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From: Acts 11:1-18

In Jerusalem Peter Justifies His Conduct

[1] Now the Apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles
also had received the word of God. [2] So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the
circumcision party criticized him, [3] saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised
men and eat with them?” [4] But Peter began and explained to them in order: [5]
“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, something des-
cending, like a great sheet, let down from Heaven by four corners; and it came
down to me. [6] Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and
reptiles and birds of the air. [7] And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter;
kill and eat.’ [8] But I said, ‘No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever en-
tered my mouth.’ [9] But the voice answered a second time from Heaven, ‘What
God has cleansed you must not call common.’ [10] This happened three times,
and all was drawn up again into Heaven. [11] And that very moment three men
arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. [12] And the
Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brethren also
accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. [13] And he told us how he
had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring
Simon called Peter; [14] he will declare to you a message by which you will be
saved, you and all your household.’ [15] As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell
on them just as on us at the beginning. [16] And I remembered the word of the
Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the
Holy Spirit.’ [17] If then God gave the same gift to them as He gave to us when
we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”
[18] When they heard this they were silenced. And they glorified God, saying,
“Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-18. Some members of the Jerusalem community are shocked to learn that Pe-
ter has eaten with people who are legally unclean and has allowed them to be
baptized without first being circumcised.

“The circumcision party” refers, therefore, to those Christians who are scanda-
lized by the Gospel’s attitude to the ritual prohibitions and ethnic exclusiveness
of the Mosaic Law.

The Apostle’s address has a positive effect and sets their mind at ease. This atti-
tude of the disciples, who are interested only in the will of God and the spread of
the Gospel, shows how ready they are to accept instruction: their initial reserve
was quite conscientious. Peter once again describes the vision he received (10:
9-23), to show that if he had not baptized Cornelius he would have been disobe-
ying God.

This account of the vision differs slightly from his earlier one, the main addition
being in verses 15-16, which connect the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
(2:1ff) with His descent on the Gentile converts at Caesarea (10:44).

Unfortunately the stubborn Judaizing tendencies exhibited by some members of
the infant Church took a long time to disappear, as is dramatically borne out in
some of St. Paul’s letters: he refers to “false brethren secretly brought in, who
slipped in to spy on our freedom which we have in Jesus Christ, that they might
bring us into bondage” (Galatians 2:4) and warns Christians to be on their guard
against fanatics of the Law of Moses who are self-serving and “want to pervert
the Gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: John 10:1-10

The Good Shepherd

[Jesus said to the Pharisees,] [1] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not
enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief
and a robber; [2] but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
[3] To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he
goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5] A stran-
ger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice
of strangers.” [6] This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand
what He was saying to them.

[7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the
sheep. [8] All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did
not heed them. [9] I am the door; if any one enters by Me, he will be saved, and
will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-18. The image of the Good Shepherd recalls a favorite theme of Old Testament
prophetic literature: the chosen people is the flock, and Yahweh is their shepherd
(cf. Psalm 23). Kings and priests are also described as shepherds or pastors.
Jeremiah inveighs against those pastors who had let their sheep go astray and
in God’s name promises new pastors who will graze their flocks properly so that
they will never again be harassed or anxious (cf. 23:1-6; also 2:8; 3:15; 10:21;
Isaiah 40:1-11). Ezekiel reproaches pastors for their misdeeds and sloth, their
greed and neglect of their responsibility: Yahweh will take the flock away from
them and He Himself will look after their sheep: indeed, a unique shepherd will
appear, descended from David, who will graze them and protect them (Ezekiel
34). Jesus presents Himself as this shepherd who looks after His sheep, seeks
out the strays, cures the crippled and carries the weak on His shoulders (cf.
Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7), thereby fulfilling the ancient prophecies.

From earliest times, Christian art found its inspiration in this touching image of
the Good Shepherd, thereby leaving us a representation of Christ’s love for each
of us.

In addition to the title of Good Shepherd, Christ applies to Himself the image of
the door into the sheepfold of the Church. “The Church,” Vatican II teaches, “is
a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ (cf. John 10:1-10).
It is also a flock, of which God foretold that He Himself would be the shepherd
(cf. Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11ff.), and whose sheep, although watched over by
human shepherds, are nevertheless at all times led and brought to pasture by
Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of shepherds (cf. John 10:11; 1
Peter 5:4), who gave His life for His sheep (cf. John 10:11-15)” (”Lumen Gentium”,
6).

1-2. The flock can be harmed in a subtle, hidden way, or in a blatant way through
abuse of authority. The history of the Church shows that its enemies have used
both methods: sometimes they enter the flock in a secretive way to harm it from
within; sometimes they attack it from outside, openly and violently. “Who is the
good shepherd? ‘He who enters by the door’ of faithfulness to the Church’s doc-
trine and does not act like the hireling ‘who sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees’; whereupon ‘the wolf snatches them and scatters them’” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 34).

3-5. In those times it was usual at nightfall to bring a number of flocks together
into one sheepfold, where they would be kept for the night with someone acting
as look-out. Then at dawn the shepherds would come back and open the sheep-
fold and each would call his sheep which would gather round and follow him out
of the pen (they were used to his voice because he used to call them to prevent
them from going astray) and he would then lead them to pasture. Our Lord uses
this image—one very familiar to His listeners—to teach them a divine truth: since
there are strange voices around, we need to know the voice of Christ—which is
continually addressing us through the Magisterium of the Church—and to follow
it, if we are to get the nourishment our soul needs. “Christ has given His Church
sureness in doctrine and a fountain of grace in the Sacraments. He has arranged
things so that there will always be people to guide and lead us, to remind us con-
stantly of our way. There is an infinite treasure of knowledge available to us: the
word of God kept safe by the Church, the grace of Christ administered in the
Sacraments and also the witness and example of those who live by our side and
have known how to build with their good lives a road of faithfulness to God” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 34).

6. Christ develops and interprets the image of the shepherd and the flock, to en-
sure that everyone who is well-disposed can understand His meaning. But the
Jews fail to understand—as happened also when He promised the Eucharist (John
6:41-43) and spoke of the “living water” (John 7:40-43), or when He raised Lazarus
from the dead (John 11:45-46).

7. After describing His future Church through the image of the flock, Christ extends
the simile and calls Himself the “door of the sheep”. The shepherds and the sheep
enter the sheepfold: both must enter through the door, which is Christ. “I”, St. Au-
gustine preached, “seeking to enter in among you, that is, into your heart, preach
Christ: if I were to preach other than that, I should be trying to enter by some other
way. Through Christ I enter in, not to your houses but to your hearts. Through
Him I enter and you have willingly heard me speak of Him. Why? Because you
are Christ’s sheep and you have been purchased with Christ’s blood” (”In Ioann.
Evang.” 47, 2-3).

8. The severe reproach Jesus levels against those who came before Him does not
apply to Moses or the prophets (cf. John 5:39, 45; 8:56; 12:41), nor to the Baptist
(cf. John 5:33), for they proclaimed the future Messiah and prepared the way for
Him. He is referring to the false prophets and deceivers of the people, among them
some teachers of the Law—blind men and blind guides (cf. Matthew 23:16-24) who
block the people’s way to Christ, as happened just a little before when the man
born blind was cured (cf. John 9).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading	Acts 11:1-18 ©

God can grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life

The apostles and the brothers in Judaea heard that the pagans too had accepted the word of God, and when Peter came up to Jerusalem the Jews criticised him and said, ‘So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?’ Peter in reply gave them the details point by point: ‘One day, when I was in the town of Jaffa,’ he began ‘I fell into a trance as I was praying and had a vision of something like a big sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners. This sheet reached the ground quite close to me. I watched it intently and saw all sorts of animals and wild beasts – everything possible that could walk, crawl or fly. Then I heard a voice that said to me, “Now, Peter; kill and eat!” But I answered: Certainly not, Lord; nothing profane or unclean has ever crossed my lips. And a second time the voice spoke from heaven, “What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane.” This was repeated three times, before the whole of it was drawn up to heaven again.

‘Just at that moment, three men stopped outside the house where we were staying; they had been sent from Caesarea to fetch me, and the Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going back with them. The six brothers here came with me as well, and we entered the man’s house. He told us he had seen an angel standing in his house who said, “Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon known as Peter; he has a message for you that will save you and your entire household.”

‘I had scarcely begun to speak when the Holy Spirit came down on them in the same way as it came on us at the beginning, and I remembered that the Lord had said, “John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” I realised then that God was giving them the identical thing he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and who was I to stand in God’s way?’

This account satisfied them, and they gave glory to God. ‘God’ they said ‘can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 41(42):2-3,42:3-4 ©

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

or

Alleluia!

Like the deer that yearns

for running streams,

so my soul is yearning

for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

or

Alleluia!

My soul is thirsting for God,

the God of my life;

when can I enter and see

the face of God?

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

or

Alleluia!

O send forth your light and your truth;

let these be my guide.

Let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to the place where you dwell.

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

or

Alleluia!

And I will come to the altar of God,

the God of my joy.

My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,

O God, my God.

My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation	Jn10:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my own sheep and my own know me.

Alleluia!

Gospel	John 10:1-10 ©

I am the gate of the sheepfold

Jesus said:

‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’

Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.

So Jesus spoke to them again:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

I am the gate of the sheepfold.

All others who have come

are thieves and brigands;

but the sheep took no notice of them.

I am the gate.

Anyone who enters through me will be safe:

he will go freely in and out

and be sure of finding pasture.

The thief comes

only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come

so that they may have life and have it to the full.’

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 10
1.	AMEN, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber.	Amen, amen dico vobis : qui non intrat per ostium in ovile ovium, sed ascendit aliunde, ille fur est et latro.	αμην αμην λεγω υμιν ο μη εισερχομενος δια της θυρας εις την αυλην των προβατων αλλα αναβαινων αλλαχοθεν εκεινος κλεπτης εστιν και ληστης
2.	But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.	Qui autem intrat per ostium, pastor est ovium.	ο δε εισερχομενος δια της θυρας ποιμην εστιν των προβατων
3.	To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.	Huic ostiarius aperit, et oves vocem ejus audiunt, et proprias ovas vocat nominatim, et educit eas.	τουτω ο θυρωρος ανοιγει και τα προβατα της φωνης αυτου ακουει και τα ιδια προβατα καλει κατ ονομα και εξαγει αυτα
4.	And when he hath let out his own sheep, he goeth before them: and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.	Et cum proprias oves emiserit, ante eas vadit : et oves illum sequuntur, quia sciunt vocem ejus.	και οταν τα ιδια προβατα εκβαλη εμπροσθεν αυτων πορευεται και τα προβατα αυτω ακολουθει οτι οιδασιν την φωνην αυτου
5.	But a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers.	Alienum autem non sequuntur, sed fugiunt ab eo : quia non noverunt vocem alienorum.	αλλοτριω δε ου μη ακολουθησωσιν αλλα φευξονται απ αυτου οτι ουκ οιδασιν των αλλοτριων την φωνην
6.	This proverb Jesus spoke to them. But they understood not what he spoke to them.	Hoc proverbium dixit eis Jesus : illi autem non cognoverunt quid loqueretur eis.	ταυτην την παροιμιαν ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους εκεινοι δε ουκ εγνωσαν τινα ην α ελαλει αυτοις
7.	Jesus therefore said to them again: Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.	Dixit ergo eis iterum Jesus : Amen, amen dico vobis, quia ego sum ostium ovium.	ειπεν ουν παλιν αυτοις ο ιησους αμην αμην λεγω υμιν οτι εγω ειμι η θυρα των προβατων
8.	All others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them not.	Omnes quotquot venerunt, fures sunt, et latrones, et non audierunt eos oves.	παντες οσοι ηλθον κλεπται εισιν και λησται αλλ ουκ ηκουσαν αυτων τα προβατα
9.	I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures.	Ego sum ostium. Per me si quis introierit, salvabitur : et ingredietur, et egredietur, et pascua inveniet.	εγω ειμι η θυρα δι εμου εαν τις εισελθη σωθησεται και εισελευσεται και εξελευσεται και νομην ευρησει
10.	The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.	Fur non venit nisi ut furetur, et mactet, et perdat. Ego veni ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant.	ο κλεπτης ουκ ερχεται ει μη ινα κλεψη και θυση και απολεση εγω ηλθον ινα ζωην εχωσιν και περισσον εχωσιν

1. Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2. But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3. To him the porter opens;
and the sheep hear his voice:
and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
4. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

CHRYS. Our Lord having reproached the Jews with blindness, they might have said, We are not blind, but we avoid you as a deceiver. Our Lord therefore gives the marks which distinguish a robber and deceiver from a true shepherd. First come those of the deceiver and robber: Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

There is an allusion here to Antichrist, and to certain false Christs who had been, and were to be. The Scriptures He calls the door. They admit us to the knowledge of God, they protect the sheep, they shut out the wolves, they bar the entrance to heretics. He that uses not the Scriptures, but climbs up some other way, i.e. some self-chosen, some unlawful way, is a thief. Climbs up, He says, not, enters, as if it were a thief getting over a wall, and running all risks.

Some other way, may refer too to the commandments and traditions of men which the Scribes taught, to the neglect of the Law. When our Lord further on calls Himself the Door, we need not be surprised. According to the office which He bears, He is in one place the Shepherd, in another the Sheep. In that He introduces us to the Father, He is the Door, in that He takes care of us, He is the Shepherd.

AUG. Or thus: Many go under the name of good men according to the standard of the world, and observe in some sort the commandments of the Law, who yet are not Christians. And these generally boast of themselves, as the Pharisees did; Are we blind also? But inasmuch as all that they do they do foolishly, without knowing to what end it tends, our Lord said of them, Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Let the Pagans then, the Jews, the Heretics, say, "We lead a good life;" if they enter not by the door, what avails it? A good life only profits, as leading to life eternal. Indeed those cannot be said to lead a good life, who are either blindly ignorant of, or willfully despise, the end of good living. No one can hope for eternal life, who knows not Christ, who is the life, and by that door enters into the fold.

Whoso wishes to enter into the sheepfold, let him enter by the door; let him preach Christ; let him seek Christ's glory, not his own. Christ is a lowly door, and he who enters by this door must be lowly, if he would enter with his head whole. He that does not humble, but exalt himself, who wishes to climb up over the wall, is exalted that he may fall. Such men generally try to persuade others that they may live well, and not be Christians. Thus they climb up by some other way, that they may rob and kill. They are thieves, because they call that their own, which is not; robbers, because that which they have stolen, they kill.

CHRYS. You have seen His description of a robber, now see that of the Shepherd: But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

AUG. He enters by the door, who enters by Christ, who imitates the suffering of Christ, who is acquainted with the humility of Christ, so as to feel and know, that if God became man for us, man should not think himself God, but man. He who being man wishes to appear God, does not imitate Him, who being God, became man. You are bid to think less of yourself than you are, but to know what you are.

To Him the porter opens.

CHRYS. The porter perhaps is Moses; for to him the oracles of God were committed.

THEOPHYL. Or, the Holy Spirit is the porter, by whom the Scriptures are unlocked, and reveal the truth to us.

AUG. Or, the porter is our Lord Himself; for there is much less difference between a door and a porter, than between a door and a shepherd. And He has called Himself both the door and the shepherd. Why then not the door and the porter? He opens Himself, i.e. reveals Himself. If you seek another person for porter, take the Holy Spirit, of whom our Lord below said, He will guide you into all truth. The door is Christ, the Truth; who opens the door, but He that will guide you into all Truth? Whomsoever you understand here, beware that you esteem not the porter greater than the door; for in our houses the porter ranks above the door, not the door above the porter.

CHRYS. As they had called Him a deceiver, and appealed to their own unbelief as the proof of it; (Which of the rulers believes in Him?) He shows here that it was because they refused to hear Him, that they were put out of His flock. The sheep hear His voice. The Shepherd enters by the lawful door; and they who follow Him are His sheep; they who do not, voluntarily put themselves out of His flock.

And He calls His own sheep by name.

AUG. He knew the names of the predestinated; as He said to His disciples, Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

And leads them out.

CHRYS. He led out the sheep, when He sent them not out of the reach of, but into the midst of, the wolves. There seems to he a secret allusion to the blind man. He called him out of the midst of the Jews; and he heard His voice.

AUG. And who is He who leads them out, but the Same who loosens the chain of their sins, that they may follow Him with free unfettered step?

GLOSS. And when He puts forth His own sheep, He goes before them, He leads them out from the darkness of ignorance into light, while He goes before in the pillar of cloud, and fire.

CHRYS. Shepherds always go behind their sheep; but He, on the contrary, goes before, to show that He would lead all to the truth.

AUG. And who is this that goes before the sheep, but He who being raised from the dead, dies no more; and who said, Father, I will also that they, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am?

And the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.

CHRYS. The strangers are Theudas, and Judas, and the false apostles who came after Christ. That He might not appear one of this number, He gives many marks of difference between Him and them. First, Christ brought men to Him by teaching them out of the Scriptures; they drew men from; the Scriptures. Secondly, the obedience of the sheep; for men believed on Him, not only during His life, but after death: their followers ceased, as soon as they were gone.

THEOPHYL. He alludes to Antichrist, who shall deceive for a time, but lose all his followers when he dies.

Still I am disturbed by the Lord's rebuke to the shepherds in Ezekiel, Neither have you brought again that which strayed. He calls it a stray sheep, but yet a sheep all the while; though, if it strayed, it could not have heard the voice of the Shepherd, but the voice of a stranger.

What I say then is this; The Lord knows them that are His. He knows the foreknown, he knows the predestinated. They are the sheep: for a time they know not themselves, but the Shepherd knows them; for many sheep are without the fold, many wolves within. He speaks then of the predestinated. And now the difficulty is solved. The sheep do hear the Shepherd's voice, and they only. When is that? It is when that voice said, He that endures to the end shall be saved. This speech His own hear, the alien hear not.

6. This parable spoke Jesus to them: but they understood not what things they were which he spoke to them.

AUG. Our Lord feeds by plain words, exercises by obscure. For when two persons, one godly, the other ungodly, hear the words of the Gospel, and they happen to be such that neither can understand them; one says, What He said is true and good, but we do not understand it: the other says, It is not worth attending to. The former, in faith, knocks, yes, and, if he continue to knock, it shall be opened to him. The latter shall hear the words in Isaiah, If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.

7. Then said Jesus to them again, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10. The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

CHRYS. Our Lord, to waken the attention of the Jews, unfolds the meaning of what He has said; Then said Jesus to them again, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

AUG. Lo, the very door which He had shut up, He opens; He is the Door: let us enter, and let us enter with joy.

All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers.

CHRYS. He said not this of the Prophets, as the heretics think, but of Theudas, and Judas, and other agitators. So he adds in praise of the sheep, The sheep heard them not; but he no where praises those who disobeyed the prophets, but condemns them severely.

The times are different, the faith is the same. Our faith knits together both those who believed that He was about to come, and those who believe that He has come. All that ever came at variance with Him were thieves and robbers; i.e. they came to steal and to kill; but the sheep did not hear them. They had not Christ's voice; but were wanderers, dreamers, deceivers. Why He is the Door, He next explains, I am the Door; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved.

ALCUIN. As if to say, The sheep hear not them, but Me they hear; for I am the Door, and whoever enters by Me not falsely but in sincerity, shall by perseverance be saved.

THEOPHYL. The door admits the sheep into the pasture; And shall go in and out, and find pasture. What is this pasture, but the happiness to come, the rest to which our Lord brings us?

AUG. What is this, shall go in and out? To enter into the Church by Christ the Door, is a very good thing, but to go out of the Church is not. Going in must refer to inward cogitation; going out to outward action; as in the Psalm, Man goes forth to his work.

THEOPHYL. Or, to go in is to watch over the inner man; to go out, to mortify the outward man, i.e. our members which are upon the earth. He that does this shall find pasture in the life to come.

CHRYS. Or, He refers to the Apostles who went in and out boldly; for they became the masters of the world, none could turn them out of their kingdom, and they found pasture.

AUG. But He Himself explains it more satisfactorily to me in what follows: The thief comes not, but for to steal, and for to kill: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

By going in they have life; i.e. by faith, which works by love; by which faith they go into the fold. The just lives by faith. And by going out they will have it more abundantly: i.e. when true believers die, they have life more abundantly, even a life which never ends. Though in this fold there is not wanting pasture, then they will find pasture, such as will satisfy them. Today shall you be with Me in paradise.

GREG. Shall go in, i.e. to faith: shall go out, i.e. to sight: and find pasture, i.e. in eternal fullness.

ALCUIN. The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill. As if He said, And well may the sheep not hear the voice of the thief; for he comes not but for to steal: he usurps another's office, forming his followers not on Christ's precepts, but on his own. And therefore it follows, and to kill, i.e. by drawing them from the faith; and to destroy, i.e. by their eternal damnation.

CHRYS. The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; this was literally fulfilled in the case of those movers of sedition, whose followers were nearly all destroyed; deprived by the thief even of this present life. But came, He said, for the salvation of the sheep; That they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly, in the kingdom of heaven. This is the third mark of difference between Himself, and the false prophets.

THEOPHYL. Mystically, the thief is the devil, steals by wicked thoughts, kills by the assent of the mind to them, and destroys by acts.

Catena Aurea John 10

The Good Shepherd

Saint of the Day — Saint George.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3547377/posts?page=5

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Pray for Pope Francis.

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Pray the Rosary!

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Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Joyful Mysteries

(Mondays and Saturdays)

1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

April 23, 2018

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18

Responsorial Psalm Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4

Alleluia Jn 10:14

Gospel Jn 10:1-10

Readings at Mass