Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

As we are gathering on this 16th Sunday in Ordinary time, the first reading from the book of prophet Jeremiah has some strong words for anyone who is called to be a shepherd of God's people. He says,” woe to you shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.”

He then promises to send a shepherd who will not mislead his people and he does. The name of that shepherd is Jesus. In today’s Gospel, Saint Mark gives us one of the most amazing phrases in his entire Gospel. When Jesus gets off the boat and sees the crowd, St. Mark tells us that Jesus’ heart was moved with pity because the people in his time were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus as the Good Shepherd who cares, tends and protects his flock. Jesus has a human heart and He truly cares for us; He feels our needs and struggles even more deeply than we feel them ourselves. When we accept Jesus as our Good Shepherd and live in communion with Him, He is pleased, truly gratified but when we reject Him, he is hurt, truly stung by our ingratitude. This is the lesson of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which has, through the centuries, confided its sorrows to certain chosen souls, like St Gertrude and St Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Dear friends, in the world we now live in, sometimes we feel like we are sheep without a shepherd. Sheep need shepherd because sheep aren’t sensitive enough to danger and so may find themselves easy prey to wild animals. It is in that light that Jesus calls himself the Good shepherd and when He is looking at us, he is moved with pity.

The lesson for this week is that Jesus also wants us to be moved and have pity on our brothers and sisters who are most vulnerable and in need. Jesus also makes it clear that God is not pleased with people who are careless and heartless. God is not happy with people who do not take actions to help others who are in need. The question for us to ponder this week is: do we have feelings for others when we witness their difficulties. We must learn from Jesus to have compassion and love for others. Jesus moved with pity and gave his life to save humanity and he recruited you and me to continue his

saving works here on earth. YES!

Have a blessed week,
Fr. Augustine Nguyen