Good Shepherd Sunday

This coming Sunday will be the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, fittingly celebrated on what we know as Good Shepherd Sunday. And it’s going to take a lot of concerted prayer to recreate the culture of vocations that was part of the air we breathed in the Church not so long ago. Archbishop Timothy Dolan told me in a radio interview how well he remembers that environment when families encouraged young men to consider the call, when it was a hope for mothers and grandmothers and the members of a parish that one of their own would become a priest. And how do-able it is to grow that culture again. His optimism is contagious…

Those familiar with Archbishop Dolan will not be surprised to hear remarks he made in his book ‘Priests for the  Third Millennium’, which are actually remarks he made in talks to his seminarians at the North American College in Rome when he was rector there. The book is an interesting compilation of his very lively insights and opinions, which he adds to others, like a bishop he quotes here: “The problem is not priest-shortage but zeal-shortage.” To which Dolan says…

Passion! That’s what zeal is about! We’re excited! We’re eager! We’re raring to go! We’ve got the chutzpa, nerve, energy, drive, and zest of the apostles that first Pentecost morning…

In a parish we are general practitioners. Our pastor, our bishop, our people have a right to expect us to do almost everything. A pastor was telling me about his assistant who showed up and began the conversation by saying , ‘Well, I’m no good in school or with old people. Don’t expect me to do that!’ People don’t want us at everything because we’re good at it but because we’re priests. Yes, we know our limits; yes, we know when to refer; but as parish priests our zeal is for all people in all circumstances and we close the door on none.

Makes you kind of want to stand up and cheer….but Dolan has that effect on people

Which is the point of Pope Benedict’s message for the 47th World Day of Prayer for Vocations this Sunday. Priests who love being priests are the greatest source of new vocations.

The story of every vocation is almost always intertwined with the testimony of a priest who joyfully lives the gift of himself to his brothers and sisters for the sake of the Kingdom of God…In a particular way the priest must be a man of communion, open to all, capable of gathering into one the pilgrim flock which the goodness of the Lord has entrusted to him, helping to overcome divisions, to heal rifts, to settle conflicts and misunderstandings, and to forgive offenses.

He quoted John Paul II in writing:

“The very life of priests, their unconditional dedication to God’s flock, their witness of loving service to the Lord and to his Church – a witness marked by free acceptance of the Cross in the spirit of hope and Easter joy – their fraternal unity and zeal for the evangelization of the world are the first and most convincing factor in the growth of vocations”…

Then Benedict continued:

It can be said that priestly vocations are born of contact with priests, as a sort of precious legacy handed down by word, example and a whole way of life…

Every priest, every consecrated person, faithful to his or her vocation, radiates the joy of serving Christ and draws all Christians to respond to the universal call to holiness. Consequently, in order to foster vocations to the ministerial priesthood and the consecrated life, and to be more effective in promoting the discernment of vocations, we cannot do without the example of those who have already said “yes” to God and to his plan for the life of each individual. Personal witness, in the form of concrete existential choices, will encourage young people for their part to make demanding decisions affecting their future. Those who would assist them need to have the skills for encounter and dialogue which are capable of enlightening and accompanying them, above all through the example of life lived as a vocation.

Really good to contemplate, this message. Love the way it concludes:

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, watch over each tiny seed of a vocation in the hearts of those whom the Lord calls to follow him more closely, may she help it to grow into a mature tree, bearing much good fruit for the Church and for all humanity.

But it’s not really a conclusion. Hopefully, a new beginning.