Stop a while…! Listen to His Call!

Once, my School Principal looked at me and said, “Sebastian, you have a priestly look”. I was only 11 years old. As soon as I returned home, I looked in the mirror and said to myself: “Father Sebastian!” Everyday, the whole family prayed rosary together. My mom used to add a few more prayers after the rosary. Prayer for vocations was one of them. I used to hear her pray “Lord, bless our family with priestly vocations”. The comment of the principal and the prayer of my mom helped me think about the possibility of becoming a priest. I am sure every priest has stories to share about their vocations.

Today, the fourth Sunday of Easter is dedicated to pray for priests and priestly and religious vocations. The vocation to the priesthood is a unique ministry in the Church. Jesus himself instituted the priesthood. During the Last Supper, after the institution of the Eucharist, Jesus said to his apostles: “Do this in memory of me”. Jesus ordered them to make the bread of life available until the end of time. Jesus established the priesthood to make the Eucharist available. Since the Eucharist is the summit of our Catholic faith, the Church cannot exist without priests. The teaching, sanctifying and shepherding ministries of the Church continue through Holy Orders.

The Church, in certain parts of the world today, is suffering from a shortage of priests. Without genuinely searching for the reasons why, if we only look for other alternatives, we may not be doing a great service to the church. The problem is not with God, it is with us. God is still calling men to the priesthood, but they either do not recognize his call or fail to respond to it. If a person fails to respond to God’s call not only he/she, but the whole community suffers.

It is, therefore, important to look for the reasons for this decline in vocations and take necessary steps to alter it. A number of factors are contributing to the cold response of the young people to the call of the priesthood.

1. The clergy fail to express their enthusiasm and personal satisfaction in their priesthood.

2. Wrong understanding of the priestly ministry. Jesus had a mission to fulfill. In order to continue his mission, he called Disciples and Apostles. He empowered them with the Holy Spirit and commissioned them to go to the end of the earth. This conferring of the Spirit and sending constitute the heart of ministry. Through the reception of Baptism, every Christian inherits this commissioning from the Lord. They are mandated to perform this ministry according to one’s calling and abilities (Talents). Ministry to the Priesthood is, however, different from other ministries that are spontaneously emerging from the sacrament of Baptism. Holy Orders is a sacrament, a unique call to live out one’s baptismal commitment in a particular way. This is a Sacrament at the Service of Communion (Vat. II). It is a special call to serve the Church through the three fold ministries: - teaching, sanctifying and governing. It is a life long commitment. The tendency to equate priestly ministry with other ministries downplays the importance of priestly vocation.

3. Lack of community involvement. Traditionally the parish community played a crucial role in identifying young people with leadership qualities, and encouraging them to consider the possibilities of becoming a priest/ religious. Today, many parishes do not have active programs towards this direction.

4. Secular influence. It is an undeniable fact that our culture is becoming more and more materialistic in nature. A culture that focuses on self promotion and individualism discourages people to think about a life style that demands voluntary sacrifice. Moreover, a better understanding of the benefits celibacy is somehow or other missing.

6. Broken families and redefinition of marriage. Family is the domestic church that nurtures and nourishes vocations. A story is told about Pope Pius the X. After being elected Pope, one day he visited his Mom. As soon as he saw his Mom, he showed his Papal ring and said: “Mom, kiss this ring. I am the Pope!” After a little pause, his mom showed her wedding ring and said: “Son, see this ring. Because I was faithful to this ring, you were born, you had a holy family environment, became priest, bishop and now pope”. Yes, everything good and beautiful will emerge from a healthy and a holy family. Parents need to encourage their children to consider priesthood as one of the options in their future planning. They need to set the example for Christian living through, prayer, charitable works and sacramental lives.

God is faithful. He will not abandon his church unattended. We need to create an atmosphere where our young people can listen to his voice and discern his plan for them. It is a collective responsibility. Let us do our role responsibly.

World Vocation Sunday

(Fourth Sunday of Easter)

Recently I had a phone call from India. The number looked unfamiliar. Even though I had no clue whatsoever about the identity of the person on the other end, I picked up the phone. With excitement I asked, “Are you John?” “Yes! This is John! What a surprise. How did you recognize my voice?”, he exclaimed. John invited me for a college reunion. We never had any contact for at least 17 years. Still I recognized his voice. It is not easy to forget the voice of someone whom we love, even if we don’t have any contact with that person for a long time.

In the gospel reading (John 10:11-18) Jesus makes a similar statement. Jesus says, “I know mine and mine know me. I know my sheep by name and mine recognize my voice” The key to friendship is this mutual recognition. The key to discipleship is the same, too. No discipleship is possible without listening to and recognizing the voice of Jesus.

Why is listening to Jesus important?

Listening to Jesus is important because as we heard in the first reading (Acts of the Apostles 4:12), Jesus is the only name given for our salvation. Jesus became the sole source of our redemption through his supreme care for all humanity that led to the sacrifice of his life. The relationship and commitment of Jesus to humanity is compared to a good shepherd because for a Jew, the imagery of a Good Shepherd is the highest symbol of God’s faithfulness to Israel. God’s love for Israel is compared to that of a good shepherd. Psalm 23, for example, describes God as a Good Shepherd.

A Good shepherd knows his sheep by name, gives hundred percent care for each sheep and if he loses one, he looks for the lost one until he finds him. Finally, a good shepherd defends and protects the life of his sheep. If a shepherd lost a sheep he had to have a very good explanation. He had to prove that he had done everything possible to find the sheep. If someone attacked a sheep and killed it, the shepherd had to prove that he put up a good fight to save the sheep by showing marks of wounds and injuries.

In the person of Jesus, people saw the manifestation of God’s caring love. In Jesus, we see all these virtues. Calvary is the last proof of his faithfulness. Hanging on the cross and showing his wounds, Jesus says: ‘I have done everything to save you’. We are the fruits of his sacrifice. God approved the way Jesus walked and presented Him to the world by bringing him back to life. Listening to Jesus is, therefore, vitally important, and the early disciples recognized that. They declared: ‘ There is no salvation thorough anyone else, nor is there any other name under Heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved”.

Listening and recognizing the Voice of Jesus is the mark of our faithfulness. Jesus had done everything to perfection. Now it is our turn to show our faithfulness. This we do through the act of listening; constantly listening to his voice and recognizing his presence. The problem is that we are bombarded with a lot of voices (distractions) today. The voice of the secular society, the voice of the self and the voice of various isms are a few among them. Many of these voices appeal to our ears and look good. In the midst of these confusing voices how do we discern Jesus’ voice? How do we prove that we are his faithful Disciples? There are different tools to discern Christ’s voice in our life and understand God’s plan for each one of us. They are prayer, Scripture reading, the celebration of the sacraments, charitable works and different ministries in the church.

Listening Alone is not Enough

Following the Word of Jesus completes the act of listening. Listening alone is not enough. St. James says: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only” (James 1: 22). Listening is complete in the act of following all the way to the extend of laying down one’s life for the sheep entrusted to oneself. St. James continues: “If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like” (James 1:22-24). To the woman who said to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breast at which you nursed” he replied, “Rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it”. (Luke11: 27-28)

Responsible Stewardship is the proof of active following. Following Jesus means taking the responsibility of our call. We too are shepherds in our own life situations. Some of us are parents, some of us are teachers, some of us are doctors. We are given responsibilities of one kind or the other. The important question is how are we taking care of our ‘sheep’?

There is this little story. It is about a father knocking on the door of his son’s bedroom at eight o’clock in the morning. The father said, “Son, get up. It’s time to go to school”. “I’m not going to school today. I have three reasons for saying this,” the son replied. “Number one, I want to sleep. Number two, going to school is boring. Number three, the kids are teasing me”. The father then replied, “But you have to go to school today. I, too, have three reasons why you must go to school today”. “Number one, it is your duty. Number two, you are fifty-five years old. Number three, you are the Principal of the school”.

Being the headmaster of the school, it was his responsibility to get up early in the morning, reach the school on time and motivate the staff and students. In order to lead our homes, communities and nations in the right direction we need to follow the example of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.

Following Jesus Through Priestly and Religious Vocation

Today we are invited to hear Jesus’ call in a in a particular way. Today is World Vocation Sunday. We are called to listen to his call to the priesthood and religious life. As you are well aware, today our church is suffering from a shortage of priestly and religious vocations. We cannot imagine a situation where we don’t have enough priests because no priest means no Eucharist and no Eucharist means no Catholic Church.

The problem is not with God, it is with us. God is still calling us to ministry but we either do not recognize his call or we fail to respond to it. If a person fails to respond to God’s call not only he/she, but the whole community suffers. Therefore the families and communities have a great responsibility to encourage our young men to consider the priesthood as one of their options. On this day, I invite parents to see how they are listening to the voice of God and shepherding their families to bring up good shepherds. Family is the primary catalyst of faith formation. Family is the domestic church where vocations take root.