Raphael [Public domain]
From “Origins of the Papacy” by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio
The origins of the Papacy can be found in the dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter… The question “Peter, do you love me?” is followed by the command “Feed my sheep.” The pope, shepherd and successor of Peter, has a role that has not to do with privilege but with sacrifice.
… it was only to Peter that Jesus put the question “do you love me?” But why did Jesus ask him the same question three times? Perhaps Peter needed to atone for his three-fold denial of Christ by a three-fold profession of love. Perhaps… the Lord really wanted to be sure he got his point across… “Peter, your way of expressing penance for your sin and love for me will be to feed my sheep. Remember, they are not your sheep, but mine. Take care of them for me. Do for them what I did for them… Protect them. Lay down your life for them if necessary.”
Peter’s role as a shepherd is, in a way, unique because it is universal. Despite his human frailty… he is called to be the shepherd of all the shepherds. That’s a big responsibility… which he and his successors could never fulfill by human power alone.
The Pope… needs the grace of the Holy Spirit to fulfill his role. The bit about Peter stretching out his hands so that others could lead him where he does not want to go – this does not just refer to his crucifixion… but to the daily laying his life down for his flock…
In another way… all of us… are called to become ourselves shepherds... bishops… priests and deacons… teachers… and parents, shepherds of … “the domestic church.”
… the call to feed and care for the sheep is a call to sacrifice, not privilege. It has its moments of exaltation and profound satisfaction, and it has its moments of agony as well. Yet if we’ve learned anything from the passion, it’s that suffering is the true and necessary test of love, as well as love’s most authentic and powerful expression.
So let us not be afraid to be shepherds. The Good Shepherd will empower us with His Spirit. And let’s pray with gratitude and compassion for those who shepherd us.
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