Homily on the Good Pastor by Pope St. Gregory the Great

From the Gospel according to John (10: 11-16)

«At that time Jesus said to the Pharisees, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives his life for his sheep. The mercenary, who is not the pastor, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and fled. And the wolf takes them away and disperses them. The mercenary flees because he is a mercenary and does not care about the sheep.

"I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I give my life for my sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this sheepfold; these too, I must lead them; and they will listen to my voice, and there will be one sheepfold and one Shepherd."»

From the sermon pronounced before the people in the Basilica of Blessed Peter, Apostle, on February 7, 591. At the occasion of the dies natalis of Pope Pelagius II, Gregory's predecessor.

THE GOOD PASTOR

He is not called a shepherd, but a mercenary, the one who feeds the sheep of the Lord, not because he loves them from the bottom of his heart, but for temporal rewards. He is mercenary, who occupies the place of the pastor, but does not seek the profit of souls. He avidly covets the earthly advantages, enjoys the honor of his office, repents temporal profits, and delights in the respect accorded to him by men. Such are the rewards of the mercenary: he finds here below the wages he desires for the trouble he gives himself in his office as pastor, and thus deprives himself of the inheritance of the flock.

As long as there is no misfortune, it is difficult to discern whether he is a pastor or a mercenary. Indeed, at the time of peace, the mercenary usually keeps the flock like a true pastor. But the arrival of the wolf shows with what dispositions each one kept the flock. A wolf throws himself on the sheep each time an unjust man or kidnapper oppresses the faithful and the humble. The one who seemed to be the pastor but was not, then abandons the sheep and flees, for fearing for himself the danger that comes from the wolf, he does not dare to resist his unfair enterprise. He flees, not by changing his place, but by refusing his assistance. He flees, because he sees the injustice and he is silent. He flees because he hides in silence. It is fitting that the prophet said to such men, "You did not go up against the enemy, and you did not build a wall around the house of Israel to hold fast in the fight at day of the Lord. " (Ez 13,5). 

To mount against the enemy is to oppose by the free voice of reason to every powerful man who behaves badly. We hold fast in the day of the Lord in the fight for the house of Israel, and we build a wall, when by the authority of justice, we defend the faithful innocent victims of the injustice of the wicked. And because the mercenary does not act like that, he runs away when he sees the wolf coming.