This weekend, the Church celebrates “Good Shepherd Sunday.” This Sunday is so named because at Mass, we read from chapter 10 of John’s Gospel, which is known as the Good Shepherd discourse. This passage is yet another reminder to us of what Jesus has done for us. He lays down his life for us, his sheep, and desires to gather us together in to one fold, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd. This desire of Jesus is another way of expressing the desire that we may all become “one body, one spirit in Christ”, as we pray at every Mass in the Eucharistic Prayer.
This Sunday is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. On this day, we fulfill Jesus’ command to “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest.” We pray especially for men who are discerning the call to Priesthood, and for men and women who are discerning a call to consecrated life in all its forms. In his message this year, Pope Francis reminds us that this day “invites us to reflect on the precious gift of the Lord’s call to each of us, as members of his faithful pilgrim people, to participate in his loving plan and to embody the beauty of the Gospel in different states of life. Hearing that divine call, which is far from being an imposed duty – even in the name of a religious ideal – is the surest way for us to fulfil our deepest desire for happiness. Our life finds fulfilment when we discover who we are, what our gifts are, where we can make them bear fruit, and what path we can follow in order to become signs and instruments of love, generous acceptance, beauty and peace, wherever we find ourselves.”
The beauty of Pope Francis’ words is that they can apply to all of us, not just those who are discerning a vocation to Priesthood or Religious Life. All of us are called to use our gifts to build up the Kingdom of God. When we do that, we find great joy and fulfillment in aligning our gifts with God’s plan for our lives, and living out our vocation to the fullest. Remember: Marriage is a vocation, just as our chosen career path is also a vocation!
On this day of prayer for Vocations, and throughout this week, I would ask you all to pray in a special way for the three young men who will be ordained Priests for our Diocese this coming Saturday at St. Peter’s Cathedral Basilica in London. May God’s blessings be on Deacons James Prins, Matthew Sawyer, and TJ Vandermeer as they enter the Priesthood, and begin their service as Priests in our Diocese.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB
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