“I know my sheep and mine know me”. “To know”, in the idiom of sacred Scripture, never refers to merely exterior knowledge, like the knowledge of someone’s telephone number. “Knowing” means being inwardly close to another person. It means loving him or her. We should strive to “know” men and women as God does and for God’s sake; we should strive to walk with them along the path of God's friendship.
--Benedict XVI, Homily at the closing of the Year for Priests, 11 June 2010
"Knowing" means loving
Topics: apostolate, friendship, shepherds