Good Shepherd Sunday
Scripture:
Acts 13:14, 43-52
Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
John 10:27-30
Reflection:
“Habemus papam!” The Cardinal Deacon proclaimed to the world on May 8, 2025.
About an hour later, the new pope, Leo XIV, stepped out onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, looking out to the throng gathered at St. Peter’s Square. The first American pope.
On this day, Good Shepherd Sunday, perhaps it might be just as appropriate to declare: “Habemus pastorem,” We have a shepherd. On this day, we hear Jesus share the beautiful parable of the Good Shepherd with its many consoling truths and promise for all God’s children.
“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Pope Francis reflected on this passage with these words: “Being a shepherd is not merely a job, but a true and proper way of life, 24 hours a day. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, does not just do something for us, but he gives his life for us.
From his balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV saw not only the cheering crowd gathered below, he also saw an ancient imposing monument in the middle of the square — the Obelisk. This Obelisk originally stood in Nero’s Circus. Many Christians were executed in this circus. Christian tradition holds that the Obelisk was the last thing Peter saw before he died crucified upside down.
At every age of the Church, the figure of the pope stands as the spiritual father, a visible source of unity, and the shepherd appointed by Christ to guide his flock. The Obelisk stands before the pope as a mute reminder that like Peter, he too must lay down his life for the flock.
In our time, Pope Leo XIV, the vicar of Christ and successor to Peter, is our Good Shepherd.
Habemus pastorem.
Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.