Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274)
Franciscan, Doctor of the Church
The Tree of Life (trans. Ewert Cousins, © The Missionary Society of St Paul the Apostle, 1978, pp. 136-137)
The solicitude of the Good Shepherd
How great was this devoted shepherd’s solicitous care for the lost sheep and how great his mercy, the Good Shepherd himself indicates with an affectionate metaphor in the parable of the shepherd and the hundredth sheep that was lost, sought with much care, and finally found and joyfully brought back on his shoulders. He openly declares the same thing in an express statement when he says: “The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep” (Jn 10:11). In him is truly fulfilled the prophecy: “Like a shepherd he will feed his flock” (Is 40:11).
In order to do this he endured toil, anxiety, and lack of food; he traveled through towns and villages preaching the kingdom of God in the midst of many dangers and the plotting of the Pharisees; and he passed the nights in watchful prayer. Fearless of the murmuring and scandal of the Pharisees, he was affable to the publicans, saying that he had come into the world for the sake of those who are sick (Mt 9:12). He also extended fatherly affection to the repentant, showing them the open bosom of divine mercy.
As witness to this I call upon and summon Matthew, Zacchaeus, the sinful woman who prostrated herself at his feet and the woman taken in adultery. Like Matthew, therefore, follow this most devoted shepherd; like Zacchaeus receive him with hospitality; like the sinful woman anoint him with ointment and wash his feet with your tears, wipe them with your hair and caress them with your kisses, so that finally, with the woman presented to him for judgment, you may deserve to hear the sentence of forgiveness: “Has no one condemned you? Neither will I condemn you. Go, and sin no more” (Jn 8:10-11).