Jesus, the Good Shepherd

The 4th Sunday of Easter is known as “Good Shepherd” Sunday. Every year, in each of the three cycles of readings, the gospel on this particular Sunday is from John. The gospel passages proclaimed are about Jesus as a Good Shepherd to the people, His flock.

The Church uses this metaphor of shepherd and sheep when referring to church leaders and their congregations. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, a model for how to care for God’s people. While we are all called to care for one another, Jesus specifically chose the apostles and gave them the responsibility of shepherding the disciples. In 1963, Pope Paul VI designated Good Shepherd Sunday as “World Day of Prayer for Vocations,” and so we honor Peter and the other apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests who serve us today.

The Latin vocatus means “a calling” or “a summoning” and is the root word for our English “vocation.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that the vocation to be Jesus’ disciple is the source of the believer’s joy in life and the foundation of our salvation. Whatever walk of life an individual pursues, all believers are called to holiness. In our Catholic understanding, the structured way we live out our baptismal commitment to be a holy people may include married life, single life, the priesthood, and the consecrated life as a member of a religious community.

On this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Church invites us to reflect on our individual call to respond to God’s voice. This is called discernment. Discernment is more than making a list of pros and cons; it involves prayer, time spent listening to God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We pray not only for guidance in choosing our own vocation, but for others as well. The purpose of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations is to fulfill the Lord's instruction to "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2).

Pope Benedict’s message regarding the need for more shepherds, for an increase in vocations is this: “I fervently exhort you to pay close attention to those members of parish communities … who sense a call to the priesthood or to a special consecration. It is important for the Church to create the conditions that will permit many young people to say 'yes' in generous response to God’s loving call.” On this Sunday especially, we pray for vocations and the courage to help our young people discern how God is calling them to serve.