Today is World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a day that Christians are invited to reflect on the meaning of God's call and to pray for vocations. Christian thinking on vocation has been summarized in one profound saying: "All are priests, some are priests, only one is a priest." The unique priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and humanity has always been acknowledged by Christians. The universal priesthood of all believers, the sharing of all the baptized in the priesthood of Christ, has received special emphasis since Vatican II. What seems to be hard for many people today to understand is the ministerial priesthood of some of the faithful, those who are called to make a lifelong commitment to serve as ordained ministers. This misunderstanding, among other things, is at the root of the vocation crisis in the church. If we understood more clearly the true nature and meaning of ordained ministry then we would be in the position to encourage both ourselves and others to respond to God's call to this way of life.

A society of missionary priests used to advertize themselves with this jingo, "Join us and see the world." This ad promises the would-be missionary a life of world-wide sightseeing but says nothing of the sacrifice that is part and parcel of the daily life of missionaries. An ad like that could easily lead to a misunderstanding of the meaning of ordained ministry for those who read the ad and go on to become priests. Today's gospel, on the other hand, gives us a very different picture of ministry. The gospel talks of shepherds. The Latin word for shepherd is "pastor," which is what we call an ordained minister who is responsible for ministering to a Christian community or parish. To understand the work and life entailed by the priestly vocation we need to go back to Jesus' teaching on the good shepherd.

The life of the shepherd in biblical times was one of personal self-giving and sacrifice. His work was that of watchful care and closeness to the flock. There were two kinds of shepherds. There was the hired hand for whom keeping the sheep was just the available job. He moved from flock to flock depending on the conditions of service and he would not risk his life for them. Seeing wolves or thieves coming, he would flee for dear life and leave the flock at the mercy of the invaders. Jesus said that he is not that kind of shepherd.

Then there is the shepherd-owner of the flock who grows up with the flock and stays with the same flock all his life. He knows each and every sheep in the flock individually. He calls each one by name and could tell you the personal story of each one of the sheep, when and where it was born, the problems it has had in life, its personal characteristics, etc. He attends to the individual needs of each and every one of them. He knows which ones are likely to lag behind after a long walk and he would carry them in his arms. He knows which ones were likely to stray from the flock and he would keep an eye on them when they came to dangerous places. He knows which ones are pregnant and need special food. When attacked by wolves or thieves he would risk his life and fight to defend his flock. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

Jesus is the good shepherd. He laid down his life for the flock, that is, the church. In a general way he invites everyone in the church to share in the work of caring for the flock in our own little ways. But he also calls some people from among us to a life-long commitment to the work of shepherding the flock of God. These people are called to share more closely than the rest of the believers in the life and work of Jesus the Good Shepherd. If today you should hear God's voice calling you to this way of life, harden not your hearts. And if you do not hear God calling you to this way of life, then do everything in your power to encourage those who are called to it and who struggle even with faltering steps to follow the footsteps of Jesus the good shepherd.