Fourth Sunday of Easter
Jn 10:1 - 10

       To bemoan change and to yearn for the past is to deny the wonder of God' gift of creative adaptability. Structures and institutions must adapt to new needs and opportunities or else become irrelevant quickly. The Church is no exception. The core teaching and values of following Christ remain constant but the most effective way in which they are to be lived out must be discovered and implemented by each generation, learning from the past but living in the present while planning flexibility for the future.

       Today is Vocations Sunday. It is an opportunity to focus in how priesthood and religious life will be lived-out in the year 2005 and beyond. However, no matter what happens in the rapidly changing decades of the 21st century, the person called to the priesthood or religious life will be:

One who believes that God is achieving great things in and through this generation;
One who believes that the Eucharist is the cornerstone of life;
One whose hope is founded on living faith, shared
and nurtured in a praying community;
One who will risk going the extra mile for Christ;
One who will risk surrendering personal freedom for security in the Lord;
One who will risk undertaking the most menial jobs for love of others;
One who will risk being exploited for the sake of the gospel.

        Such a one will be a person of hopeful joy rather than of cynical despair; a person of generous risk rather than of comfortable cuteness. Only God's grace could inspire such living. It is open to each of us to create an atmosphere where such a call can take root.

 

(Commentary by Tom Clancy. Taken from "Preaching the Word", Columba)