215 part i: sunday meditations for the entire year them. Then what? Is He not more worthy of love than Moses? Is He not the best Shepherd among all shepherds? [f.48v] Come, my soul, spend this entire day in praising His love and blessings for you; or, rather, spend your whole life in thanksgiving for the grace of redemption. After Holy Communion 1. “[He] who is… not a shepherd” (Jn 10:12). Weigh carefully in mind the traits by which you recognize a good and true shepherd as opposed to a hired servant. In other words, how do you distinguish between the demon’s suggestions and divine illuminations? You discern precisely in this way: As a hired servant, the evil spirit does not nourish the soul, but tries to despoil it of all spiritual good. For it is characteristic of hirelings to seize the offspring, the wool, and other commodities from the flock, to devour the flock itself, rather than to increase its spiritual goods. In support of the above, someone once said: “The one who is a wicked shepherd has only his own benefit and convenience in mind and takes care of his own interests alone, even though this often happens to the detriment of the sheep.” Ezekiel declares that such were the shepherds of Israel, and he reviles them, saying: “Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep” (Ez 34:2-3). The infernal, sly old fox usually behaves this way: pretending to be the good shepherd, he whispers to a soul some seemingly right things, but he does it to his own advantage and to the soul’s detriment; for he wants to suck the milk out of its virtues, to shear the wool of its good actions, and finally, to devour it altogether, like a roaring lion. Jesus, the true Shepherd, is totally different. Although He permits you to fall into some afflictions, in them He strengthens your spirit, nourishing you with the sweetest food. The infernal spirit serves you a sweet morsel smeared with the allurements
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