Sunday, April 6, 2008

The Good Shepherd

I'm told that Lutherans have great devotion to Our Lord as the Good Shepherd, in a way analogous to Catholic devotion to Our Lord's Sacred Heart. If so, that's all for the good.

There are of course many psalms and passages from Holy Writ relating to the Good Shepherd, which anyone may look up. Once I collected up various prayers to the Good Shepherd; I append them below.


I. Orationes ad Pastorem Bonum (Prayers to the Good Shepherd)

1. Considera Christum ut pastorem

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, deduc nos ad societatem cælestium gaudiorum, ut eo perveniat humilitas gregis, quo processit fortitudo pastoris. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen.


(Almighty, ever-living God, bring us to the joy of your heavenly city: so that we, your little flock, may follow where Christ, our Good Shepherd, has gone before us by the power of his resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.)

Domine Jesu Christe, pastor bone, qui pro ovibus tuis animam dedisti[, nosque populum tuum et oves pascuæ tuæ in cruce pendens Matri virgini commendasti]: [ipsa interveniente] concede; ut, te pastorem nostrum sequentes in terris, ad pascua æternæ vitæ perducamur in cælis. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

(Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd, who gave your life for your sheep [, and, when hanging on the cross, commended we your people and the sheep of your pasture to your Virgin Mother]: grant [at her intervention], that following you, our shepherd, on earth, we may be led to the pastures of eternal life in heaven. Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.)

2. Præparatio ad Missam (Preparation for Mass)

O Jesu, pastor bone, qui cognoscis oves tuas, et pro illis animam tuam posuisti, easque in gremio cordis tui pinguedine tua reples, quære servum tuum; erravi sicut ovis, quæ periit; video lupum venientem, et jamjam me rapientem. Eja ergo, veni, defensor vitæ meæ; propera; rege me, et nihil mihi deerit in loco pascuæ, in circuitu mensæ tuæ, ubi me collocasti. Salva a cornibus unicornium humilitatem meam; custodi me, Domine, ut pupillam oculi; o Jesu, dulcissime protector mi! tu es refugium meum in hac terra deserta, invia et inaquosa. Jacto super te omnem curam meam; contendam ego semper sequi viam arctam et bonam, per quam ambulem, et tu, dux meus, propter nomen tuum deduces me et enutries me; sub tegmine alarum tuarum sperabo, donec adduces me ad pascua vitæ æternæ.

(O Jesu, Good Shepherd, Who knowest Thy sheep, and for them didst lay down Thy life, and dost fill their laps with the richness of Thy Heart , seek Thy servant: I have gone astray as a sheep, that perisheth; I see the approaching wolf, and he on the point of ravening me. Quick, then, come, Defender of my life; hasten; rule me, and nothing to me shall be lacking in the place of pasture, in the compass ofThy table, where Thou hast placed me. Save my humility from the horns of the unicorns; guard me, Lord, as the apple of the eye; O Jesu, my sweetest Protector! Thou art my Refuge in this land, desert, trackless, and waterless. I throw upon Thee all my cares; contend shall I ever to follow the way narrow and good, by which I shall walk, and Thou, my Leader, for Thy Name's sake do Thou lead and feed me; under the shelter of Thy wings I shall hope, until Thou bring me to the pasture of life eternal.)

3. Gratiarum actio post Missam (Thanksgiving after Mass)

Erraveram sicut ovis, quæ periit, sed conversus sum ad te, pastorem animæ meæ; tu, o pastor bone, qui pascis me a juventute, imposuisti me in humeros tuos, et in loco pascuæ, id est Corporis et Sanguinis tui, me hodie collocasti. Quid mihi deinceps deerit? Jam super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabo, et conculcabo leonem et draconem. Ne discesseris a me; custodi me ut pupillam oculi, donec perducas me ad pascua vitæ æternæ.

Tu es Pastor bonus, qui posuisti animam tuam pro ovibus tuis. Ecce ego ovis illa quæ perierat, et tamen dignaris me pascere corpore et sanguine tuo: suscipe me nunc in humeros tuos. Quid negabis mihi, qui teipsum dedisti? Rege me, et nihil mihi deerit in loco pascuæ, ubi me collocasti: donec ad pascua vitæ æternæ perducar.


(I have gone astray as a sheep, that perisheth, but I have been returned to Thee, the Shepherd of my soul; Thou, O Good Shepherd, Who hast pastured me from my youth, hast placed me upon Thy shoulders, and in the place of pasture, that is, Thy Body and Blood, this day Thou hast placed me. What to me shall henceforth be lacking? Now I shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and I shall crush down the lion and the dragon. Let Thou not part from me; keep me as the apple of the eye, until Thou lead me unto the pastures of life eternal.)

(Thou art the Good Shepherd, Who didst lay down Thy life for Thy sheep. Behold me, that sheep that was perishing, and however Thou deignest to pasture me with Thy Body and Blood: take me now upon Thy shoulders. What shall be lacking to me, Who didst give to me Thyself? Rule me, and hothing to me shall be lacking in the place of pasture, where Thou hast placed me: until Thou lead me to the pastures of life eternal.)

O God, we thank you that you have fed us with the gift of your Son, the Good Shepherd, Jesus our Saviour. May his body and blood strengthen and unite us as one flock under one shepherd as he guides us all our days, even to the gates of heaven; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.


II. Good Shepherd Responsories from the Divine Office

3rd Week of Eastertide: Saturday – 2nd Responsory (Jn 10:14,15b,10b)

R. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, * and I lay down my life for them, alleluia. V. I have come that men may have life, and may have it in all its fulness, * and I lay down my life for them, alleluia.

4th Sunday of Eastertide- 2nd Responsory (cf. Jn 10:14,15; 1 Cor 5:7b)

R. The good shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, is risen from the dead: * for the sake of his flock, he was willing to endure death, alleluia. V. Christ has been sacrificed for us, our paschal victim: * for the sake of his flock, he was willing to endure death, alleluia.

Week 24 of the Year: Sunday – 2nd Responsory (Ps 22:1-2,3)

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. * Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. V. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. * Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.

Week 24 of the Year: Monday – 2nd Responsory (Ezek 34:15-16)

R. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest – it is the Lord who speaks. * I shall look for the lost sheep and bring back the stray. V. I shall make the weak strong and I shall watch over the strong and healthy. * I shall look for the lost sheep and bring back the stray.

Week 25 of the Year: Monday – 1st Responsory (Ezek 34:12,13,14; Jn 10:10)

R. I shall rescue my sheep from wherever they have been scattered during mist and darkness, and bring them back to their own land. * I shall feed them in good pastures. V. I have come, that they may have life and have it more abundantly. * I shall feed them in good pastures.

Week 25 of the Year: Thursday – 1st Responsory (Ezek 37:21,22; Jn 10:16,11)

R. I am going to take the sons of Israel and gather them together from far and wide, and I shall make them into one nation. * Then shall there be one flock and one shepherd. V. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. * Then shall there be one flock and one shepherd.

2nd Week of Eastertide: Wednesday – 2nd Responsory; & Week 25 of the Year: Thursday – 2nd Responsory (Jn 10:14; Ezek 34:11,13)

R. I am the good shepherd. * I know my sheep and they know me (alleluia). V. I myself will search for my sheep, find them for myself. I shall rescue them from every kingdom, recover them from every land, and bring them back to their own country where they will find pasture. * I know my sheep and they know me (alleluia).

Week 25 of the Year: Friday – 2nd Responsory (Gregem tuum Domine)

R. Good Shepherd, always unsleeping, ever on the watch, * do not desert your flock. V. Lord, mercifully watch over us to keep away our enemy, the crafty tempter. * do not desert your flock.

III. Scriptural Intercessions directed to Our Lord the Good Shepherd

1. All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Let us pray to Christ who laid down his life for his sheep:
R. Kyrie, eleison.

2. I am lost like a sheep; seek your servant
for I remember your commands. (Psalm 118(119):176)

Let us pray for the lost sheep of God’s flock:
R. Kyrie, eleison.

3. When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion for them,
because they were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

Let us pray for those who have no one to care for them:
R. Kyrie, eleison.

4. Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few;
pray therefore the Lord of the harvest
to send out labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

Let us pray for vocations:
R. Kyrie, eleison.

5. “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock,
in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,
to care for the church of the Lord
which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

Let us pray for Bishops:
R. Kyrie, eleison.

6. “When the Son of man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Before him will be gathered all the nations,
and he will separate them one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
and he will place the sheep at his right hand,
but the goats at the left.” (Matthew 25:31)

Let us pray for mercy at the day of judgement:
R. Kyrie, eleison.

7. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”
“The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water;
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 14:13b; 7:17)

Let us pray for the dead:
R. Kyrie, eleison.

Now may the God of peace
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great shepherd of the sheep,
by the blood of the eternal covenant,
equip us with everything good that we may do his will,
working in us that which is pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. R. Amen. (Cf. Hebrews 13:20-21)

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