The Caress of the Good Shepherd

Looking at the One who loved us first

Let’s be honest: it’s Monday, and maybe we don’t remember a single word from yesterday’s Gospel — and certainly not from the priest’s homily (he’d understand). But that’s okay. Because sometimes, what stays with us isn’t a sentence, but an image.

This past Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday. And as we begin the week, perhaps all we really need is to carry one quiet, radiant image in the eyes of the heart: the Good Shepherd, just as we see Him in the mosaic of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna.

The Shepherd is portrayed young, serene, dressed in gold and purple — divine and close at the same time. He sits among his sheep, gently touching one that seems to need him most in that moment. And yet, what's truly striking is that all the sheep look at Him with the same gaze — a gaze of love. Surely because, at some point, each of them has felt that same tender caress.

That’s how love is born: not from our effort, but from being touched first — seen, known, healed, cared for.

So maybe this week, before the noise of life floods in, we can close our eyes and carry this image in our hearts — whether we remember the touch that once made us feel loved, or we’re still waiting to feel it for the first time. Either way, the Shepherd is already looking for us.

"The good Shepherd" mosaic in mausoleum of Galla Placidia. UNESCO World heritage site. Ravenna, Italy. 5th century A.D. from Wikimedia Commons