Francis visited a living nativity scene on Monday evening, where this photo was snapped. At some point things got a bit crazy, and Pope Francis ended up with a baaaaaaby lamb around his neck. The imagery itself is also a biblical reference to the gospel of the Parable of the Lost Sheep, about a shepherd who leaves his flock of sheep in order to find a single one that got lost. The shepherd carries the sheep back home on his shoulders. Which, as it turns out, has a pretty good tie-in message to the Pope’s Epiphany sermon, which was all about reaching out to estranged Catholics:
‘I would like to tell all those who feel far from God and the church — and I say this respectfully to those who are afraid or indifferent: The Lord calls you and wants you to be part of his people and does so with great respect and love!’’
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis called on the world’s priests to bring the healing power of God’s grace to everyone in need, to stay close to the marginalized and to be “shepherds living with the smell of the sheep.”
Those priests “who do not go out of themselves” by being mediators between God and men, can “gradually become intermediaries, managers,” he said March 28 during the chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
When a priest “doesn’t put his own skin and own heart on the line, he never hears a warm, heartfelt word of thanks” from those he has helped, the pope said in his homily.
“This is precisely the reason why some priests grow dissatisfied, lose heart, and become in a sense collectors of antiquities or novelties — instead of being shepherds living with ‘the smell of the sheep,’” he said.
“This is what I am asking you,” he said with emphasis, looking up from his prepared text, “be shepherds with the smell of sheep,” so that people can sense the priest is not just concerned with his own congregation, but is also a fisher of men.
Four of the signs of the zodiac have been permanently dedicated to the equinoxes and the solstices; and, while the signs no longer correspond with the ancient constellations to which they were assigned, and from which they secured their names, they are accepted by modern astronomers as a basis of calculation. The vernal equinox is therefore said to occur in the constellation of Aries (the Ram). It is fitting that of all beasts, a Ram should be placed at the head of the heavenly flock forming the zodiacal band.
Centuries before the Christian Era, the pagans revered this constellation. Godfrey Higgins states: “This constellation was called the ‘Lamb of God.’ He was also called the ‘Savior,’ and was said to save mankind from their sins. He was always honored with the appellation of ‘Dominus’ or ‘Lord.’ He was called the ‘Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.’ The devotees addressing him in their litany, constantly repeated the words, ‘O Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
Grant us Thy peace.”‘ Therefore, the Lamb of God is a title given to the sun, who is said to be reborn every year in the Northern Hemisphere in the sign of the Ram, although, due to the existing discrepancy between the signs of the zodiac and the actual star groups, it actually rises in the sign of Pisces.
Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.
![How Pope Gregory wrote to the bishop of Aries to help Augustine in the work of God [601 A.D.] | Book 1 | Chapter 27](https://www.gnosticwarrior.com/wp-content/plugins/contextual-related-posts/default.png "How Pope Gregory wrote to the bishop of Aries to help Augustine in the work of God [601 A.D.] | Book 1 | Chapter 27")
