In this battle, our enemy knows our weaknesses and is much more powerful than each of us are. Yet we are never alone in the battle for our soul, for Jesus Christ is always with us, strengthening us against temptation and cleansing us in confession when we fall.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus looks with pity on the crowd that follows him to a deserted place and compares them to sheep without a shepherd. Our Lord is popularly described as the Good Shepherd. He guides his flock to green pastures and leads them to the places where they will be safe. We are consoled by this image of Jesus as shepherd.
In the Old Testament, however, the people of God described as “sheep without a shepherd” is not always a peaceful metaphor. Instead, it takes on a military connotation. For instance, the prophet Micaiah received a word from God portraying “all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd” (1 Kgs 22:17). True to the vision, when King Ahab was struck down leading the Israelite army in battle, his men scattered, each to his own city and land (1 Kgs 22:36).
An earlier example of this metaphor is found in the Book of Numbers. Moses, who is near death, prays for the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. There will be battles ahead with the tribes that already inhabit that land, so Moses asks the Lord for a leader who can lead them to victory, “lest the people of the Lord be as sheep without a shepherd” (Num 27:18).
The Lord instructs Moses to appoint Joshua as their leader. Joshua’s name means “God is with us,” and in faith we recognize that it is by God’s hand that the battle is won. He is our shepherd who protects and saves us.
For some, this image of warfare is not a comfortable one. We prefer the comfort of the Good Shepherd over the violence of a leader of armies. Yet, we might recall the words of Jesus, who tells his disciples, “I did not come to bring peace, but the sword” (Mt 10:34). The sword is the result of the world, the flesh, and the devil, all of which reject Jesus. When we embrace Our Lord, we, too, find ourselves in this battle. This is why our Catholic tradition calls us the “Church Militant”: the people of God in this world, battling against evil for our salvation and the salvation of all.
Our battle is a spiritual one, which unfortunately allows most people to overlook, neglect or ignore it. This is how the evil one works, for it allows him to prowl about the world more easily seeking the ruin of souls. For our part, we participate in this spiritual war in two ways. The first is the battle for our own sanctity. The second is to fight for the sanctity of others, by praying and sacrificing for our loved ones and those who need protection from the evil one, such as our church and secular leaders.
In this battle, our enemy knows our weaknesses and is much more powerful than each of us are. Yet we are never alone in the battle for our soul, for Jesus Christ is always with us, strengthening us against temptation and cleansing us in confession when we fall. He is the victor, and when we cling to him in faith and seek his grace, we have no need for fear or despair, no matter how difficult our struggles are.
Because Jesus is our shepherd in this great battle, we can boldly say, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me” (Ps 23:4). In this way, we can see that the comforting image of the Good Shepherd is in harmony with the military image of Our Lord.
While it may be unsettling to contemplate the reality of the spiritual battle for our souls, it is only through awareness of it that we can seek to prepare and protect ourselves, our families, and our neighbors through our faithfulness, our worship, and sacrifices.
As the Church Militant, we are part of the mystical body of Christ. We are the church that Jesus founded on the Rock of St. Peter, the church Our Lord promises will prevail against the gates of our enemy in this battle. Nothing will withstand us when we are united with our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the victor. He is the shepherd. He is our hope.
Fr. Wagner is parochial vicar at St. Veronica Church in Chantilly.
https://www.theworkofgod.org/Devotns/Euchrist/HolyMass/gospels.asp?key=18
Year B - 16th Sunday in ordinary time
He had compassion and began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:30-34
30 And the apostles coming together unto Jesus, related to him all things that they had done and taught.
31 And he said to them: Come apart into a desert place, and rest a little. For there were many coming and going: and they had not so much as time to eat.
32 And going up into a ship, they went into a desert place apart.
33 And they saw them going away, and many knew: and they ran flocking there on foot from all the cities, and were there before them.
34 And Jesus going out saw a great multitude: and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus
How beautiful it is for me to listen to the soul that comes humbly to disclose his life to me, even though I already know it, there is certain attraction in that littleness that sweetens my ear, it is the simplicity of heart that attracts me and fills me with joy. Just as a child comes to his mother to tell her stories to her delight, so I delight by listening happily to the complaints, the achievements and the hopes of every soul.
Let the children come to me, because the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, I say it again, oh, if they all came to me like little children, if they could change their hearts of stone for the infantile tenderness, the whole world would change. As a child listens attentively to the instruction of his parents, so I listen to the soul that comes to me with humility. I am the Great Master of the Soul; he who desires my teaching must share his life with me, must put all his trust in me and listen attentively in order to learn.
It is notorious to see how young people come to a state of mental maturity when they reject the teachings of their parents and go against the healthy moral principals they accepted in their previous innocence. It is very sad to see how this change from child to adult, brings to a false security against the good teachings of infancy.
In the same way, the soul of a child learns to know God innocently and with a faith without barriers, thereafter comes intellectualism and the examples of the world to destroy those strong foundations of the spiritual life. For this reason, the soul has to be shaken in order to understand that it has come out of the way, then my Spirit claims incessantly until some understand my call and decide to change.
The advice I gave to my disciples was to search for moments of silence to be in prayer. I practiced this and gave them example, I taught them that the Kingdom of heaven is within; it is there in the interior dwelling, the altar of the soul, where my Spirit speaks and listens, where the transformation of the human being occurs, where you can know me.
My voice surges in the temple of silence, in the darkness of the soul I reveal my light to those who follow my Word, “be still and know, that I am the Lord”.
In order to quieten the soul, it is necessary to stay away from so many mundane events that take away time, saturate the mind and infect the heart. Moderate entertainment is good, but hunger for entertainment is gluttony that destroys the soul with insatiable passion for the world. I repeat, don’t you have at least an hour to spend with me? I am the Lord the Lord of the Sunday, the day to honor God, I claim this day to attend the Holy Mass, to dedicate it to the family and to spiritual growth. But what has it become? The same as my feasts of Holy Week and Nativity, Sundays are days dedicated to the gods of the world and to offend me with indifference.
This is the reason why so many souls cannot quieten down and enjoy the privileges of the saints, this is why my word is dispersed like seeds that fall on the rocks, they cannot thrive.
However, I have nothing against anyone, I wait eagerly the return of each soul, I happily give my teachings to those who want to listen to me, I am the Good Shepherd, the Teacher who waits punctually for his pupils, all are invited, come, learn from me, be humble as I am humble, do not despise the gift that I am offering.
Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary