WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

The fourth Sunday of Easter is commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The rural image of the Good Shepherd and the sheep carried a special cultural meaning at the time of Jesus in a Galilean peasant society, but the meaning can be transported to the twenty-first century. We are being asked to

pray in a special way for vocations which are very necessary for the life of the Church. We need pastoral shepherds for our parish communities. Pope Francis famously called bishops and priests to fulfil their vocations as shepherds who so immerse themselves in their ministry that they “smell like the sheep”.

Yet, the call to follow Jesus is a call to all of us to be good shepherds for one another and especially for the most vulnerable among us – children, refugees, the poor, immigrants, exploited workers and victims of trafficking. Anyone who has been responsible for the care of others is like a shepherd. We remember carers, doctors, nurses, parents, teachers and public servants. And we go beyond a commitment to our parish community. We are not all identical. The countless saints who have gone before us are a testament to the diversity of vocations. Good Shepherd Sunday is an opportunity to reflect and ask ourselves: am I only who I want to be, or am I whom God wants me to be? Every single person here has a vocation. Every single person here has been, and is being, called by God through the Holy Spirit to offer their special gifts to the rest of the community. What is your vocation? What are your special gifts? What contribution are you making to the life of this parish and to society outside it?

(Majellan Living Word)