Vocations to the Priesthood

Homily
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
17 APRIL 2005

John 10: 1-10

[John 10:1] "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
[John 10:2] But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
[John 10:3] The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
[John 10:4] When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.
[John 10:5] But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
[John 10:6] Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
[John 10:7] So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.
[John 10:8] All who came (before me) are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
[John 10:9] I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
[John 10:10] A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
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1. Introduction

Today's Gospel is that of Our Lord as good shepherd. Those who are in his flock follow him, because they recognize his voice. That is, they recognize the revealed truth of God in all that he says, and they reject the strident clamorings of the world, the flesh, and especially, the devil, who would enter in to "steal, slaughter, and destroy".

On this Sunday of the Good Shepherd, Bishop Mengeling has asked that we give special attention to vocations to the priesthood, which is Our Lord's instrument of his continuing shepherdship in the world.

Pope John Paul II declared that:

Along with God's universal call to live and witness to the proclamation of salvation there are particular vocations with specific responsibilities within the Church; these are fruit of a special grace and require an additional moral and spiritual commitment. They are the vocations to priesthood, the religious life, to the work of the missions and to the contemplative life.

2. Pope John Paul II on His Own Priestly Vocation

Pope John Paul II commented as follows on his own vocation to the priesthood:

"I am often asked, especially by young people, why I became a priest. Maybe some of you would like to ask the same question. Let me try briefly to reply. I must begin by saying that it is impossible to explain entirely. For it remains a mystery, even to myself. How does one explain the ways of God? Yet, I know that, at a certain point in my life, I became convinced that Christ was saying to me what he had said to thousands before me: 'Come, follow me!' There was a clear sense that what I heard in my heart was no human voice, nor was it just an idea of my own. Christ was calling me to serve him as a priest.

"And you can probably tell that I am deeply grateful to God for my vocation to the priesthood. Nothing means more to me or gives me greater joy than to celebrate Mass each day and to serve God's people in the Church. That has been true ever since the day of my ordination as a priest. Nothing has ever changed this, not even becoming Pope." (Los Angeles, USA, September 14, 1987)

3. More from John Paul II on the Priestly Vocation

At several times and places during his universal ministry, Pope John Paul II addressed the vocation to the priesthood. Listen now to some of what he had to say.

"The priestly vocation is essentially a call to sanctity, in the form that derives from the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Sanctity is intimacy with God; it is the imitation of Christ, poor, chaste and humble; it is unreserved love for souls and self-giving to their true good; it is love for the Church which is holy and wants us to be holy, because such is the mission that Christ has entrusted to it. Each one of you must be holy also in order to help your brothers pursue their vocation to sanctity." (Rome, Italy, October 9, 1984)

"Your wish is to become priests, or at least your wish is to discover if you are really called. And so the question is a serious one, because you have to prepare thoroughly, with clear intentions and an austere formation" (Rome, Italy, October 13, 1979)

"His calling is a declaration of love. Your response is commitment, friendship, and love manifested in the gift of your own life as a definitive following and as a permanent sharing in his mission and in his consecrations. To make up your mind is to love him with all of your soul and all of your heart in such a way that this love becomes the standard and motive of all your actions. From this moment on, live the Eucharist fully; be persons for whom the Holy Mass, Communion, and Eucharistic adoration are the center and summit of their whole life. Offer Christ your heart in meditation and personal prayer which is the foundation of the spiritual life" (Valencia, Spain, November 8, 1982)

"The world looks to the priest, because it looks to Jesus! No one can see Christ; but everyone sees the priest, and through him they wish to catch a glimpse of the Lord! Immense is the grandeur of the Lord! Immense is the grandeur and dignity of the priest!" (Rome, Italy, October 13, 1979)
"Pray, therefore, to the Lord of the harvest that he send harvesters into his harvest. . ." Considering that the Eucharist is the greatest gift our Lord gives to his Church, we must ask for priests, since the priesthood is a gift for the Church. We must pray insistently for this gift. We must ask for it on our knees." (Rome, Italy, March 25, 1982)

4. The Sacrament of Holy Orders and the Priesthood

Priestly ordination, the reception of the sacrament of Holy Orders, accomplishes two results:

1. it imprints on the soul an indelible character;

2. it confers a special sacramental grace.

The character is an intimate and permanent possession of the soul which enables a man to perform the actions of a priest validly. It is the active power of Holy Orders to consecrate the Eucharist validly, and to absolve the faithful validly from sins committed since Baptism.

The sacramental grace given by Holy Orders enables the priest to perform the duties of his state not merely validly but also holily, and that this spirit of holiness--which is intended to characterize all his work--may develop in unison with his growth in grace and in charity.

Whether the priest is celebrating Mass or ministering to souls, he is another Christ. His priesthood is a splendid participation in the supreme priesthood of Christ; he is Christ's minister, His living, conscious instrument for the saving of souls.

The most sublime action of which the priest is capable is the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this, he is the equal of any bishop, including the Pope. In addition to this, the priest has been entrusted with a spiritual "sword" wherewith whenever he pronounces the words of absolution in a valid confession, he separates the penitent's sins from the penitent "as far as East is from West", thereby restoring pristine baptismal innocence to the penitent.

5. The Priesthood and Our Lady: First Meditation

From the cross, Our Lord gave Our Lady to St. John as his mother, and through him, as our mother. Tradition has it that St. John afterwards lived in Ephesus. He and Our Lady would have lived there together for some number of years, before she was called home at her Assumption into heaven.

St. John, in obedience to Jesus' command to "do this in remembrance of me", would have celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass a great number ot times. Meditate on Our Lady's attendance at these masses, and her own reception of Holy Communion, which was St. John's inestimable privilege to give to her.

Every priest since then has had the opportunity and the privilege of being an alter Christus to living saints, both at Mass and in the confessional, as well as to the rank and file of sinners struggling to be holy.

6. The Priesthood and Our Lady: Second Meditation

At the annunciation, Our Lady's "fiat" opened the way to salvation for the entire human race.

In a lesser, but still vital way, a man discerning a vocation from the Lord to be a priest, must realize that if the vocation is indeed genuine, the salvation of possibly many thousands of souls might well depend on his own "fiat" to the call of God.

Pray for vocations. Pray for the openness, acceptance, and love which the Lord expects from those who are blessed with a genuine vocation.

Praise, honor, and glory to Jesus Christ the High Priest, now and forever. Amen.