My Sheep Hear My Voice

My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me.  And I give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand.  That which my Father hath given me, is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father.  I and the Father are one.

— St John x, 27-30

This was the Gospel passage read at Mass to-night, which marked this as Good Shepherd Sunday (OF), when in our Easter joy we adore Jesus as our Shepherd, who is truly good: ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός: "good" is really inadequate, for the word means also "beautiful", "admirable", "excellent" and much more. 

Our visiting priest preached a little on the deep truth that God calls each and every one of us, and that this calling (expressed in our Baptism) is our vocation – our calling home to God, which we each are to live throughout life.  Soon-to-be-Blessed John Henry Newman was quoted, referencing his famous words:

1. God was all-complete, all-blessed in Himself; but it was His will to create a world for His glory. He is Almighty, and might have done all things Himself, but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He has created. We are all created to His glory—we are created to do His will. I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I have a place in God's counsels, in God's world, which no one else has; whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name.

2. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his—if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.

3. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me—still He knows what He is about.

O Adonai, O Ruler of Israel, Thou that guidest Joseph like a flock, O Emmanuel, O Sapientia, I give myself to Thee. I trust Thee wholly. Thou art wiser than I—more loving to me than I myself. Deign to fulfil Thy high purposes in me whatever they be—work in and through me. I am born to serve Thee, to be Thine, to be Thy instrument. Let me be Thy blind instrument. I ask not to see—I ask not to know—I ask simply to be used.

— Meditations on Christian Doctrine, I. Hope in God—Creator, (2) March 7, 1848

Before Mass, I'd been to confession – that sacrament which is indeed an act of worship, testifying to our true, felt need to always "come back to the Father" – and had been very much consoled when Father reminded me that God's love for me is a far, far stronger thing than my love (as a mere creature) for God.  

This in turn now reminds me of what "the sacred monster of Thomism", Fr Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., called "the principle of predilection": one would not be greater than another did not God love that one more.  I have received so many blessings of nature and, I believe, of grace: in this I have proof of the great love that God has for me, because all I have, and am, is His gift.  God does not love because one is good, no; rather, God's love is active and creative: one whom God loves is made to be good.

How the Gospel corroborates this!  God's choice and election of His beloved cannot be overcome: they are His: "no one can pluck them out of My hand".  "Paschal triumph, Paschal joy, / Only sin can this destroy: / From the death of sin set free / Souls reborn, dear Lord, in Thee."  Great St Pius V died with these wonderful words of song on his lips:

 Quæsumus, Auctor omnium,

In hoc Paschali gaudio,

Ab omni mortis impetu

Tuum defende populum.

Ferial Mass, Deo Gratias

Having some devotion to the Good Shepherd, it was a great honour indeed to serve Fr Holmes' Low Mass at the Pro., at 6:30pm on this Monday, a feria, which therefore repeated the texts of the Sunday Mass. Furthermore, it was quite something to kneel close to the altar and attend to this Camillan priest as he said the Mass he was ordained for, his every gesture and word gently expressive of his attention and devotion. Fr Rowe is away on a priests' retreat this week, but I think I had my own moment of retreat and meditation in observing a priest in prayer, at God's altar. Ad multos annos, Pater!

I was struck once more by the orations of this Mass, which - along with the chants and readings - I had read over before hand, the better to serve without the distraction and encumbrance of a hand missal:

Deus, qui in Filii tui humilitate jacentem mundum erexisti: fidelibus tuis perpetuam concede lætitiam; ut, quos perpetuæ mortis eripuisti casibus, gaudiis facias perfrui sempiternis. Per eumdem...

(O God, Who didst raise up the fallen world by the humility of Thy Son, grant unto Thy faithful perpetual gladness, that those whom Thou hast delivered from the perils of endless death, Thou mayest make to enjoy eternal joys. Through the same...)

Benedictionem nobis, Domine, conferat salutarem sacra semper oblatio: ut, quod agit mysterio, virtute perficiat. Per...

(May the sacred oblation ever confer upon us, Lord, a blessing that worketh unto salvation: that, what it celebrates in mystery, it may perfect in power. Thro'...)

Præsta nobis, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus: ut vivificationis tuæ gratiam consequentes, in tuo semper munere gloriemur. Per...

(Grant unto us, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that receiving the grace of Thy enlivening and quickening, we may ever glory in Thy gift. Thro'...)

These three prayers of the sacred liturgy together present and compose a nice little catechesis: the world that fell through its mad irrational pride has been restored by the wise humility of the Incarnate God, delivering us from the threat of eternal death, that we may rejoice here and hereafter for ever - if God works in us both to will and to do. The sacrifice, the offering that is made holy (sacrum facere > sacrificium), we pray will accomplish in us the salvation that God offers us as His blessing, for this offering truly has the power to effect this, since what it represents in mystery, in sacramental form, is the very humbling unto death on the Cross of the Logos-made-flesh, which alone can save us from eternal death and give us endless delight. And so may we ever glory in the Holy Gifts to us of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Holies for His Saints (Sancta sanctis!), the sanctorum communio (the communion of holy things) for the sanctorum communio (the fellowship of holy persons), for these impart to us God's freely-given gift of a grace that gives us true supernatural life, a gift and a grace entirely beyond the natural order.

Furthermore, today in the new rite (I mean, O.F.) is the memorial of St John Baptist de la Salle, patron saint of teachers and schools.

And I cannot forbear to post the orations of the Mass of St Camillus de Lellis (18th July), in honour of the Founder of Fr Holme's congregation, since I used them as part of my thanksgiving after Mass; for a different perspective on them, I attach the translations provided in the 1796 "A Companion to the Altar, or Compact Pocket Missal" that I have in my possession:

Deus, qui sanctum Camillum, ad animarum in extremo agone luctantium subsidium, singulari caritatis prærogativa decorasti: ejus, quæsumus, meritis spiritum nobis tuae dilectionis infunde; ut in hora exitus nostri hostem vincere, et ad cælestem mereamur coronam pervenire. Per...

(O God, who didſt gloriouſly animate bleſſed Camillus with a ſingular charity in aſſiſting ſouls in their laſt agony: pour forth, we beſeech thee, into us, by his interceſſion, the ſpirit of thy love, that we may overcome the enemy at the hour of death, and arrive at a crown in heaven. Thro.')

Hostia immaculata, qua illud Domini nostri Jesu Christi immensæ caritatis opus renovamus, sit, Deus Pater omnipotens, sancto Camillo intercedente, contra omnes corporis et animæ infirmitates salutare remedium, et in extremo agone solatium et tutela. Per eumdem...

(Let the ſpotleſs victim, by the offering of which we renew the work our redemption, (the effect of the immenſe charity of Jeſus Chriſt) become for us, by the interceſſion of bleſſed Camillus, a ſalutary remedy againſt all our weakneſs of body and ſoul, and a comfort and defence in our laſt agony. Thro.')

Per hæc cælestia alimenta, quæ sancti Camilli Confessoris tui solemnia [commemoratione] celebrantes, pia devotione suscepimus: da, quæsumus, Domine; ut in hora mortis nostræ sacramentis refecti, et culpis omnibus expiati, in sinum misericordiae tuæ læti suscipi mereamur. Qui vivis et regnas...

(Grant, we beſeech thee, O Lord, by theſe heavenly myſteries, which we have received with piety and devotion on this feſtival [commemoration] of bleſſed Camillus, that we may be refreſhed with the ſame at the hour of death, and, being delivered from all ſin, be joyfully received into the boſom of thy mercy. Thro.' [sic;lege Who liveſt.])

In This House of Brede

My housemates and I, after roast beef and red wine for dinner, have just watched In This House of Brede, based on the eponymous book by Rumer Godden, and thoroughly recommend it. Then we sang Compline in our chapel.

Oh, and while I'm blogging, to record some details of today: after managing to sleep after a pretty poor Saturday, I got up, drove to church, confessed, then sang - along with Justin (who was cantor and organist), with several of the ladies from the mixed choir now joining in the Gregorian chant - at the Sung Mass. Fr Rowe exhorted us to shepherd our own souls, that spark of the Divine within, made in God's image and likeness, spiritual and immortal: for in saving our souls at the cost of all else, even our lives, we will certainly gain everything; lest, if we lose them even while gaining all else, we ineluctably lose everything. Justin was pleased to shepherd us all into singing the very singable Proper of today, together with Mass VIII, Credo III, Ad regias Agni dapes at the Offertory, Psalm 22(23) along with the Communion at Communion (!), "The King of love my Shepherd is" before Mass, and "Praise to the Holiest in the height" at its end. There was roadwork going on just round the corner, so we had the church door shut till the Preface, but the incense (about which I would never normally complain) got so thick that, lest we all perish, or at the least the choir stop singing, we had to throw it open for the rest of Mass, so we then had jackhammers and the like to contend with...

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)