Mexico City, Mexico, Apr 15, 2008 / 15:18 pm
The Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, said the priestly and episcopal ministry of his predecessor, Cardinal Ernesto Corripio Ahumada, embodied the mystery of the Lord as the Good Shepherd, “with all of its consequences: knowing, feeding, healing, carrying and above all giving his life for the sheep.”
After expressing his profound sorrow at the passing of Cardinal Corripio, Cardinal Rivera said the image of the Good Shepherd, which the Church celebrates on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is “a beautiful image that is applied to God in the Old Testament, which Jesus applies to Himself”, “apostolic tradition has applied to the bishops” and which could also be applied to the late cardinal.
Cardinal Rivera also noted that Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” is a canticle of “serenity, trust and hope, which undoubtedly inspired Cardinal Corripio” and should “inspire all of us as we are frequently disoriented and weak,” surrounded by “mistrust and despair,” as “many things confuse us to the point of not knowing, or not wanting to know, what is good and what is evil.”
He also recalled the many memories of “how the Lord desired to unite the life of Don Ernesto to the paschal mystery,” as during “great tribulations” “he bore witness to the love of the Crucified one”. According to the cardinal, these sorrows were not only limited to the illnesses he suffered but also encompassed “the spiritual suffering for his seminarians, priests and faithful, to whom he communicated the fullness of life.”
“We implore the Lord Jesus, the Gate of the sheep and the Way to reaching the Father’s House, to receive into his merciful heart our brother Ernesto” for all of eternity, the cardinal prayed.