4th SUNDAY OF EASTER (A)

The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Jn 10:1-10

Whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate…. I am the gate for the sheep.

Someone has lived in Palestine observed that indeed the shepherd at times can be the gate of the sheepfold. There is the fence but no gate. Instead, at night the shepherd sleeps at the opening. When a sheep attempts to go out, the shepherd is awakened and the sheep is prevented from going out.

And the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

In Palestine sheep is raised not for food but for their wool. Hence, a bonding can really develop between a shepherd and his sheep so much so that the shepherd knows his sheep individually and the sheep knows its shepherd.

It is a common practice that at night shepherds gather their sheep together for easier protection. In the morning the shepherds position themselves in different places and give their distinctive call. The sheep instinctively go to their own shep-herd.

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

The shepherd looks after his sheep. He protects them from predators. That is why he is armed with a rod or like David, with a slingshot. He leads them where there is water and where there is pasture.

The Bible has used the image of the shepherd for the king in Israel. As the shepherd cares for his sheep so that king should care for his people.

Jesus applied to himself the image of the shepherd. He called himself the Good Shepherd.

Church leaders following the footsteps of Jesus are called to be shepherds. In particular, the bishop carries a staff because he is the shepherd of his diocese.

Salesians wear the Good Shepherd cross. This is to remind them that pastoral charity, that is, the love of the Good Shepherd, should animate their ministry among the young.

It was this pastoral charity that made St. John Bosco (the founder of the Salesians) cast his lot among the poor and abandoned youth of Turin (Italy).

As a young priest, St. John Bosco or simply Don (that is, Father) Bosco worked as a chaplain for a hospice of a certain marquesa (noblewoman). On Sundays and feastdays, he would gather the poor and abandoned boys of Turin for mass, catechism and games. He called this the Oratory.

At a certain point, the marquesa decided that Don Bosco should work full time for the hospice, meaning he should not have other responsibilities which really meant the Oratory. Don Bosco would have to choose between the hospice of the marquesa and his Oratory.

Don Bosco did not have to think twice. There and then he gave up the hospice in favor of the Oratory, saying: “Madam, you can always find a chaplain for your hospice because you have the money to hire one. But my boys are poor. They will never be in a position to hire a chaplain. And so I will be a chaplain to them.”

We may think it was an easy decision for Don Bosco. It was not. Without the chaplaincy of the marquesa, he would have no salary and therefore, no regular income to support himself. For Don Bosco this was his way of giving his life for his sheep. This was his way of being a Good Shepherd to the poor and abandoned boys of Turin.