The Fourth Sunday of Easter  
The World Day of Prayer for Vocations is celebrated on this Fourth Sunday of Easter, on which the Liturgy presents to us Jesus as the Good Shepherd. On every continent Ecclesial Communities with one voice seek from the Lord numerous holy vocations to the priesthood, to the consecrated and missionary life and to Christian marriage as they meditate on the theme: "Vocations at the service of the Church-mission". This year the World Day of Prayer for Vocations fits into the setting of the Pauline Year which will begin this 28 June to celebrate the bimillennium of the birth of the Apostle Paul, the missionary par excellence.
 
In the experience of the Apostle to the Gentiles, whom the Lord called to be a "minister of the Gospel", vocation and mission are inseparable. He therefore represents a model for every Christian, particularly for missionaries ad vitam, in other words, those men and women who dedicate themselves totally to proclaiming Christ to those who still do not know him, a vocation which has retained its full value. This missionary service is carried out in the first place by priests who dispense the Word of God and the sacraments and who manifest the healing presence of Jesus Christ to all, especially the sick, the lowly and the poor through their charitable Apostolate. Let us thank God for these brothers of ours who spend themselves unreservedly in the pastoral ministry, sometimes sealing their fidelity to Christ with the sacrifice of their lives, as happened yesterday to two Religious killed respectively in Guinea and Kenya. Our grateful admiration and prayers of suffrage go to them. Let us pray that the ranks of those who decide to live the Gospel radically with the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience may be ever more numerous. They are men and women who have a primary role in evangelization. Some of them are dedicated to contemplation and prayer, others to a multi-faceted educational and charitable action, but they all have the same goal in common: to witness to God's primacy over everything and to spread his Kingdom in every social milieu. Many of them, the Servant of God Paul VI wrote, "are enterprising and their apostolate is often marked by an originality, by a genius that demands admiration. They are generous:  often they are found at the outposts of the mission, and they take the greatest of risks for their health and their very lives" (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 69). Finally, it should not be forgotten that the vocation to Christian marriage is a missionary vocation:  indeed, the spouses are called to live the Gospel in families, in work contexts, in parish and in civil communities. In some cases they also offer their valuable collaboration to the mission ad gentes.
 
Dear brothers and sisters, let us invoke Mary's motherly protection upon the multiple vocations that exist in the Church so that they may develop a strong missionary stamp. I also entrust to her, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace, the special missionary experience which I shall be living in the next few days with my Apostolic Visit to the United States of America and my Visit to the United Nations Organization, while I ask you all to accompany me with your prayers.
 
– Pope Benedict XVI, Regina Caeli on April 13, 2008
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
Happy Easter! 
 
The Regina Caeli of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, World Day of Prayer for Vocations, given by Pope Benedict XVI reminds us of the essential mission of the life of every Christian, no matter their state in life: to proclaim Jesus Christ.   This mandate is clearly affirmed by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council and amplified by the teachings of the Church in the decades since our most recent council, all of the members of the Church have a missionary role.  The work of proclaiming the Gospel is not restricted to Priests and Consecrated Religious – no, not at all.  Yes, those who live vocations as celibate members of the Church often lead our missionary efforts, but they are not the only members of the Church who are called to live according the Word of God.  Just as each has been Baptized, as well as strengthened by the Holy Spirit through Confirmation and nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist, so too every member of the Church is called to live according to the command and example of Christ, our Good Shepherd.
 
In this unique and difficult season, I again renew my invitation for each of you to utilize this time for renewing your relationship with the Lord Jesus.  This time is an unexpected retreat, pushing aside our normal preoccupations we can spend our days as we please – we can seek the Lord – even in the midst of uncertainty we still choose how to spend our days. Thus, as I have before, I encourage you to receive this surprising moment as a retreat, as we did in previous weeks.  We can continue to use the guideline of our Lenten Retreat – prayer, listening to the Word of God, and penance.  These principles will increase our life of grace even as we engage the weeks of Easter.  Perhaps, this Lenten Method is needed for each of us today, especially as we confront the temptations of our isolations.  In this Month of May we can engage the Rosary with renewed conviction, renewed vision, to make our habit of prayer a time of companionship with the Mother of God as we seek Jesus Christ.  Further, we cannot loose sight of the primacy of the Bible – the Sacred Scriptures, God’s own Word – in our life of faith.
 
Pope Benedict XVI produced an excellent document on the Word of the Lord during his reign as our Holy Father: the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini.  This document provides a wonderful recapitulation of the Church’s theology on the Bible, as well as incorporating the insights of Pope Benedict XVI in a most profound way.  One of the Sections of this document focused on the relationship between the Word of God and Vocations,  The first words of this section are worth re-reading and taking in as sound wisdom for every member of the Church:  “In stressing faith’s intrinsic summons to an ever deeper relationship with Christ, the word of God in our midst, the Synod also emphasized that this word calls each one of us personally, revealing that life itself is a vocation from God. In other words, the more we grow in our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, the more we realize that he is calling us to holiness in and through the definitive choices by which we respond to his love in our lives, taking up tasks and ministries which help to build up the Church. This is why the Synod frequently encouraged all Christians to grow in their relationship with the word of God, not only because of their Baptism, but also in accordance with their call to various states in life. Here we touch upon one of the pivotal points in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which insisted that each member of the faithful is called to holiness according to his or her proper state in life.[263] Our call to holiness is revealed in sacred Scripture: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:44; 19:2; 20:7). Saint Paul then points out its Christological basis: in Christ, the Father “has chosen us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph 1:4). Paul’s greeting to his brothers and sisters in the community of Rome can be taken as addressed to each of us: “To all God’s beloved, who are called to be saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Rom 1:7).” ( VERBUM DOMINI, §77)
 
May the Word of God -- Jesus Christ -- be the foundation of your life.


 
 
Sunday, a day set apart for the Worship of God
 

Let us remain faithful to the precepts of the Word of God, keeping this day as our Sabbath.  First  I would reference my post from earlier in Lent – “To whom shall we go?” – it has a bunch of suggestions, links, and helps.
 
Further, I would suggested either participating in a live-stream Holy Mass (there is always EWTN, among others) or prayerfully reading the Scriptures of the Day – here is an at home liturgy with prayers and readings – and, be sure to pray a Spiritual Communion. Also, it is May... so please, make time for the Rosary.
 
And… there is always Fr. Mike Schmitz – for insightful videos and Holy Mass – as well as the YouTube Channel of The Diocese of Harrisburg.
 
 
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
 
 
Know of my prayers for you, please pray for me!
 
Father Wilke
 
Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us!