Shepherd Us to Life, O Lord
April 13, 2008

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Reading 1: Acts 2:14a, 36–41

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 23: 1–3a, 3b–4, 5, 6

Reading 2: 1 Pet. 2:20b–25

Gospel: Jn. 10:1–10

Link to Readings

By Father Frank Pavone

Jesus has revealed Himself as the Good Shepherd. The marvelous events of the Paschal Mystery, which we have observed with special focus and fervor in these recent weeks, fulfill the hope that the psalmist expresses in Psalm 23 with the words, “Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm, for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage.”

We hear the voice of Jesus Himself in the psalms. He walked through the dark valley of betrayal, crucifixion, and burial. But God’s rod and staff both gave Him courage and kept Him safe, as the power of life triumphed in the Resurrection.

What we hear of the voice of Christ in the psalms is also the voice of His Body, into which each of us is incorporated by our baptism, which we renewed at Easter. He keeps us safe with His rod and staff as we walk through the dark valley of this world. He shepherds us, snatching us from our enemies and giving us life in place of death.

The Shepherd leads the sheep to life, and this is how Christ defines His ministry. “I came so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” In order to have it more abundantly, that is, unto the resurrection of the dead and having a seat on God’s throne, we must first “have it.” Natural life is the necessary precondition for supernatural life, and therefore the defense of natural life is necessarily an aspect of the proclamation of the gift of supernatural life and the mission of the Church to lead people to it.

New and Eternal Life

The beginning of the encyclical “The Gospel of Life” (Evangelium Vitae) refers to today’s Gospel passage and provides the following perspective:

When he presents the heart of his redemptive mission, Jesus says: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). In truth, he is referring to that “new” and “eternal” life which consists in communion with the Father, to which every person is freely called in the Son by the power of the Sanctifying Spirit. . . . .

Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. Life in time, in fact, is the fundamental condition, the initial stage and an integral part of the entire unified process of human existence. It is a process which, unexpectedly and undeservedly, is enlightened by the promise and renewed by the gift of divine life, which will reach its full realization in eternity (cf. 1 Jn. 3:1–2). At the same time, it is precisely this supernatural calling which highlights the relative character of each individual’s earthly life. After all, life on earth is not an “ultimate” but a “penultimate” reality; even so, it remains a sacred reality entrusted to us, to be preserved with a sense of responsibility and brought to perfection in love and in the gift of ourselves to God and to our brothers and sisters. (nos. 1–2)

In a culture of death, the preaching of Peter about repentance, found in today’s first reading, has a particular significance in rejecting abortion and euthanasia, individually and collectively, as well as the mindset behind them. These evils are not simply the destruction of life but the direct, legally-enshrined denial of its inherent worth. It is possible to see, simply by the light of natural reason, that the actions and mindset of abortion and euthanasia are evil. But in the supernatural light of the Good Shepherd, these truths are all the more clear and certain, as is our resolve to defend life.

A Single and Indivisible Gospel

Here we find the ultimate sense in which Christ is the “Shepherd.” He takes our humanity through the grave, into the risen life, and to the throne of God. His “rod and staff” are actually the union of His divinity with our humanity, thereby “shepherding” us out of the dominion of death and into the new humanity that begins on Easter. Repentance, as preached by Peter, therefore becomes the fruit of this journey.

Again, in “The Gospel of Life,” we see this theme developed.

The Church knows that this Gospel of life, which she has received from her Lord, has a profound and persuasive echo in the heart of every person—believer and non-believer alike—because it marvelously fulfils all the heart’s expectations while infinitely surpassing them. Even in the midst of difficulties and uncertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart (cf. Rom. 2:14–15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest degree. Upon the recognition of this right, every human community and the political community itself are founded.

In a special way, believers in Christ must defend and promote this right, aware as they are of the wonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: “By his incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being.” This saving event reveals to humanity not only the boundless love of God who “so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn. 3:16), but also the incomparable value of every human person.

The Church, faithfully contemplating the mystery of the Redemption, acknowledges this value with ever new wonder. She feels called to proclaim to the people of all times this “Gospel,” the source of invincible hope and true joy for every period of history. The Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel.

For this reason, man—living man—represents the primary and fundamental way for the Church. (no. 2)

Seedbed for Vocations

It is in presenting to the world this “fundamental way,” this vision of the sacred dignity of the human individual shepherded to life in Christ, that the Church most effectively promotes vocations. Today is “Vocations Sunday.” We pray that many will hear the call to the priesthood, the call to devote themselves fully to the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, which is the Gospel of Life, and to shepherd God’s people in the very person of Christ.

Many young people today are finding their vocation precisely because of the Church’s witness to the sanctity of life amidst the holocaust of abortion. Responding to a vocation requires counter-cultural service, which is precisely the context that the pro-life movement offers. Devoting oneself to the defense of life provides a powerful seedbed for the flowering of priestly vocations, just as a response to a priestly vocation is necessarily a commitment to the defense of life.

Let us pray today for many “good shepherds,” and let us encourage those who have already accepted that call.

Father Frank Pavone is the national director for Priests for Life, president of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, and a member of CUF's advisory council. He is a contrubutor to Lay Witness magazine.

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