preach the gospel message clearly and unequivocally. I believe that his
pectoral cross not only reveals much about his own personal story and
predilections, but also about his vision of ministry.
Close to the People of God
The central image of the cross is the Good Shepherd standing amid
the sheep, guiding them, unifying them, protecting them. In Jesus’ day,
shepherds would often position themselves between the sheep inside
the enclosure and predators and danger outside. The shepherd’s first
responsibility was the safety and well-being of the sheep.
Pope Francis has said: “The priest who seldom goes out of himself…
misses out on the best of our people, on what can stir the depths of
his priestly heart. . . . This is precisely the reason why some priests grow
dissatisfied, lose heart, and become in a sense collectors of antiquities or
novelties— instead of being shepherds living with ‘the smell of the sheep.’
This is what I am asking you—be shepherds with the smell of sheep.”
Caring for the Lost and the Vulnerable
The parable of the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep (Mt 18:1214; Lk 15:4-7) speaks to the tender care of the shepherd for the most fragile
and frail among the flock. The Good Shepherd of the pope’s pectoral cross
holds a sheep around his neck, gently supporting its legs with his hands.
Pope Francis reminds us that “we have to become courageous Christians
and seek out those who are the flesh of Christ.” Last October, he said: “Every
day we are all called to become a ‘caress of God’ for those who perhaps
have forgotten their first caresses, or perhaps who never have felt a caress
in their life.” And he has repeatedly called Jesus the “man for others.”
It isn’t difficult to identify the lost sheep of our age: the poor, the disfigured,
the sick, the homeless, refugees, the unchurched, those struggling with
belief, the young, and the elderly. Do we have the courage and the will
to be the “caress of God” for them?
Praying for the Church
Those who first saw Pope Francis’ pectoral cross as he stood on the
balcony of Saint Peter’s following his election thought it was black. Silver
darkens as it is touched and kissed and exposed to the air. Archbishop
Bergoglio believed, says Allegri, that “the world’s suffering had been
impressed on it, darkening it.” On his way home, then, he would pray for
the people he had met, asking God to grant them healing and comfort
and to transfer their pain to the cross . . . and to his heart.
Father Anthony Schueller, SSS
Editor
355