Glancing through the prayers for Mass next weekend, one will be quick to learn that this Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday.

This week we Lectio the Liturgy with the Prayer after Communion, however, we need to re-familiarize ourselves with the definitions of three words of the prayer.

Look upon your flock, kind Shepherd, and be pleased to settle in eternal pastures the sheep you have redeemed by the Precious Blood of your Son. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

The first word we need to study is look. Last week we noted that when we ask God to look, it wasn’t because He wanted to catch us doing something wrong, it was because He loves to gaze upon His children.

This week, the word look is intende in Latin, meaning to stretch forth, to extend. Interestingly, also in the Latin prayer we find the word placatus, which means to quiet or soothe.

Just imagine being a sheep in a pasture and something has upset you. Along comes the shepherd, who reaches down to rub your head to calm you. He wants you to know that you are safe and you are in the right place. That is how the Shepherd looks on HIs flock.

The next definition is for the word pasture. Growing up on a farm, to me a pasture was a piece of land that was fenced off to keep animals inside. However, when I studied Psalm 23, I was surprised to learn that in Hebrew, the word for pasture is nâ’âh, and it means abode of the shepherd.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? If you were a shepherd living in ancient times, you wouldn’t live in a house a mile away because it’s your job to be with the sheep. They would never be left alone to roam about on their own. They live where you live, in the pasture.

As I prayed through Psalm 23, I realized that the definition of pasture was there all along. In verse 6, we read, “I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days.” The pasture, the home of the shepherd, is the house of the Lord.

The third definition is for the word redeemed. If there were a list of words that should be in a Christian’s vocabulary, I would rank this one as number one. Redeemed means bought with a price.

It’s not hard to go shopping and find something you really like. Your next thought might be, “I want that,” and you reach for the price tag. Our decision to purchase something we like usually depends on how much it costs. Its value is how much we want to spend on it.

Our salvation was the same way. Here we were, a whole human race, guilty of sins of all kinds. Yet, the Father looked upon us and said, “I want them.” Jesus made the decision to purchase our salvation and the cost was pretty steep.

In Ephesians 2:13-14, we learn that we were “once far off”. There was great division between us and the Father, but Christ Jesus, “is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh…”

The price that Jesus was willing to pay was everything. It was Himself. As I prayed into that, I heard Him say, “you are worth it all.”

This weekend we celebrate a kind Shepherd. One who gave everything to purchase us, One who reaches out to comfort us and One who keeps us under His care in His very home.