The Holy Grand Prince Vladimir (Volodymyr), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Named Basil at Holy Baptism (1015); Holy Martyrs Cyricus and Julitta, His Mother
All-Night Vigil Feast. A day when the faithful are highly encouraged to participate in the Divine Liturgy.
Read
Galatians 1:11-19; John 10:1-8
In today’s Gospel, we see our Lord using a metaphor of the sheepfold to talk about those who belong to His mystical body – the Church. It is evident that the shepherd cannot easily protect any sheep that don’t remain in the fold. And if they don’t hear the Shepherd’s voice often enough (through Holy Scriptures), after a while, they might not be able to recognize it at all. Then, these sheep then might follow any self-proclaimed shepherd, but here’s a given; no sheep can come into the flock without first going through the shepherd, so there is only one way to the flock and into the fold, and this is through the Shepherd Himself. There is no other way, there are no other paths, and there is only one door.
Jesus knew the nature of people without a shepherd. Evangelist Saint Matthew wrote that when Jesus “saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt 9:36). It is at times when we find ourselves complete helpless let us turn to Jesus our Good and Compassionate Shepherd.