In the Gospel, the Lord describes us as sheep without a shepherd. However, for practicing Catholics, there is the danger of a certain spiritual smugness that's brands others as lost sheep, but refuses to accept the possibility for ourselves. We are, after all, disciples of Christ. But if we are truly members of His flock, we must recognize that we remain sheep with wanderlust.
There are three kinds of sheep, categories that can easily overlap in practice. The first are those who are lost and know they are lost. They are hungry for the truth. They secretly desire the generosity of a good shepherd to reveal the truth to them. A good deal of young people can thus be described. Lost in the culture of pleasure and self-absorption, some learn at a young age the vanity of worldly pleasure. But they cannot bring themselves to give up their compulsions. They know that they need good shepherds " loving but firm parents, selfless priests and honest authorities " to show them the way. With a patient and diligent imparting of the truth, good shepherds would help them find the peace of the flock of Christ and true peace of soul.
The second type of sheep includes those who are lost, but do not know they are lost because they are following false or gravely flawed shepherds. Who are they? They are the young people who adopt their favorite superstars and media personalities as role models with little or no regard for Christian virtue. They are Catholics who view themselves as loyal members of a political party before they consider themselves Catholic. All who establish money, sex, power, personality " even their own intelligence " as their guiding lights are lost sheep. On a certain level they may be happy for awhile. But it's a happiness that ultimately cannot endure or interpret the inevitable crosses of life. In many cases, as with an alcoholic who must hit bottom to come to his senses, God permits suffering to help these lost sheep recognize the futility of their false gods.
Finally, there are those lost sheep, who, in their arrogance, think they themselves are shepherds without accountability. Clergymen can be lost in this way by forgetting that they are not shepherds on their own authority. They are shepherds with Christ as the chief Shepherd. This is why priests and bishops are subject to laws of the Church. If they are to be good shepherds, their rule ought to be based on justice and charity, not on caprice or privilege.
Anyone vested with the authority of a shepherd can be lost by dismissing the source of his authority. In recent months, a bishop warned a pro-choice/pro-abortion nominally Catholic politician not to receive Communion unless he repents of his views. The politician's spokesman complained that the bishop was telling the faithful how to practice their faith. Exactly. Even prominent politicians are sheep of Christ's flock, with bishops appointed as overseers. Shepherds who presume to rule on their own authority succumb to the temptation of the fallen angels. They yearn to be as gods. Such an evil cannot be cast without prayer and fasting.
Awareness of our absolute dependence on God's grace is only developed in prayer or awakened by suffering. Without God's grace, a vague perception of our dependence upon the Good Shepherd sharpens, and we begin to see clearly the joy of returning to and remaining in the sheepfold of Christ. But in prayer, we should be able to recognize when we were lost, how we were lost and how easy it is to be lost We strayed in the past. By presuming God's grace, that can happen again. In humility, we must remain vigilant.
Fr. Pokorsky is fiscal manager for the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb.
