“I am the
good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down
his life for his sheep.” (John 10:11)
Last Thursday,
I was blessed to speak to our MOMS ministry. After I finished talking, I opened
up for questions and one of the ladies asked me, "Why priesthood?"
I responded, "Why not priesthood?" I can think of no
better life. I can conceive of no greater adventure. I am called to be a Good
Shepherd like Jesus. Called to lay down my life for all of you every day.
As we have
heard Pope Francis say, “a priest is to supposed to smell like his sheep.” This is what I endeavor to do every single
day. This week I smelled like fast food
when I was serving our children at a McDonald’s. I smell like a grandmother’s perfume on
Sunday when our grandmothers come out of Mass and give me a big hug. I smell like, well not very good, when I
finish playing kickball with our children during their midday recess. I smell like incense when I expose the
Blessed Sacrament to the faithful like I did last Friday. There is not one smell that is particular to
the sheep, for we as shepherds are called to go into different pastures and
meet the sheep where they are.
So “why not
priesthood?” Because of all the reasons
that I enumerated above. This is the
life that I challenge other men to lead.
In two weeks, 6 men will embark on this journey when they are ordained
priests of Jesus Christ here in the Archdiocese. Where did they come from? Quite simply, they came from families just
like yours. One of them came from a
family in this parish which is why we should feel exceptionally blessed as a
parish community that one of our sons is being ordained. Why did they choose priesthood? Because they too want to smell like
sheep. They want to bring the Good News
into a bad news world. They want to lay
down their lives for the people of God just like Christ the Good Shepherd. At their ordination, they will literally lay
down on the cathedral sanctuary floor as a gesture of humility, of total self-giving,
of surrender, of laying down their lives for the sake of the sheep. They are good young men who will serve the
Church well, but where will the next group of courageous young men come from
who dare to say yes to the priesthood?
They must come from your families.
Talk to your children about vocations.
Pray with your children for your priests and religious. Instill in them a love for those who are
consecrated to God. This is how we will
continue to grow the seeds of vocations in this parish, for among us is a young
man who God-willing one day will say to himself, why not priesthood?
