IFTTT Autopost 
On this 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear the following words from St. Mark showing the compassionate nature of Jesus. We read:
“The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So, they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.
“When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6: 30-34).
The need for good shepherds is just as great today as it was in Jesus’ time. Sometimes earthly shepherds fail, but the good news is that the Lord always provides us with some excellent shepherds. Parents are shepherds of their families. Ordained priests are shepherds of their parish. Bishops are shepherds of their dioceses. And the pope is the earthly shepherd of the Church. Jesus, of course, is the Shepherd of the Church in heaven and on earth, the compassionate shepherd we encounter in Mark’s selection of today.
And one of the main functions of shepherding humans is teaching. Even little children teach younger ones, or share information with their friends. Helping each other along life’s paths is a crucial part of being a good pastor, whether the pastor is a little girl caring for her doll, a child caring for a younger sibling, a parent, or whomever.
In the above photo, we see two little boys in the community San Marcos, Curarén, F.M., Honduras.
