Symbol: the image of a priest, bishop or the pope, an image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, some books, and a walking staff.
Scripture
A reading from the gospel according to Saint John (John 10:11-15)
Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. The word of God.
Let us listen to the words of Vincent de Paul
O Lord, give us the spirit of your priesthood, which your Apostles and the first priests who followed them had; give us the true spirit of this sacred character you bestowed on poor fishermen, artisans, and needy people of that time, to whom, by your grace, you communicated this great, divine spirit. For we, too, are only weak people, Lord, poor workers and peasants; and what comparison is there between us, wretched men, and such a holy, distinguished, heavenly ministry! How earnestly we must ask God for this and exert ourselves for this great need of the Church, which is heading for ruin in many places because of the bad life of priests. For they are the ones causing it to perish and destroying it; and it is only too true that the depravity of the ecclesiastical state is the principal cause of the ruin of God’s Church (CCD:XI:278-279).
Reflection:
When Vincent de Paul wrote the Common Rules for the members of the Congregation of the Mission, he defined the purpose of said Congregation in the following manner: The whole purpose of the Congregation is: [1] to have a genuine commitment to grow in holiness, patterning ourselves, as far as possible, on the virtues which the great Master himself graciously taught us in what he said and did; [2] to preach the good news of salvation to poor people, especially in rura areas; [3] to help seminarians and priests to grow in knowledge and virtue, so that they can be effective in their ministry.
The purpose that Vincent placed before the missionaries is the same that is presented to diocesan priests, the Daughters of Charity and the laity. We are not members of some NGO or not-for-profit organization … rather we are missionaries, women religious, laymen and women who spend our lves involved in the ministry of establishing the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven, making the gospel effective through our witness. Abelly has stated that even though we do not say a single word, our presence alone will attract individuals. We are then warned to be careful so that our actions are in accord with the words that we preach (Abelly II:199). At this time we need to pray for our Church which is wounded and scared as a result of the scandalous activity of her ministers. We cry out:Lord, send good worker4s into the vineyard … it is not important if they are few in number, but let them be good!
Questions:
[1] How can I create a coherency between what I say and what I think and what I do?
[2] How can I help priests, brothers and lay people live their lives in accord with their vocation?
[3] Have I been attentive to the Pope’s request to pray for him and to pray for all priests and religious?
