pastoral care

²⁸Take care of yourselves and of the entire flock, over which the Holy Spirit has stationed you as Bishops to rule the Church of God, which he has purchased by his own blood.

⁴He consoles us in all our tribulation, so that we too may be able to console those who are in any kind of distress, through the exhortation by which we also are being exhorted by God.

⁴For just as, within one body, we have many parts, though all the parts do not have the same role, ⁵so also we, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one is a part, the one of the other. ⁶And we each have different gifts, according to the grace that has been given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the reasonableness of faith; ⁷or ministry, in ministering; or he who teaches, in doctrine; ⁸he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who governs, in solicitude; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness. ⁹Let love be without falseness: hating evil, clinging to what is good,

¹⁵Then, when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶He said to him again: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁷He said to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was very grieved that he had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” And so he said to him: “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my sheep.

²pasture the flock of God that is among you, providing for it, not as a requirement, but willingly, in accord with God, and not for the sake of tainted profit, but freely,

¹⁴Is anyone ill among you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And a prayer of faith will save the infirm, and the Lord will alleviate him. And if he has sins, these will be forgiven him. ¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be saved. For the unremitting prayer of a just person prevails over many things. ¹⁷Elijah was a mortal man like us, and in prayer he prayed that it would not rain upon the earth. And it did not rain for three years and six months. ¹⁸And he prayed again. And the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. ¹⁹My brothers, if anyone of you strays from the truth, and if someone converts him,

²“Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you shall say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds? ³You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed. ⁴What was weak, you have not strengthened, and what was sick, you have not healed. What was broken, you have not bound, and what was cast aside, you have not led back again, and what was lost, you have not sought. Instead, you ruled over them with severity and with power. ⁵And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. And they became devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, and they were dispersed. ⁶My sheep have wandered to every mountain and to every exalted hill. And my flocks have been scattered across the face of the earth. And there was no one who sought them; there was no one, I say, who sought them. ⁷Because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord:

¹¹And you know the manner, with each one of you, like a father with his sons, ¹²in which we were pleading with you and consoling you, bearing witness, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of God, who has called you into his kingdom and glory.

⁹embracing faithful speech which is in agreement with doctrine, so that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to argue against those who contradict.

¹⁵Be solicitous in the task of presenting yourself before God as a proven and unashamed worker who has handled the Word of Truth correctly.

³⁴I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also must you love one another. ³⁵By this, all shall recognize that you are my disciples: if you will have love for one another.”

⁵For this reason, I left you behind in Crete: so that those things which are lacking, you would correct, and so that you would ordain, throughout the communities, priests, (just as I also ordained you)

¹A Psalm of David. The Lord directs me, and nothing will be lacking to me. ²He has settled me here, in a place of pasture. He has led me out to the water of refreshment. ³He has converted my soul. He has led me away on the paths of justice, for the sake of his name. ⁴For, even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they have given me consolation. ⁵You have prepared a table in my sight, opposite those who trouble me. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup, which inebriates me, how brilliant it is! ⁶And your mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and so may I dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days.

¹¹And the same one granted that some would be Apostles, and some Prophets, yet truly others evangelists, and others pastors and teachers, ¹²for the sake of the perfection of the saints, by the work of the ministry, in the edification of the body of Christ, ¹³until we all meet in the unity of faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as a perfect man, in the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴So may we then no longer be little children, disturbed and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, and by the craftiness which deceives unto error. ¹⁵Instead, acting according to truth in charity, we should increase in everything, in him who is the head, Christ himself. ¹⁶For in him, the whole body is joined closely together, by every underlying joint, through the function allotted to each part, bringing improvement to the body, toward its edification in charity.

²⁸And indeed, God has established a certain order in the Church: first Apostles, second Prophets, third Teachers, next miracle-workers, and then the grace of healing, of helping others, of governing, of different kinds of languages, and of the interpretation of words.

³⁵For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; ³⁶naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’ ³⁷Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we seen you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? ³⁸And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? ³⁹Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’ ⁴⁰And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’

¹⁵But, if I am delayed, you should know the manner in which it is necessary to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of truth.