We are saying that the Master, the Lord, gives us his teaching, his lessons, not only in theory, but in practice and with actions, and above all with the example of his life. That is why his disciples do not limit themselves to listening to him, but they watch him, they see him, and they imitate him. Following Jesus Christ is the imitation of the Lord, it is his imitation. To follow in his footsteps is to imitate him, to do what he did, to think as he thought.

And we had stopped at First Peter 2:21: "To this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his footsteps." He gave us his example so that we would follow in his footsteps. "Ut secuamini vestigia eius," as the Vulgate says. Who has the Vulgate around here? All right, come on, let's see what the Vulgate says. Son, you've gone so far, but in the end... And that, that's a metaphor, that's meant to indicate, with that Peter wants to show you that the Vulgate today is far from you. Unfortunately, including the theologians, who are the least knowledgeable. No matter how much Alberto makes desperate efforts to master Latin, after my sermon this morning he has now encouraged himself to read Horace.

The word “vestige” comes from the Spanish word vestigio. It comes from that, it comes from the Latin vestigium, which means footprint, trace, track, which I think in English is “track.” How do you say it in English, Miguel? Don’t you have the English Bible? Oh, look, we’re falling behind, but what’s this? Ah, you have it now, come on, let’s go, read it to us, Antonio. “Follow his steps.” Following his steps, well, it’s the same. Following his steps. Better. Following his steps. Following in the Lord’s steps is the imitation of the Lord.

Well then, says Spick, the first image could be interpreted as a roughly sketched outline, an overall plan, or something vague. But the second metaphor comes to clear up the misunderstanding, indicating the precision of the imitation, both in spirit and in deeds. We imitate the Lord in spirit, in deeds. Saint Paul, for example, to say that he and his disciple Titus have drunk from the same spirit and live in the same spirit and imitate the same Lord, says there in Second Corinthians 12:18: "I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit?" That is to say, as if saying, is it not true that Titus and I acted according to the same Spirit? We both have the same Spirit, and we live, work, and act according to the same Spirit. Did we not follow the same footsteps? He and I follow the same footsteps, both Titus and I follow the same footsteps.

Whose footprints? It is clear, the footprints of the Lord, the footprints of Jesus Christ. Titus could not have taken advantage of you, because I have taught Titus, he is my spiritual son, my disciple. And Titus does what I do, just like me, we follow the same Spirit and both of us follow the same footprints. Which footprints and which Spirit? The Spirit of the Lord and the footprints of the Lord. We both imitate Jesus Christ in Spirit and in deeds.

What does the Vulgate say? Has Titus taken advantage of you, has he exploited you? Has he deceived you? Have we not both walked according to the same spirit? Have we not both behaved according to the same spirit? Yes? We have not followed the same footsteps. Again, the word footsteps appears here. We follow the same footsteps, that is, the same tracks.

How does the Jerusalem Bible say it? Well, in the end, above all, let’s see how... what word it uses. Here the word "track" is used, right? Here it uses the word... We follow the same tracks, the same path, the same footprints. When you follow the trail of an animal or the trail of a person, observing the footprints, that in English is "track." In Latin, "vestigium." And in Spanish, well, "huellas." Tracks, traces, in short, whatever we prefer.

By remembering the Lord’s passion, Christians who are troubled are like sheep who accompany and closely follow their shepherd. Let us look at First Peter, 2:25. For you were like sheep who had gone astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. You were like sheep who had gone astray, and now you have returned to the shepherd... How? But now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. The sheep follow their shepherd, shepherd and guardian of your souls, “episcopos,” as the Vulgate says. “Episcopos animarum vestrarum,” the bishop of your souls as the Vulgate says.

You were like wandering sheep, you were like sheep without a shepherd, not knowing where you were going. Sheep without a shepherd are like blind creatures, because if no one leads them, they are lost. They are like the blind, they do not know where the pastures are, where the water is, where they need to go, what they need to do. They have to live together, in flocks, and always be led by a shepherd. Otherwise, they cannot fend for themselves. It is a helpless animal, helpless spelled with a V. If someone says it is a "devalido" animal... then that would be with a B.

So it continues: "But now you have converted, you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." Episcopus is a word that used to mean a guardian of cattle, a market inspector, or something like that. From there comes the current word episcopo or bishop, who is the one who guards the law, who guards the flock. Well, the one who should guard it. One thing is the office, the duty, and another thing is reality. That happens to all of us, right, Alfonso? That is where the word episcopo comes from. Well, and let's also look at Hebrews. Let's see how the Jerusalem Bible puts it. "Gone astray", "led sheep". "Gone astray" means to get lost, to have gone astray.

You had gone astray. Go astray, "extraviarse," to go off course, to leave the right path. And if someone has gone astray, in English we say "go astray," right, Toñico? "Descarriarse." Which is not the same as "descarrilarse," but "descarrilarse" is also a kind of "descarriarse." Of course, "descarrilarse" is used for a train, and "descarriarse" refers to life, to morals. This boy has gone astray. Then there are also those who "descascarrian," those are the ones who clean themselves off after a long time. To go astray is bad, but to "descascarriarse" is wonderful. To rid oneself of the filth.

One goes a couple of years without showering and says, "I'm going to do something extraordinary, today I will shower." And it seems that people are asking for it. I have already received several hints, maybe they want to tell me to shower. Well, continue with the great Shepherd, separate garden pastor and guardian of your souls, of your souls, always guard, guard, guard. We are not going to say garden instead of guardian if one neglects a garden. The pronunciation, I always fear it... I always remember my great López and I say, sir, sir... and I always say, sir and López, forgive me.

Well, let us go to Hebrews 13:13-20. The God of peace, who raised from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of an eternal covenant, may He make you fit for everything. Yes, yes, so that you may fulfill His will, accomplishing in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, so that you may give Him glory forever.

Christians, then, are like sheep that closely follow their shepherd, the great shepherd of the sheep, as the Bible calls him, the great shepherd. They live for justice, just as the righteous man in his suffering. Here it quotes First Peter II, chapter II, First Peter II, 2:23: "When insulted, he did not return the insult, he did not threaten, but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly." It continues, continues: "He bore our sins in his own body on the cross, so that, dead to sin, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

Do you see? Saint Peter always sets the conduct of the great shepherd as an example, and then shows how we must follow his example. This is not easy; for example, we say every day in the Our Father: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." It is easy to say it, but then to carry it out, and so wholeheartedly and so truly, as the Lord did, is not so simple. In order not to hold a grudge against anyone and to forgive from the heart, one must have great love. We always consider ourselves, more or less, offended. In one way or another, oh, our rights and our merits have been acknowledged.

We always have a tendency to feel offended, and many times we are right. It is not that we are wrong; sometimes, we really do suffer injustices, and quite often we suffer injustice. But even so, of course, looking at that, that we suffer injustice, that is the moment of truth. And that is the moment to forgive and to have a great heart.

"My Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing," said the Lord on the cross. And it is not so easy to imitate the Lord in this. But it is a matter of great love, of loving the Lord very much. And then making the words of the Our Father come true. Yes, it is true, because throughout our lives, and you will see this yourselves as you grow up, you will suffer many injustices. I truly believe it.

Then one would need, not just a strong stomach—I certainly mean a strong stomach—but also a big heart, great tolerance, and a big heart, so as not to feel offended, insulted, or persecuted, nor to have a martyr complex. And you would be right, because I tell you that many times it will not be your imagination, but it will be reality. In this world, ingratitude and ignorance prevail; you give everything for people and then people don't even remember. And, finally, in this world of ours that every day is more materialistic, rougher, and more ill-mannered, I won't even say anything, so you will have to muster great tolerance and a big heart and suffer. It does not matter, for let everything be for the Lord.

You see how Saint Peter tells us here: that just as he suffered, he says, insulted, he did not return the insult. Well, you must do the same. And it is a fundamental Christian principle. But we rarely put it into practice, at least not perfectly. Well, yes, we do put it into practice, of course we do, yes, we do it and we live it. I would say that every now and then, well, our human side appears, our old self, our ego, and we say, "well, nothing, nothing." But well, that only happens from time to time.

The truth is that it is like that. Most of the time we put up with trouble. We are already used to it. I have spent my life putting up with trouble. From time to time, once in a while, I do show a little discontent and protest it. We are human beings, after all. But anyway, we have to get used to this. Because that is our life; the life of a Christian is like this. Those who wish to live according to Christ will suffer persecution. Persecution in many ways. That is the life of a Christian. That is why Spick says, "The identity of existence, of mission, and of destiny between Jesus and his own, his close followers, is the mark of the disciple, his own path. To follow his life, to imitate his life, to imitate and share his very destiny."

I remember when I was a teenager, and I was very young and I looked forward to my priestly vocation with excitement. This was precisely what inspired me: to copy the life of the Lord, to imitate Jesus Christ. And then, as I said to a kid this afternoon, "Well, we don't see that you have fulfilled it so strictly." Wait a moment, that's true, but that doesn't take away your dreams and hopes and your trust in the grace of God, because the fact that so-and-so, this person or that, hasn't accomplished it, doesn't mean that you can't accomplish it with the grace of God.

Those should be your dreams and your hopes, because it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And that truly is a beautiful hope for a teenager. It is the hope of a vocation. For me, being a priest just for the sake of being a priest was something that never attracted me, I was never drawn to that. Since I wasn't foolish, I wasn't attracted to that. To be a priest just for the sake of being a priest, I might as well be something else. But to imitate Jesus Christ, to follow in his footsteps, to follow his life, to share his destiny, to follow the same path as he did.

That is why he says there are few things in the Gospel that the Lord has repeated as many times as "I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness." Where I am, there also will my servant be. The disciple is not more than his teacher, nor less. Where I am, there you will be with me. As the Father sent me, so I also send you. It is his very life. And that truly attracts; that can definitely attract an adolescent. When I talk to children about this, I see how their eyes light up. Indeed, no kidding, truly. That does attract kids; they love it.

That has a power of attraction. If you tell, for example, a child (I have so much experience, in this field I have learned so much), if you say: "Look, when you are a priest, when you grow up and become a priest, you will preach and hear confessions, and you will teach catechism and teach the children to know God and all those things." Well, children like it more or less, I’m not saying they dislike it. Anyway, they like it more or less. But when you truly captivate the children and truly enchant them, it's when you say: "Look, your friendship with the Lord is going to be so great, so great, so great, that you are going to live his very life. You are going to imitate him in such a way that people, almost, almost..." As I told a child this afternoon, I said: "Look, you know, as a priest, your friends... The boys will say to you, 'Don So-and-so,'"—I called him by his name—"'Don So-and-so, then the Lord is even better than you.' And you will say to them, 'How silly you are, of course he is much better than I am.' 'But are you sure,' your friends will ask you, 'are you sure, even better than you?'"

Ha, ha, ha! What idiots! Of course he is much better than I am, and much more charming too, much more charming than I am. Wonderful, look at that. If you have to resemble him, your wings will find it hard to believe that the Lord is more wonderful than you and better than you," you say. "Of course, and that is what truly attracts children, attracts teenagers, attracts a young person, or attracts an older person, because it is the following of Jesus Christ."

Who can seduce if not the great seducer? That seducer, as the Gospel says, seducer, that seducer. The only one who truly seduces and can seduce is Jesus Christ. All the other seductions that have existed in this world, I mean, all the other human loves that have existed and still exist in this world, no matter how good they may be and no matter how great they may be, are always a trace, a shadow, a mark of this full and total love, of this true fulfillment of the heart that only the seducer, the seducer, that great seducer, is capable of producing.

A seducer who remains as he was then, because time does not pass for him. That is what we still had to say in this morning’s sermon. The only one for whom time does not pass is the great seducer, it is Jesus Christ. That is why the letter to the Hebrews says, I don’t remember where, I don’t know if it’s in chapter 13: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." That is wonderful. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I don’t know if it’s, let’s see if it’s in chapter 3 of Hebrews, I just can’t remember well. It’s just such a beautiful text.

He is great. The only one for whom time does not pass. Neither time nor the ages. Since he is the hinge of history, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, time cannot pass for him. Let me see if that’s in chapter 3 of Hebrews. No, let me see if I don’t remember correctly. Chapter 8? 13, 8? Ah, so my memory isn’t so bad. For me, I like the Latin better: “Jesus Christus heri et hodie, ipse et in saecula.” You see, time has not passed for him. How could it? He is the one who opens time and who closes it, the hinge, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. That’s why he is “the same,” the very same one.

When is it the same? He will be as always, as always. The same, as he was yesterday, and this day, and like this day, and as he is today, and as he will always be. He, the Lord and the Lord. The great shepherd. Master of souls. Bishops. Master of souls. The great bishop of our souls. That is why this is the life of the disciple, the following of the teacher, the calling of Jesus Christ.

Are you sure that Jesus Christ is better than you? Unless you are saying nonsense, my children, do not say foolish things. If I am a poor wretch... Good heavens! Then, you say that to a child and you make him excited. Of course, if it is about following Jesus Christ, everything else is nonsense. Other joys may be better or worse, greater or smaller. I am not saying they are not; there are many joys in the world. It would not be right if we did not know them or denied them, but none, none can fill our hearts to overflowing like the great shepherd of our souls, he who is the same yesterday and today and forever, Jesus Christ.

That is why... Let us look at this text, John 8:12. "I am the light of the world." And just as I am the law, I am the light of the world, you too, the one who follows me does not walk in darkness. "Vos estis lux mundi," says the Lord in another place. You too are the light of the world. And the light is not put under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand. Come. Again Jesus spoke to them saying, "I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of the world."

But that text is much more beautiful, the one in which the Lord says here in John 12 of January, where He says, my condition will be that of my friends, that of my disciple, that of my friend, the same. Where I am, he will also be. My life, his life. His life, mine. I am, there will also be my servant, my disciple. Let's see, how does it go? "If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also." At the same level, in the same condition, in the same situation of equality, the same life, the same destiny, the same beginning and the same end. And the same glory.

You have been baptized with him to share, thank you, his death, just as later to share his resurrection. Saint Paul used to say this. Do you see? How everything fits together perfectly. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Father Alfonso Gálvez