St Joseph Homily April 30th, 2023
Introduction: Yesterday I received an email from the parish priest where my parents used to worship in Dunedin NZ. He shared with me part of his reflection for the Mass of the Good Shepherd.
In the Gospel of John, the phrase " they recognize his voice" has been with me as I have been reflecting and preparing towards Sunday. The hearing of or a sensing of a "voice" within is probably the most common characteristic of those wondering about priesthood or religious life. Those discerning a vocation frequently describe a quiet voice inspiring their search. In difficult seasons or in times of new energy for mission, this voice of the Good Shepherd is quietly heard, while it sustains and then eventually propels us into a new ministry.
NZ is a country in desperate need of vocations but you do not sense dire-need in Fr Mark’s comment. He is a peace. He knows God is calling young men and young women, and he is quietly confident they will respond, just like he did! So am I. In fact, I would say I have great confidence in the youth today. I know they are difficult times for young people, but I see them surfacing from the world of sin in which they live to become beacons of light, truth, and joy. They are going to change our world. Our Confirmandi on Thursday evening beamed with joy as they received the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Cathedral.
In this Mass let’s direct our prayers and attention towards them.
“Dear Young People, if are you what you should be you will set the world ablaze.” St Catherine of Sienna.
So, what was Jesus like as a person? When we contemplate the face of Jesus, what do you see? If you are going to follow him, is it important to know him.
St Peter helps us to see the Christ with whom he walked and lived for 3yrs:
“When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to one who judges justly.”
“He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross…”
What image do these descriptions form in your heart about Jesus?
Perhaps the image of a Gate, a gate the leads to a safe place. Perhaps you can imagine a shepherd going out into the fields to round up the sheep to bring them back safely. I must admit for me the imagine of Jesus walking through the fields has spoken to me. I grew up surrounded by natural beauty and I could not help but think about the one who made it all. Everything he made was so big! The mountains and lakes and oceans and fields.
But then there was suffering. Suffering is the total opposite to the beauty we see. And yet suffering is something that accompanies all of us. It has seasons of course, sometimes it is a deep - piercing of the heart, and the pain is indescribable and that’s when the Good Shepherd appears on the scene.
I am following Jesus because he was with me in times of suffering and sin. He was and is faithful. He was and is my best friend. He was and is showing me the way each day. He is everything and I am only giving back the little I have. Broken, shared, and given.
Let’s pause for a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to impress on our minds and hearts the image of Jesus. Paint a picture and save it! This will help when we come to the time in Mass when the priest says, ‘This is my body, this is my blood, do this in my memory of me.”
So, on this Good Shepherd Sunday I would like to share with our young people some simple ideas of how to go about discerning your call, your path, your way of following Jesus. I hope these help…
- Be open ‘not closed in’ - on yourself: open to hear God’s word, open to see God’s hand. In other words, be grateful for the many blessings bestowed on you already.
- Spend time with God and less time on your computer.
- Lead your friends to discover the beauty of your friendship w Jesus.
- Find ways to reach out to the poor, the vulnerable and those less fortunate.
- Read the scriptures with the question, ‘what are you asking of me, Lord?’
- Learn to walk beside the people God has placed in your life.
Here is what Pope Francis has to say as he reflects on the call to follow Jesus:
God’s call to the gift of self tends to make itself known gradually: in our encounter with situations of poverty, in moments of prayer, when we see a clear witness to the Gospel, or read something that opens our minds. When we hear God’s word and sense that it is spoken directly to us, in the advice given by a fellow brother or sister, in moments of sickness or sorrow… In all the ways He calls us, God shows infinite creativity.
And I finish with this little story of my journey to follow Jesus:
When I was a just beginning to discern the call to follow Jesus, I told my Grandmother Freda I was thinking about becoming a priest. At this stage she was close to dying and whispered in my ear, ‘Be a good one.’