Good Shepherd Sunday
This weekend is known as Good Shepherd Sunday and traditionally we pray for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Here is my first draft of a homily that I hope to preach at the first Mass of a priest who is being ordained next week.
“Yesterday, at your ordination, the Bishop laid hands on you and anointed you with chrism. He said these words:
‘Almighty Father, grant to your chosen one the dignity of the priesthood. Renew within him the Spirit of holiness. As a co-worker with the order of Bishops may he be faithful to the ministry that he receives from you Lord God and be to others a model of right conduct. May he be faithful in working with the order of Bishops so that the words of the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth and the family of nations, made one in Christ, may become God’s one, holy people.’
“We are all full of joy and thanksgiving that God has chosen you as an instrument to enable the Word of God so that it may reach the ends of the earth. God has chosen you, not because you are the best priest or the most perfect priest. He has chosen you because he loves you deeply and has a special work for you. He wants you to be an earthenware jar that carries this treasure which is Himself.
“I chose these words for my ordination card that are found in 2 Corinthians 4:7. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. The duty of the priest is to grow to know Jesus as the Living Word. The priest is responsible for helping the people he serves, through encouragement and leadership, to explore ways that we can share that Word, that Gospel, in our world and lives today. As a priest, it is important to pray for true humility. Remember that Christ has chosen you because you are not perfect but fragile and weak like an earthenware vessel. God our Father, by no merit of your own, has chosen you for communion with the eternal priesthood of Christ and for the ministry of the Church. I pray that you will be an ardent yet gentle preacher of the Gospel and a faithful steward of God’s mysteries.”
On Good Shepherd Sunday let us pray for all priests and to inspire hearts to answer God’s call for vocations.
