There are two recurring themes in Scripture and in Christian writing, that of the shepherd caring for the flock and the paschal sacrifice of the Lamb.  

We are approaching the season of Passover, the time when the Hebrew people celebrate the passing over in to the Promised Land after their confinement in Egypt , the time chosen by Jesus of Nazareth to fulfil John’s earlier announcing of the Lamb of God on the banks of the Jordan . It was in this setting of the family gathered round the table in celebration of memory and thanksgiving that we are given the gift the Eucharist, the food for our journey, the gift of the Lord. Thus the sacrifice of the Lamb is inseparable from the sacrifice of the Cross.  

This precious gift, sustenance for us all, can sometimes be presented as the gift for our good behaviour. Far from it. The Eucharist is the very gift we need to assist us when our lives have fallen short of the ideal that our Christian commitment demands. It is the time when we receive strength after our stumbling and failure.    

A prayer from the 9^th Station, the Third Fall, reminds us that:  

“Lord, time and again we almost make it,

 and turning, dejected and disheartened,

 we realise our failure.

 Even then, Lord you are with us”.  

(Walk with Me, meditations on the Way of the Cross published by McCrimmons 1994). It is then to the Eucharist that we should turn.  

For those whose livelihood is associated with stock-rearing be it in the fields of hill farms or the great open plains, the welfare of their animals is central to their activity. So the Caring Shepherd or Cattle Man is an image we are well acquainted with.  

The picture that heads this piece shows Francis with a lamb round his shoulders in the manner that a farmer would, if necessary, carry small stock on the farm. It is an image of care, of concern for the lamb. The expression of joy shown by Francis echoes the parable of the lost sheep and of the shepherd leaving the flock to look for the one who is lost being successful.  

At each stage and in every pattern of our lives, this image is important, be it of the Bishop for his people, the Pope for our Church, the Parish priest for his congregation or the laity for each other. A song from earlier years, 1969, reminds us of this shared responsibility to help each other.  

“The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows when
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.”

 ( Audio track here - You might have a brief ad to skip on the way to the song )

This has been central to the vision of the Church that Francis has offered us in this last year. Care and concern for those less fortunate, a Church of the Poor, not lorded over by Church princes but served by those who truly see themselves as servants.  This attitude should influence the manner in which Bishops treat the priests of their Diocese, the relationship between priest and people in our parishes and the way we Christians treat each other. He further developed the shepherd image when he called on the world’s priests to bring the healing power of God’s grace to everyone in need, to stay close to the marginalized and to be “shepherds living with the smell of the sheep.”

As we enter Jerusalem together this Palm Sunday, let us walk again with the Lord sustained always by his gift of the Eucharist.     

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