The priestly vocation is a call to the pastoral ministry…  
By attentively reading this Gospel passage, we discover that it is an evocative summary of the theology of Christ’s priesthood and of the ministerial priesthood which you, beloved deacons, are preparing to receive. You are called, like the Good Shepherd, to give your life by leading the Christian people to salvation. You must imitate Christ, becoming his courageous witnesses and tireless ministers of his Gospel.
 
Dear ordinands, I greet you with affection. I greet all those who guided you on your formative journey in the various seminaries of Rome; I greet your families and the Christian communities in which your vocation developed, as well as your friends who share the joy of your priestly ordination today.
 
The priestly vocation is a call to the pastoral ministry, that is, to the service of Christ’s flock: a service that you are about to undertake in the Diocese of Rome and in other particular Churches. The Christian community is praying for you today, so that the “great shepherd of the sheep” (Heb 13:20) may impart to you that total love which is indispensable for the pastors of the Church.
 
What we heard in the Gospel about Christ the Good Shepherd becomes at this moment a unanimous invocation to the heavenly Father to imbue you with Christ's love and generous dedication. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11).
 
Dear deacons, you must make these words a living experience in every task and circumstance of your priestly life. It will be necessary to draw from them the light and strength that are indispensable for your priestly ministry.
 
– Pope Saint John Paul II, excerpt from the Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter and the Ordination of Priests on April 20, 1997
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
Happy Easter! 
 
The homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter – affectionally known as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ – given by Pope Saint John Paul II connects for us the inner meaning of why this Sunday is designated as a day to consider the missionary aspect of vocations, especially for Priests and Consecrated Men and Women.  No doubt, Christ the Good Shepherd is an image of the Lord that is near to our hearts.  We often think of Psalm 23, as well as the passages from the Gospel where the Lord Jesus takes up the image of the Good Shepherd to describe himself (see John, Chapter 10, among others).  Further, some of the earliest art of Christians to depict Christ was to paint, draw, or inscribe an image of a Good Shepherd – usually with a sheep over his shoulders – it was only latter that the cross/crucifix became the predominate image of the Christian community; this change was certainly informed by the many violent persecutions of Christians, a need to see the closeness of the Lord to those who had died for professing his dominion. 
 
Further, the ministry/apostolate of priests is described using the images of a ‘Good Shepherd’ – both the term Pastor (a Parish Priest with charge of a Parish) and the term Pastoral Ministry are derived from shepherd language.   In a powerful way, priests are conformed to the image of Christ the Good Shepherd.  And so, it is quite fitting that Saint John Paul II took this Sunday in the Midst of Easter to frequently ordain deacons to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. 
 
To this end, I ask for your prayers for priests – pray that every priest will embody the virtues of Christ the Good Shepherd: selflessly tending the portion of God’s flock that has been entrusted to him – that each will be a ‘courageous witness and a tireless minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.’  Please, pray for me and for all priests that we may be good shepherds.
 
 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!