Today we celebrate the 4th Sunday of Easter which is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. This Sunday has also been set aside to be Vocations Sunday. It is the goal of the shepherd to guide his sheep towards safety. Anytime that sheep are wondering about the elements of the world there is the potentiality for danger. It is up to the shepherd to be attentive to everything that is around him, so that his sheep may be accounted for and may in return be kept safe. A sheepfold is a name that is given for a pen in which sheep go in order to be kept safe from the many dangers of the world. A sheep is not going to jump over the wall to get in, a sheep is not going to walk through a wall to get in, but instead only has one possibility to enter which is through the gate. The sheep will never find this gate on their own, but instead they must be guided by the loving care of their shepherd. As the shepherd leads them into the safety of the sheepfold he is showing his love and care for each of them.
We must each remember that Christ is our Good Shepherd. If we keep reading within Saint John's Gospel we will hear Christ proclaim: "I am the Good Shepherd." To say this means that He desires to lead us into safety and to give us purpose in this life. Christ desires to guide us through the many difficulties of this world into the safety of the sheepfold. When we enter through the gate we will indeed be kept safe from the many dangers of the world. In order for us to be preserved from these dangers Christ has left us with the gift of the Church which for those who enter through this gate will be protected and will be given everlasting life. We cannot obtain such safety if we attempt to take short cuts along the way and thus do not respond to the Church's call for holiness. To masquerade as faithful to the teaching of Christ to certain people of course cannot fool God. Therefore instead of entering the sheepfold through the gate you enter it equal to the thief and robber who climbs over the wall and attempts to pervert the life of the faithful.
Young and old we must ask ourselves what it will take for us to be invited into the safety of the sheepfold that comes through everlasting life. This safety can and will be encountered if we respond to our vocation in life with complete faith and trust in God's call. Each and every single person inside of this Church has a vocation to which they have been invited to partake within. Some have answered and embraced this vocation, others have ran away from this vocation, and some are still praying concerning what God may be calling them towards. For those who have entered into the vocation of marriage may you embrace this holy vocation and allow it to lead you into the comfort of the sheepfold. Your relationship must be built upon God and therefore prayer and the sacraments are most important in sustaining such a holy vocation. It is most important that you live a life of faith in order that you may in return lead your own children into Heaven instead of away from it. This vocation is not always easy because at times it requires sacrifice and unending trust in God.
To the youth of this parish and those who are still attempting to find God's call please do not lose hope. We live inside of a loud world and therefore we need to take time to enter into the silence of prayer in order that we may build up a relationship with God. Remember that none you are without purpose because God indeed has a purpose for each of you. It is to our youth that we look because you will indeed be our future priests, our future sisters, and our future married couples. You can attempt to walk about life without God, but that will never lead you towards true happiness. Instead you will be walking about the dangers of this world without the protection of the shepherd. To listen and respond to God's call indeed will lead you into the sheepfold where Christ the Good Shepherd will lovingly usher you into the gate. Therefore all the youth of this parish community please do not run away from God's call, but come to answer it through your prayer and the response that you will give in return to God the Father.
I hope that all of us here see the importance of the sheepfold and desire to place ourselves here where Christ the Good Shepherd will usher us in. May our families be willing to embrace a path that will not allow them to be destroyed by the many dangers of the world, but instead a path that leads them into Heaven. May our parents give a true example of the married life to their children and also promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life within their homes. May our youth look into the brokenness of this world that has rejected God's call and counteract this trend through entering into a vocation as a response to God's great call for holiness. For those of you who are now single may you also pray for an increase of vocations within the Church and continue to renew your own relationship with Christ each day. For all of us may we come to realize that the Lord is our shepherd who desires to lead us into everlasting life. May we desire to follow after Him who is the shepherd and guardian of our souls by faithfully embracing the vocation that God has called us to.
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