“The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice”
Jesus is both the door and the gate. As the shepherd He calls us by name and we know and understand His voice. “The Church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ. It is also the flock of which God himself foretold that he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep, even though governed by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of Shepherds, who gave his life for his sheep.” [1]
Jesus will call us by name as it says in the Gospel reading today. The name at our Baptism is the name He calls us by. “God calls each one by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it.” [2] This is why choosing names for our children’s Baptism and Confirmation are so important.
“Bueller, Bueller, Bueller” has become an iconic reference in American culture of the importance of a name. The teacher will not stop saying the name until he is acknowledged. In the same way, God will continue to call our name.
What does Jesus mean the sheep will recognize His voice? Back in Jesus’ time it was normal to have multiple sheep herds graze in a pasture together. They would all stay together through the night where one person could look after all of them. When morning came the various shepherds would come back and call for their sheep. Sheep sometimes have a reputation for being dumb or stupid however, they can be intelligent creatures and they have the ability to distinguish between the voice of their shepherd and someone who was not their shepherd. The sheep were trained to know their particular shepherd’s voice in order to prevent them from going to a different shepherd or wandering astray. “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.” [3]
Not only were sheep able to recognize their shepherd’s voice, but they were able to sense the shepherd’s smell. It is important that the shepherd has the “smell” of the sheep. A bishop, like any good shepherd, will be with the people, and thus begin to smell like the sheep. In the same manner the Christian (sheep) who is close to the Shepherd (Christ) will share the “smell” of the Shepherd.
The video is the first Chrism Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in 2013. He speaks directly to his brother priests encouraging them to “be shepherds, with the “odour of the sheep”, make it real, as shepherds among your flock, fishers of men.” [4] Pope Francis also spoke on the great symbols and roles of the priest, and how the lay people must continue to pray for our shepherds.
The “smell” of the shepherd is also seen in the sacramentals of the Church. In the 1962 Missal on the sidebar commentary reads, “Incense represents the grace and the effects of grace.” The commentary goes on to read, “.... The clouds of incense rise to heaven, descend on the faithful, and spread throughout the Church, as we pray that the Eucharistic Sacrifice be accepted for salvation of the faithful and for the whole world. The gifts are first incensed in the form of a cross and then in the form of a circle. Then the crucifix or the tabernacle, the altar, the celebrant and ministers, the clergy present, and finally the people are incensed, expressing the Church's desire that the divine mercy sweetly and plentifully descend on all assisting at Mass, flowing form the altar to the priests and through them to the baptized. The incense symbolizes our prayer, whose source is in the love of God, the divine fire that our Lord came to cast upon the earth.” The “smell” of the holy oils is shared in common by those anointed in the various sacraments. This “smell” is a sharing in the one “smell” of the Anointed One – Jesus Christ.
Video showing how sheep do know the voice of their shepherd.
Activity – Can’t Speak, Can’t Walk, Can’t See
This activity is good with at least six (6) or more people. You will need a blindfold and several different objects. One way to do this is to have several different cups with different shapes and colors drawn on the cup. You can also use various objects (different toys, books, utensils, etc). The leader will need to separate the group into three different areas. There will need to be about 10 feet of space between the three areas. Choose one person to be blind folded. You will place them on the far end. You will then choose a different person who will be in the middle area. This person is designated as the speaker. Finally, the remaining people will be on the other far end area (farthest from the blindfolded person). So for example:
Working from left to right: (blindfolded person) – 10 ft. of space – (speaker) – 10 ft. of space – (Silent group).
Once you have everyone in place you must instruct them to not move. You will then take your objects and place them anywhere you want in the room. Usually it is best to place them behind the blindfold person. You can now explain the rules. You will tell the “silent group” which object the blindfolded person to pick up. The silent group must mime or act out (like charades) which object to the “talker”. The “talker” may not move but must direct the blindfolded person to the object. The blindfolded person cannot speak or see but can only listen to the “speaker” tell him/her where to go and grab the correct object.
It is good to do this in multiple rounds and having different people do different tasks (i.e. don’t let the “speaker” be the speaker the whole time. If you have a lot of people you can have multiple teams and races to see who can grab the object first. This will make the blindfolded person really have to listen to the correct voice. If you have one group a good twist is on the last round have the “silent group” start shouting wrong information to the blind folded person. This will more than likely confuse the blind folded person at first, but then will listen more carefully to the right person.
Will some people not hear? Are there other voices than Jesus? Yes. Sometimes people will not listen or be in tune to what Jesus is saying. It happens here and in other places in the Gospel. For example, when he promised the Eucharist. [5]
Another way that the flock of Christ is harmed is by “thieves and robbers” who seek to destroy the Church from the outside and even from within the Church. “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.” [6] “Unfortunately, plunderers of this kind are never lacking; in the guise of shepherds they insinuate themselves into the Church, upset it with false theories, and scatter and bewilder the faithful.” [7]
ACTIVITY – Listen to His Voice?
Choose six volunteers. One person (person A) will go to the front of the group, facing the group. Another volunteer (person B) will stand about 10 feet from person A and will be reading John 10:1-11 to person A. Person B, the one reading the scripture represents the Voice of the Shepherd. Choose 3-4 other volunteers. These volunteers will be “other voices” in the world. One person B begins reading to person A, have one of the “other voices” approach person A and offer them a cell phone, or iPod so they can listen to a popular song. Person B continues to read the whole time despite the distractions. Have another person from the “other voices” approach person A and begin to gossip. Person B continues to read the whole time. Have the another person from the “other voices” approach person A and begin to show them a new YouTube video, asking them if they saw it yet and then playing it for them. Person A will be bombarded with music, video and gossip and in the midst of the bombardment the “Voice of the Shepherd” will continue. Try to time the skit so that the “other voices” do there bombardment within the same amount of time that it takes person B to read John 10:1-11. After the skit ask person A if they remember or heard anything from the reading. This can lead into a discussion about John 10:1-11 as well as a discussion on why we are distracted and bombarded with so many voices and how it can be hard to hear the Voice of the Shepherd. At the beginning of the skit, you can ask person A to try to listen to person B as person B reads the Gospel. At the end of the skit, ask person A how much they comprehended.
How do we know we are following the right voices? “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 constantly of our way.” [8] The proper voices do not speak or boast of themselves, but only shepherd to the one true shepherd, Jesus. They also bring us to the gate of the sheepfold, which is also Jesus himself. Jesus is both the door and the shepherd at the same time. Saint Augustine, shepherd and bishop of Hippo wrote, “I 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.” [9] “Who is the good shepherd? ‘He who enters by the door’ of faithfulness to the Church’s doctrine 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’ " [10]
[1] CCC 754
[2] Eugene, From Baltimore to Vatican II 2158
[3] Navarre Bible pg. 141
[4] Pope Francis, Chrism Mass Homily, March 28th, 2013
[5] Jn. 6:41-65
[6] Navarre Bible pg. 141
[7] Gabriel, Divine Intimacy vol. II pg. 174
[8] J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 34
[9] Augustine, In Ioann. Evang., 47, 2-3
[10] J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 34