As I write, I am reviewing aid projects in Colombia with the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund. This is a novel privilege for a parish priest of Benbecula in the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles! Colombia is very beautiful and fertile. The people I have met are welcoming and interesting. But what I have read about this country and the stories I have heard from the people in our aid projects paint a different picture.

Although it is often reported that Colombianos are among the happiest people on earth, there is poverty, hardship, and a deficit of positive state leadership that stretches back decades, if not centuries. Inequality, neglect, violence, guerrillas, paramilitary groups, and the influence of the cocaine industry result in a country in chaos. Fear, suspicion, and helplessness permeate life for many. The heart of the Lord is surely moved by these latter-day sheep without a shepherd.

At home, my rectory is surrounded by sheep. They have good shepherds. The lambing season has just ended, and many of my dedicated parishioners are exhausted from their labors, keeping the ewes and new lambs safe.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knew how abandoned sheep can wander, get lost, and fall under the influence of danger. The imagery in the gospel today reminds us of the importance of good leadership in our countries, homes, and schools. The church’s pastoral ministries that reach out to care for the poor are laboring in the Lord’s pasture. When we tackle injustice at home and abroad we are working in God’s garden, where there is much work to be done.

It’s good to remember that we are sometimes the sheep, grateful for the care of the Good Shepherd. And sometimes, we—the church—can be the agents of God’s pastoral care for others.

At the end of my visit, I met with Monsignor Hector Fabio, the key liaison between church and state in Colombia. Lying on his office desk in Bogota was a University of Notre Dame Bible. When I asked him about it, he told me that ND is a great source of support in establishing justice and peace in his country. Go Irish!