Good Shepherd Sunday 2009

2 May 2009

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ

I knew a man who had a remarkable memory for names. It was one of his gifts and one which people often commented about because in remembering names he made people feel as if they mattered. To know a person’s name, in a sense, is to know the person.

Today St John names us all. We are the children of God and we are named as such by God because God is lavish with his love. In fact we can say God loves us. And in his love God gives us an identity and a vocation.

We are called to live as the children of God not just occasionally but every day of our life. In living our vocation we grow in our understanding of who we are and who we are called to become – we are already the children of God, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed. All we know is that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see God as God really is.

Vocation is not a job. It is a way of living true to our identity. It involves risk because it is about our life journey and none of us knows exactly what that will entail and what challenges we may have to face. Each of us will live out his or her own vocation in a personal and unique way because each of us is unique. But we will live with the knowledge that our vocation is God given and given for good purpose.

One of the vocations within the life of the Church is the call to the ordained priesthood. During the Chrism Mass I mentioned that one challenge we are having to face is a reduced number of priests. In comparison to many countries we are still fortunate in the number of priests within the diocese but there are not as many as we are accustomed to. Already there are some of our parishes sharing the ministry of one priest.

On this Good Shepherd Sunday I would ask you to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and to encourage any young man who is considering this particular call to serve God and the Church. It is a life giving vocation because it is centred around the Eucharist, the Sacraments and the Word of God. It is a vocation of service and pastoral care. It is a vocation that brings joy in following the Good Shepherd who freely lays down his life out of love for others. It is a vocation that helps the Church to be in communion with God and one another and enables the Church to live the particular vocations that we all have as children of God.

Recently Father Robert King, the Diocesan Vocations Director, has made a series of videos featuring a number of our priests telling their vocation story. I would recommend these videos to all parishes and schools. They can be seen on the diocesan website.

We are called to be a People of Hope. We can be so because we follow the Good Shepherd who knows each one of us by name. To God each one of us matters.

With my best wishes and prayers
Bishop of Clifton

To be read and / or made available in all Churches and Chapels in the Clifton Diocese on the 4th Sunday of Easter 2 / 3 May 2009