A prayer to the Good Shepherd

On Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Zechariah (11:4---12:8) entitled "The parable of the shepherds". Our treasure, which follows, is from a commentary on the Song of Songs by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, bishop. Saint Gregory of Nyssa was a fourth century archbishop of Constantinople and a theologian. He is numbered among the Doctors of the Church. He was a contemporary and close friend of Saint Basil the Great. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age. He was a classically trained orator and philosopher. The Song of Songs (or Canticle of Canticles) is an exquisite collection of love lyrics, arranged to tell a dramatic tale of mutual desire and courtship. It presents an inspired portrayal of ideal human love, a resounding affirmation of the goodness of human sexuality that is applicable to the sacredness and the depth of married union. The Book of Zechariah, because of its great variation in style, content, and language, is widely believed to be a composite work. Made up of First and Second Zechariah, the book has been attributed to at least two different prophets. The prophecies of First Zechariah can be dated to the late sixth century B.C., contemporary with those of Haggai; the oracles of Second Zechariah are somewhat later. The most striking feature of First Zechariah is a series of visions in which the prophet describes the centrality of Jerusalem, its Temple, and its leaders, who function both in the politics of the region and of the Persian empire and in God's universal rule. Zechariah was instrumental in organizing and inspiring the Jews to finish rebuilding the Temple which began in 520 B.C.