This Sunday’s readings explain how God, like a good shepherd, redeems His people and provides for them. The readings also challenge us to be good shepherds acting with fidelity and responsibility  in the family, in the Church, and in society.  Today, pastoral ministry includes not only the pastoral care given by those named or ordained as “pastors,” but the loving service given by all Christians who follow different callings to serve and lead others.

The first reading from Jeremiah shows us what happens when the shepherds of Israel fall short in their responsibility, and what happens when not enough people step up to help them. Bad leadership has consequences for the people being led. Under weak leaders, everyone gives less than they can. And a lot of people are left behind. But not to worry, God says through the prophet Jeremiah, “I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely.” (Jeremiah 23:5) Jesus will be the Good Shepherd.

In the second reading, Paul celebrates the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of a future shepherd who would gather the dispersed and the scattered into one people of God. This passage explains how Christ has brought about reconciliation between ancient enemies, the Jews, and the Gentiles. Paul affirms that the Law should no longer separate God’s people.

In the Gospel, the apostles return from their mission and relate to Jesus how they have ministered and tended the flock of people to whom they have been sent. Jesus realizes that they need time to rest and be refreshed before He and they continue their pastoral (shepherding) work.  The people (the flock) seek out the care of those who are good shepherds because they have not been taken care of by those who had been their leaders up to this point in their lives.  Jesus, moved with pity and compassion, continues His pastoral (“shepherding”) ministry to those in need.

All of us, as disciples of Jesus, are called to be pastoral as our first and most important role.   The word “pastoral” comes from the Latin word pastor meaning “shepherd.”  The true meaning of “pastoral” is “shepherding” – doing what is best for the flock:  leading, protecting, feeding, comforting, and uniting the sheep. As your Pastor, I certainly have my role to play in modelling the caring and nourishing qualities of the Good Shepherd. In the same way, you too must share in the role of shepherding each other.

The key quality of all shepherding must be compassion – a willingness to “suffer with” the other.   Each of us is called to share in the pastoral ministry of the flock of the Lord Jesus – in various ways and to the various persons whom the Good Shepherd has entrusted to our care.

Perhaps a story from the life of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) may help to illustrate the need for us to be more caring for those around us. Mother Teresa tells how one day she visited a retirement home in Sweden. It was efficiently run. The food was good. The staff were trained and treated the old people well. It seemed an ideal place in which to end one’s days. There were about forty elderly people in the home. They seemed to have everything they wanted. Yet as Mother Teresa went around, she noticed that none of them smiled. She also noticed something else. They kept looking towards the door. She asked one of the nurses why this was so. “They are longing for someone to come to visit them,” the nurse replied. “They are always looking and thinking, ‘Maybe my son, maybe my daughter, maybe somebody will come and visit me today.’ But no one comes. It’s the same every day.” “No one comes!”

The phrase haunted Mother Teresa. These elderly people had been put away in this home by their families and then abandoned. That sense of having been abandoned was by far their greatest suffering. Sometimes a person may have no choice but to put an elderly parent in a home. However, it is the spirit in which this is done that matters. When having placed an elderly parent in a home, one person may abandon that parent, whereas another visits that parent regularly. A Christian who does not care is like a lamp that does not give light. “Caring” is never easy. Yet all of us are capable of caring. All that is required is an open heart. When we care, we are fulfilling our role as Good Shepherds.

This year Pope Francis has decided to institute a Church-wide celebration of a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. It will be held on July 25th, close to the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus. We are asked to reach out and be with our grandparents and elderly in a special way on this day. See the article below for more information.

To whom am I been called to show pastoral care to today?  Have I taken seriously my calling to shepherd those who have been entrusted to my care?  

The more we put love into action (compassion) the more we will hear and experience the words of the Psalm today: “Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the lord for years to come.” (Psalm 23:6)

God bless you folks, Father Gerard

All Weekend and Weekday Masses from St. Leonard's will be Livestreamed at the time that they are scheduled to our YouTube Channel. To visit this site click here. The 4:30 pm Saturday Mass will be recorded and made available on Saturday evening here.

Learn about Residential Schools 

Statement from Archbishop Marcel Damphousse of the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall on the Discovery of the Remains of 215 Children at
the Former Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia

History of Residential Schools

Article: The policy battle that set the stage for a century of residential school death, misery, grief

Documentary: A National Crime (explores the efforts of Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce to publicize and put a stop to the horrific conditions he encountered in the Residential Schools in Western Canada, more than a century ago)

Link to "The Bryce Report"
 

Truth & Reconciliation Canada

Read "Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the future" - Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Links to all the TRC reports

Where are the Children Buried?
Read some reports & articles about the whereabout of the children, and unmarked graves.
Where are the Children Buried? (by: Dr. Scott Hamilton, Dept. of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder bay, Ontario)
Missing Children and Unmarked Burials (Truth and Reconciliation Commission Canada)
Clarification on unmarked graves in Kamloops

A Catholic Response

Read the Catholic Response to Call to Action 48 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (on adopting and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)

Pastoral Initiatives in Canada

Encounters with Popes & more resources from CCCB

More info at catholicyyc.ca/...

Faith Formation