DOMINICAN VOCATIONS
PROVINCE OF THE ASSUMPTION
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DOMINICAN VOCATIONS PROVINCE OF THE ASSUMPTION |
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Homily
for the 4th Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday), Evening Prayer II
(7 May 2006) |
Br Dominic Joseph, O.P. |
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News -------------------------- Welcome Benedict XVI Master -------------------------- History Introduction St Dominic's gift Australia --------------------------- Order Discernment Formation Dominican habit Novitiate Studentate --------------------------- Life Introduction Four pillars Apostolate --------------------------- People Dominican saints Our brethren --------------------------- Resources Lectio Divina Links Prayer Reading --------------------------- Site dedication |
My grandfather was a farmer, up in the Darling Downs of Queensland, who knew sheep very well. One thing which never ceased to amaze him was the way in which, in the event of a fire or flood, the sheep on his property had no idea of where to go or what to do. They would just stand around, stubborn and uncomprehending, like the dull-witted, thick-headed creatures that they were. We are just like those sheep. In our human limitation and frailty, we grope and stumble around in the dark. We are aimless, lost, confused. We need a shepherd – a Good Shepherd, Christ Himself. It is Christ the Good Shepherd who knows each sheep by its name, Christ the Good Shepherd who guards us from the evils and dangers that surround us, Christ the Good Shepherd whose voice calls us home. On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life, especially to our own Order. We pray for more ‘good shepherds’, Dominican shepherds, whose voices of preaching beckon the flock on through the valley of darkness. We pray for priests who will imitate Christ himself, the Chief Shepherd, in feeding his flock the Church, seeking out the stray and laying down his life for his sheep. We pray for priests prepared to share in the ongoing work of Christ, the shepherd-king, in sheltering all the wandering sheep into one royal fold fit for heavenly glory. However, Christ is also the Lamb of God. So we must configure ourselves to Christ the Lamb, not only Christ the Shepherd. We must cast off the wooly, rough, dirty exterior of our sinfulness, the outer, hardened layers of our hearts, so as to open ourselves up to receive Christ and to allow him to transform us into lambs with young, fresh, clean, white skins. We must be lambs like Christ, the lamb without spot or stain or blemish, the lamb led to the slaughter-house humbly and innocently, in the words of the prophet Isaiah. Even though priests are called to be shepherds, they are also called to be lambs: pure and innocent of heart, gentle and mild, but strong and sturdy enough to walk the way of the Cross. They are called to sacrifice their very lives for the Church just like Christ, the Lamb of God. This is not just for priests to do, either. We are all called to die for the flock, all called to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, so as to share in the new life that he offers us. It is up to you and me to decide for ourselves whether we will end up sheep or lambs: blind and bleating or sinless and self-sacrificing. (And let’s hope that nobody will end up a goat!). But to whatever degree we are sheep or lambs at the hour of our deaths, we pray that the Good Shepherd will welcome us all into that heavenly sheepfold, into those fresh green pastures and restful waters that are our eternal home. |
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