The Pope: The Good Shepherd does not come to steal anything from us, on the contrary, he multiplies life
This Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, Pope Leo XIV led the Marian prayer of the Regina Caeli from the window of the Apostolic Palace. In his earlier deal with he stated that, “Jesus, the Good Shepherd knows us, calls us by name, guides us and, like a shepherd does with his sheep, comes to look for us when we are lost and binds up our wounds when we are sick.”
Renato Martinez – Vatican City
“Today the Gospel invites us to trust in the Lord: He does not come to steal anything from us; on the contrary, he is the Good Shepherd, who multiplies life and offers it to us in abundance,” this was the encouragement of Pope Leo
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
When commenting on the Gospel of this Fourth Sunday of Easter, the Holy Father indicated that the biblical textual content presents us with the phrases of Jesus, who’s in contrast to a shepherd after which to the door of the sheepfold. When referring to Jesus as a shepherd, the Pontiff acknowledged that there’s a distinction between the shepherd and the thief; and later, much more clearly, he says: «The thief comes solely to steal, kill and destroy. But I’ve come in order that the sheep could have Life, and have it in abundance.
“The difference is clear: the shepherd has a special bond with his sheep and can therefore enter through the gate of the sheepfold; if someone, on the other hand, needs to jump over the fence, then he is undoubtedly a thief who wants to steal the sheep.”
Jesus is united to us by a relationship of friendship
Likewise, the Bishop of Rome identified that Jesus tells us that he is united to us by a relationship of friendship: he is aware of us, calls us by title, guides us and, like a shepherd does together with his sheep, comes to search for us once we are misplaced and binds up our wounds once we are sick.
“Jesus does not come as a thief to steal our life and freedom, but to guide us along the right path. He does not come to kidnap or deceive our conscience, but to illuminate it with the light of his wisdom. He does not come as if to contaminate our earthly joys, but to open them to a fuller and more lasting happiness. Those who trust in Him have nothing to fear; He does not despise our life, but comes to give it to us in abundance.”
We are invited to watch our hearts
In this sense, the Holy Father recalled that we’re invited to replicate and, above all, to watch our hearts and our lives, as a result of those that enter them can multiply pleasure or, like a thief, they will steal it from us.
“‘Thieves’ can take on many faces: they are those who, despite appearances, restrict our freedom or do not respect our dignity; they are beliefs and prejudices that prevent us from having a clear vision of others and of life; they are erroneous ideas that can lead us to make negative decisions; they are superficial or consumerist lifestyles that empty us internally and drive us to always live outside of ourselves. And let us not forget those “thieves” who, by plundering the sources of the earth, waging bloody wars or fueling evil in any of its kinds, do nothing greater than rob us all of the risk of a way forward for peace and serenity.”
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
Before entrusting us to the safety of the Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIV indicated that immediately the Gospel invitations us to belief in the Lord: He does not come to steal anything from us; On the opposite, he is the Good Shepherd, who multiplies life and gives it to us in abundance. And he proposed the following questions:
“Who do we want to guide our lives? Who are the “thieves” who have tried to enter our interior? Have they succeeded, or have we been able to reject them?”
