St Mary’s Catholic Church @ @ @ @ @ Greenville, South Carolina 12 May 2019 Dear Friends in Christ, The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday because of the Scripture readings and Mass prayers appointed for this day in the sacred liturgy. Today’s Communion Antiphon, for example, proclaims that “The Good Shepherd has risen, who laid down his life for his sheep and willingly died for his flock, alleluia.” The Latin word for shepherd ispastor , and this reveals why the Church asks us to pray for more priests on Good Shepherd Sunday. The call to the priesthood comes from God, and the Lord has promised always to provide shepherds for his people. Through the Prophet Jeremiah, the Lord promised Israel: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart.” (Jeremiah 3.15) But he also asks us to seek the gift of pastors in prayer: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9.37-38) In Africa, in South America, and in Oceania, the number of young men offering themselves for priestly formation is on the rise, in some cases a dramatic rise. As you know already, however, this is not the case in Europe and in North America - the “developed” world - and the disparity points to one of the chief difficulties for the young men among us who are being called today: sometimes the call is not heard because of the noise in which we live. This cultural noise takes many shapes (e.g. desire for a lucrative career, fear of loneliness, the presence of so many options that making any choice is difficult, etc), but whatever the source of the noise, if the man being called never hears the call, we may assume he’ll never find his place and purpose in life. The priesthood is not a life for extraordinary men; it is an ordinary Christian way of life for ordinary Christian men. But the key to hearing and answering the call is that the man must understand what it means to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus. The radical thing is not forsaking marriage and giving one’s life to the Church; the radical thing is being baptized and giving one’s life to Jesus Christ, knowing that this means following him in the Way of the Cross. When young men grow up in a vibrant Christian community in which the truth of the Catholic faith is a cause for rejoicing and the beauty of the sacred liturgy is lived day in and day out as the source and summit of the Christian life, then those who are being called will have no difficulty hearing the summons of the Savior to serve his flock as priests, as shepherds, as pastors. Finally, for a man to know that he is called to the priesthood it is not necessary to search the heavens for mysterious signs of some inscrutable divine plan. There are really only three basic questions to be answered: 1) Do I want to be a priest? 2) Am I willing to sacrifice what must be sacrificed to be a priest? and 3) Do I have all the gifts of nature and grace needed to be a priest? Only the man can answer the first two questions, and only the Church can answer the third. Father Newman Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 56th World Day of Prayer for Vocations 12 May 2019 - Fourth Sunday of Easter Theme: The courage to take a risk for God’s promise. Dear Brothers and Sisters, After the lively and fruitful experience we hope will prove enriching, and we unresponsive before decisions that of the Synod devoted to young people put out on a “sea” of possibilities in could give it meaning. The Lord does last October, we recently celebrated the hope of steering the right course, not want us to live from day to day, the Thirty-fourth World Youth Day in one that will satisfy our thirst for thinking that nothing is worth fighting Panama City. These two great events happiness. Sometimes we enjoy for, slowly losing our desire to set out allowed the Church to be attentive a good catch, while at others, we on new and exciting paths. If at times both to the voice of the Spirit and to need courage to keep our boat from he makes us experience a “miraculous the life of young men and women, being tossed by the waves, or we are catch”, it is because he wants us to their questions and concerns, their frustrated at seeing our nets come up discover that each of us is called – problems and their hopes. empty. in a variety of ways – to something grand, and that our lives should not Building on what I shared with the As with every call, the Gospel speaks grow entangled in the nets of an ennui young people in Panama, I would like of an encounter. Jesus walks by, that dulls the heart. Every vocation is to reflect, on this World Day of Prayer sees those fishermen, and walks up a summons not to stand on the shore, for Vocations, on how the Lord’s to them... The same thing happened nets in hand, but to follow Jesus on call makes us bearers of a promise when we met the person we wanted the path he has marked out for us, for and, at the same time, asks of us the to marry, or when we first felt the our own happiness and for the good of courage to take a risk, with him and attraction of a life of consecration: those around us. for him. I will do this by reflecting we were surprised by an encounter, briefly with you on these two aspects and at that moment we glimpsed the Embracing this promise naturally – promise and risk – as they appear in promise of a joy capable of bringing demands the courage to risk making the Gospel account of the calling of fulfilment to our lives. That day, by a decision. The first disciples, called the first disciples by the sea of Galilee the sea of Galilee, Jesus drew near to by Jesus to be part of something (Mark 1.16-20). those fishermen, breaking through the greater, “immediately left their nets “paralysis of routine” (Homily for the and followed him” (Mark 1.18). Two pairs of brothers – Simon and XXII World Day for Consecrated Life, 2 Responding to the Lord’s call involves Andrew, and James and John – are February 2018). And he immediately putting ourselves on the line and going about their daily tasks as made them a promise: “I will make fishermen. In this demanding work, you fishers of men” (Mark 1.17). they had learned the laws of nature, yet at times, when the winds were The Lord’s call is not an intrusion of adverse and waves shook their boats, God in our freedom; it is not a “cage” or “ Every vocation is they had to defy the elements. On a burden to be borne. On the contrary, some days, the catch of fish amply it is the loving initiative whereby a summons not to repaid their efforts, but on others, an God encounters us and invites us to stand on the shore, entire night’s work was not sufficient be part of a great undertaking. He to fill their nets, and they had to return opens before our eyes the horizon of ... but to follow Jesus to shore weary and disappointed. a greater sea and an abundant catch. on the path he has Much of life is like that. Each of God in fact desires that our lives us tries to realize his or her deepest not become banal and predictable, marked out for us ” desires; we engage in activities that imprisoned by daily routine, or facing a great challenge. It means life, with the commitment to charity reason, there needs to be a renewed being ready to leave behind whatever and solidarity, with social and political commitment on the part of the would keep us tied to our little boat and responsibilities, and so forth. These whole Church – priests, religious, prevent us from making a definitive vocations make us bearers of a promise pastoral workers and educators – to choice. We are called to be bold and of goodness, love and justice, not only provide young people in particular decisive in seeking God’s plan for our for ourselves but also for our societies with opportunities for listening and lives. Gazing out at the vast “ocean” and cultures, which need courageous discernment. There is a need for of vocation, we cannot remain content Christians and authentic witnesses of a youth ministry and a vocational to repair our nets on the boat that gives the kingdom of God. promotion that can open the way to us security, but must trust instead in discovering God’s plan, above all the Lord’s promise. In encountering the Lord, some may through prayer, meditation on God’s feel the attraction of a call to the word, eucharistic adoration and I think primarily of the call to the consecrated life or to the ordained spiritual accompaniment. Christian life which all of us received priesthood. It is a discovery that can at Baptism. It teaches us that our life excite and at the same time frighten As was made clear several times is not a fluke but rather a gift: that us, since we feel called to become during the World Youth Day in of being God’s beloved children, “fishers of men” in the barque of the Panama, we should always look to gathered in the great family of the Church by giving totally of ourselves Mary.