Rev. Mr. Arthur Nave, Jr.
In our Gospel today, Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. What is he trying to tell us about himself, our faith, our church? Let us begin about thinking about what a shepherd is. The shepherd is the one that protects the sheep from thieves, wolves, even themselves. A sheep is an animal that does not think very often. However, the sheep is very obedient and knows the voice of it’s shepherd. The shepherd can call and the sheep will come, only to the voice of their shepherd. Thus, you can have sheep mixed together and if you call, your sheep will follow you and not someone else. This analogy is important to reflect on. Christ, is our shepherd. He calls us each by name and we should go to him. He protects all those that have come to him. He leads each of us in our individual faith journey. Christ gives us the model that we are called to follow. Thus, the truth is that no one can get into the church without going through Christ. In Baptism, the gate to his pasture is opened to us. From that point on, deep inside our soul, we are marked as belonging to Christ. Our true identity is found in him alone. Every Sunday, we hear his voice calling us to come and worship. Every Sunday he nourishes us in his Word proclaimed at mass and in the Eucharist, his body, blood, soul and divinity; so that we can go out and live as he has called us to live. However, this is not the only calling that he has given to us.
Christ calls each of us individually to follow him in our vocation whether that is to the single life, married life, religious life or into the priesthood. Each of these vocations are equally important and each we receive from the call that Christ gives us. We cannot force ourselves into a vocation or decide in an instant on what path Christ calls us to. Instead, it takes time, discernment and preparation to be able to come to the point of laying our life down to God in a vocation. The common thread between all four vocational calls is Christ. In our own vocations, he calls each of us to follow the universal call to holiness lived out within our own state of life. Today we celebrate the world day of prayer for vocations, where the church focuses our attention on Christ the good shepherd and on the call he has planted in our hearts. So often, this call given to us by Christ is ignored or not recognized. This is the great tragedy of the modern world. The society focuses us away from the voice of Christ into a life that spirals out of control. The key to all vocations, single, married, religious or priesthood is prayer and support. WE are all called to support each other in our vocations. Religious and priestly vocations flow out of our families. They do not just appear but are nurtured and supported within the family. This is why John Paul the second, emphasized that the family is the building block of society. Without solid families, we have no solid foundation to receive the call from Christ to follow him. We as a community have a responsibility to assist each other in building up each family so that our children will be able to hear the voice of Christ and respond to his call. There are some families that do not encourage religious or priestly vocations but only the married life. While all parents would like grand children and the family name passed on, my mother is getting thousands of grandchildren because of my spiritual fatherhood. The vocation to the priesthood and religious life is a call to step outside of society and to lay down your life for the flock, just as Christ laid his life down for us. This courageous act of love that some are called to must be supported by each Christian through prayer and encouragement. The Church in Chicago needs more Hispanic priests to work in the vineyard, what is our parish going to do about it? Are we going to foster those vocations here or turn our back on the needs of the church and all our Hispanic faithful? We cannot push our youth into one vocation or another but encourage them to find and discern the vocation that God is calling them to. We need all vocations for the church to grow, it is the whole communities responsibility to assist in the process. As we approach to receive the Eucharist today, let us pray for all those discerning their vocations, that God’s will be done in their lives. Let us also pray for those living out their vocations, that God will give them renewed strength in their calling.
