We call today Good Shepherd Sunday because on all three of the Sundays in the cycle of readings in the liturgy we have an extract from Chapter Ten of John’s Gospel in which Jesus teaches the disciples about himself in his role as the Good Shepherd.
In this case we should not think that by using the word ‘good’ Jesus is somehow trying to portray himself as somehow morally better that the disciples, even though by definition he certainly was. No, what he is talking about is the ‘ideal’ shepherd; he is presenting himself as the model from which all other shepherds should draw their inspiration.
Jesus is helping the disciples to prepare for their own role as shepherds; shepherds of the flock that is the Church. He is teaching them about the importance of this role and the tender love that the shepherd ought to have for his flock. He tells the disciples that they have to know the sheep of their flock and give them their protection.
As we read these words we call to mind how in the very last resurrection appearance recorded in John’s Gospel Jesus says to Peter three times: ‘Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.’ This incident marks the rehabilitation of Peter and confirms him as the leader and guardian of the newly born Church.
Traditionally on this Sunday we speak about vocations to the priesthood and also to the religious life and it is entirely appropriate that we do so. The Gospel speaks so clearly about the shepherding role that priests and religious exercise in the Church and so we should draw attention to these important vocations.
As is implied by our use of the word vocation what we are talking about is a call. Its origin is in the Latin word vocatio which means a summons or a call. Immediately we see that not everyone can become a priest or a religious but only those who experience a call from God.
We are then left with the question of how to recognise this call and what to do about it if you decide that it is you who are being called. There is also the question of what everyone else in the Church does to ensure that we have sufficient priests and religious and how to foster vocations.
I can only really speak about my own experience although I know that many other priests and religious have felt something similar.
Somehow from the age of about nine or ten I simply felt inside myself that God wanted me to be a priest. I do not know where the idea came from and I was never asked by anyone to think about being a priest and I certainly didn’t discuss it with anyone. I just knew that this was what God wanted.
In my case I wasn’t particularly happy about this knowledge. I wished that God would choose someone else and I tried to put the idea out of my head. I even prayed quite hard asking God to look elsewhere. But the idea kept coming back. Sometimes these thoughts about being a priest faded into the background but only to rise stronger at a later date.
Obviously one of the reasons I wasn’t too keen on the idea of a vocation is that it meant being celibate and therefore foregoing family life. This is certainly a great challenge and it remains one to this day. However there are many other compensations in this way of life, not least the opportunity to serve other people at the most difficult and delicate times of their life.
Of course as a boy I knew the Salvatorian priests in my home parish and as an altar server I used to help with the masses and do other jobs around the Church such as cutting the grass and so on. I have to say that while the priests were always very friendly none of them ever tried to influence me in any way.
Unexpectedly when it came to leaving school the idea of the priesthood went away and so I got a job in a bank and did this for three years. Towards the end of this time I realised that working in a bank was not for me and so thought about looking for another job.
At that moment the idea of the priesthood came back very strongly. And I decided that I ought to give it a try and find out whether it really was something for me or not. I wanted to decide once and for all if I had a real vocation; and if, hopefully, I found that I did not have a vocation then I could lay the idea aside permanently and with confidence.
I had met one or two people who were more or less happily married but who had mentioned that once they had thought of being a priest but had never followed it up. They seemed to regret that they had never found out if the priesthood was something for them or not.
I was determined not to be like them and so joined the Salvatorians telling my friends that I’d be back home in six months or so when I had come to the conclusion it was not for me. Well here I am thirty-eight years later having lived a very interesting and fulfilling life as a priest and religious.
All I can say to anyone sitting in this Church today is that if you have a vocation you will already know it. You will have an interior conviction that God wants you to fulfil this essential role in the Church. If I were you I would talk to a priest or a religious about it and ask them to guide you and help you with your discernment.
If you don’t do this then you might end up like those people I spoke about who despite living quite good and fulfilling lives in another sphere did actually regret that they did not take up God’s invitation to serve him in the Church. Yes, it will be challenging but it is something you will never regret having done.
As to the role of everyone else, there are two aspects to be stressed. Firstly we all have to pray for vocations asking God to call many more priests and religious to serve him in the Church. We should also pray for those who are discerning God’s call that they make the right decision. We need to pray too for those priests and religious who are struggling with their vocation and who may be undergoing personal difficulties because they certainly need help and support. So prayer is important.
Secondly we have to create a climate in which vocations can flourish. We need to bring our children regularly to mass and to talk with them about all aspects of the faith in a family setting. It is vitally important that we treat our Churchgoing as a normal part of our family life, talking about it in the same way as we would talk about anything else.
If we do find that one of our children may be considering a vocation then we certainly ought to give them encouragement and speak positively about the great things that a priest or a religious can achieve. It may be an unconventional career choice but it certainly is a fulfilling one.
Jesus says: ‘I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own and my own know me.’ What wonderfully reassuring words these are. But think how fulfilling it could be to be a shepherd like Jesus and to play a role shepherding the people of the Church he founded.