The Lord is My Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.

Psalm 23:1-3

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The Odor of Christ in St. Peter

Psalm 23 expresses the yearning of God’s flock for their divine shepherd whose odor the Successor of St. Peter is called to bear. The meek and poor Christ led by example, sacrificing his life on the Cross out of love for his Father’s beloved children. After multiple trials, failures, and denials of his master, the apostle Peter followed in his footsteps. 

May all successors of the “Rock,” whom St. John Chrysostom calls the “coryphaeus of the choir of the apostles,” that is, the “leader” or “chief” of the apostolic chorus, lead the flock safely into green pastures. Bearing the odor of Christ by sharing in his Passion, may the Successor of St. Peter lead by his cruciform life. 

“Peter, that Rock, that pillar, that coryphaeus of the choir of the apostles, the ardent lover of Christ, the one who ran throughout the whole world, who fished the whole world; this holy coryphaeus of the blessed choir; the ardent disciple, who was entrusted with the keys of heaven, who received the spiritual revelation, the head of the Apostles, the foundation of the Church, the mouthpiece of Christ, the vehement lover of Christ, who denied Christ because of fear, but then shed his blood for Christ: this Peter, I say, was appointed the first of the apostles, and to him are given the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

St. John Chrysostom,
Homily 54 on St. John’s Gospel