"A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them."
CCC 2258, The Fifth Commandment and the Sanctity of Human Life
Today's Gospel draws a line between shepherds who protect and hired hands who flee when the wolf arrives. Every act of violence against the innocent is the wolf's work, and the Church teaches that human life is sacred precisely because every person bears the image of God (CCC 2258). The question after every shooting isn't just about policy; it's about whether we are a society of shepherds or hired hands.
Reflect → When violence erupts in your community, do you move toward the suffering or scroll past it?
