good Shepherd and door of the sheep, is a leader whose authority is expressed in service, a leader who, in order to command, gives his life and does not ask others to sacrifice theirs. One can trust in a leader like this, as the sheep who heed their shepherd’s voice because they know that with him one goes to good and abundant pastures. A signal, a call suffices, and they follow; they obey; they begin to walk, guided by the voice of the One whom they feel as a friendly presence, strong and mild at once, who calls, protects, consoles and soothes. This is how Christ is for us. (Regina Caeli, 7 May 2017)
BLESSED XVI - THE SHEPHERD (OF JESUS OF NAZARETH)
RispondiEliminaThe image of the shepherd, with which Jesus presents his mission in both the Synoptics and the Gospel of John, has a long history. The immediate antecedent of Jesus' figurative discourse is naturally found in the Old Testament, in which God himself appears as the shepherd of Israel.
This image had a profound impact on the piety of Israel and became a message of consolation and trust, especially in times of calamity.
Perhaps Psalm 23 sums up this trusting piety most beautifully: the Lord is my shepherd - "Though I walk through the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
The image of God the shepherd is further developed in Ezekiel (chapters 34-37), whose vision, found in a concrete way in the present, is welcomed in the synoptic parables of the shepherd and in the discourse of John the shepherd as a prophecy of the activity of Jesus.
Faced with the selfish shepherds whom Ezekiel encountered and denounced in his time, the prophet announces the promise that God himself will seek out his sheep and take care of them (34:13, 15, 16).
Faced with the murmurs of the Pharisees and scribes about his friendliness with sinners, the Lord tells the parable of the 99 sheep left in the fold and the only one lost, whose search the shepherd puts on his shoulders all happy and brings it home.
With this parable, Jesus says to his opponents: have you not read the Word of God in Ezekiel? I am only doing what God, as a true shepherd, has announced: "I will seek out the lost sheep and bring the lost back to the fold"...
We can listen here to the words of Psalm 23 as a resonance: "On the grassy pastures he makes me rest, by the still waters he leads me... Before me you prepare a table ... 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 to good pastures and their fold will be on the high mountains of Israel" (34:14). The Fathers saw in the mountains of Israel and in the pastures of their peaks, where there is shade and water, a picture of the heights of Holy Scripture, of the distribution of the food of the Life of the Word of God.
Man lives by the truth and to be loved, to be loved by the Truth. He needs God, the God who approaches him and explains the meaning of life. Of course, man needs bread, he needs the food of the body, but in the deepest sense, he needs above all the Word, Love, God himself. He who gives him this, gives him "life in abundance". And so he also releases the forces by which man can reasonably shape the earth, he can find for himself and for others the goods that we can only have in reciprocity.