Our country has been rocked by two great travesties during this past week. On Monday our eyes became glued to the television and our ears tuned into the radio as news came out concerning the bombing that took place at the Boston Marathon. On late Wednesday evening news began to break concerning an explosion of a fertilizer plant that took place in West, Texas. Our hearts began to turn towards prayer hoping that Christ the Shepherd would hear our voices concerning each of those effected by these travesties. I can only imagine the feelings that are taking place in each of these families minds, but I do hope that in the days that lie ahead for them that they will begin to find healing through the comfort of Christ the Shepherd. In each of these events and through the many difficult events that take place within the world and within our own lives we know how powerless that we can feel. Thankfully when Christ ascended into Heaven He did not leave us alone without a purpose, but gave each of us a vocation in life to follow.
On this day we have the great opportunity to reflect upon vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and marriage because we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the "Day of Prayer for Vocations." With any vocation there must be an openness to hearing the voice of Christ and allowing it to become manifest within our lives. To hear this voice and to then force it to become silent would be to allow ourselves to work against the will of Christ. If we work against this will we will always be left feeling empty because we could of had so much more through Christ. Any vocation requires us to place the Lamb of God at the center of our lives, so that our very activities begin to rotate around Him. If we can begin to foster this attitude within our own families and community we will begin to see a transformation begin to take place within the world. We will find true meaning to our lives and in the midst of great travesty and heartbreak a place to flock towards to find strength.
Inside of this diocese we are blest to have nineteen men who are studying for the priesthood. This upcoming year we will have two who will be ordained to the priesthood and then the following year we could be looking at an amazing five ordinations. Despite how wonderful our numbers may be we must all do our part in fostering vocations to the priesthood. Without priests we would live in a very hopeless world because we would be forced to live without the sacraments. Through priests we are able to be spiritually fed by the Holy Eucharist, receive the absolution of sins in Confession, and be anointed when we find ourselves in the danger of death. As a community we must fervently pray for vocations to the priesthood, so that our Church may continue to be blest with good shepherds. We must feel the need to foster vocations inside of this community and within our own families by bringing this vocation to the eyes of the young men of this parish.
We also cannot forget the great role that religious men and women play in the life of the Church. I especially know this as the parochial vicar of Saint Mary's Church in Oak Ridge where we are blest with the presence of the Nashville Dominicans who offer so much to our wonderful parish school. These women have given up marriage in the name of celibacy where they give themselves entirely in service to God and His Church. Their vows have centered them upon Christ the Lamb who gives strength to those who flock towards His loving embrace. Despite the constant attacks upon faith and morality that appears in the world we see their daily rejection of these motives and are given hope that we to can begin to conquer over them in our lifetime. We must make this wonderful vocation known inside of this community and to foster it fervently among our youth. It has become a great travesty that our world has begun to silence these options in the life of our youth.
Vocations have become so silenced in our world that many probably forget to remember that marriage is included inside of this list. People should not enter into such a bond if they are only motivated by the passing emotion of love because marriage demands so much more. Marriage is a sacrament where two are joined together to become one flesh and bring forth life and assist each other in their journey towards God. If marriage is only fostered in an earthly sense something will always be missing. Instead marriage must be fostered flowing from the vocation that God bestows in our lives. This vocation should always lead us towards the life giving waters that flow from the Lamb who is Christ. If we find that our relationships have nothing to do with these waters they should be reformed or cut away. A rediscovery of this vocation in our own lives and within this parish community can begin to reform the world towards Christ the loving Shepherd.
In the world today we can see this vocation crisis that is at work and we must feel challenged to rediscover the meaning behind our vocation. We must be prepared to come to Christ the Shepherd as His children and be open to His will within our lives. As disciples of The Lord we must be willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit that dwells in our midst and allow it to direct us towards the will of God. Are we doing enough to promote these vocations within this parish community and within our own families? If we are still in search for our vocation have we been open to the will of God to lead us forward towards the priesthood, religious life, or marriage? Once finding our vocation have we been willing to constantly draw ourselves to Christ the Shepherd for strength? In our world we can see this constant longing for a purpose in life, but without Christ at the head we will always remain feeling empty. May each of us this day flock towards Christ the Shepherd to allow Him to lead us away from the tragedy of a lack of purpose towards the life giving vocation that is present within our lives.
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