Scottish Catholic Observer

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Jesus’ words in today’s gospel, “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me”, encourages us all to listen attentively to his voice. In doing so we become more and more aware of how much he loves us and wishes us to follow him and grow in love of him. In a particular way he calls some to follow him as priests, deacons and religious, and on Good Shepherd Sunday especially the Church promotes this call, praying earnestly that those who are listening will hear the Lord’s call and will respond accordingly.

On Vocations Sunday 2008, in his final year as Bishop of the Diocese of Argyll, Bishop Ian Murray made a special appeal for vocations to the priesthood. One of those who heard this appeal was Tony Wood, who had been giving some thought to becoming a priest over a number of years. On hearing Bishop Ian’s words Tony found the courage to respond and came forward to offer himself as a potential candidate for the priesthood in the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles. Having completing a year of preparation and discernment Tony proceeded to undertake his seminary training in the Beda College in Rome, and will be ordained a priest this summer in St Columba’s Cathedral on 3rd July. On this Vocations Sunday 2013 I make a similar appeal for any men who have thought at times that the Lord is calling them to be priests to follow in Tony’s footsteps and offer themselves as potential candidates. The first step on this challenging, but rewarding, journey is to speak to your parish priest as soon as possible and share with him your awareness of the Lord’s call and your desire to respond to it.

It is probable that people will say that this is a difficult time to be thinking of becoming a priest, but it is often in times of crisis that the Lord does call and that those called find the courage to respond. I think back to 1996, a couple of weeks after Bishop Wright had resigned and our diocese appeared to be in turmoil. I as Diocesan vocations director met a young man in Glasgow who expressed his wish to be become a priest in this diocese. I am happy to say that his wish has been fulfilled and he has been a priest in the Diocese for a number of years. In difficult moments, when the faithful may face opposition or when morale is low, the Lord does call and the brave men who hear this call do come forward to give their lives to him so that they can bring the Lord’s solace and compassion to his people.

Although we have our trials and disappointments to face there is always movement in the life of the Church and new beginnings which lift our spirits and give us fresh hope—our celebration of Easter each year gives us that sense of joy in the Lord’s resurrection and renews our hope in the workings of his grace in and among us. This Easter we have had the added joy of welcoming our new Holy Father, Pope Francis I, and we have felt uplifted both by his words and his gestures. His choice of name recalls the memory of St Francis of Assisi and his dramatic effect on the Church of his day, both through his own prophetic life and preaching, and also through the thousands of young men who chose to follow him as Franciscans in his own life time and in the centuries since then. We might add also the young women who have chosen to follow his friend St Clare in giving themselves to the Lord in contemplative religious life.

Pope Francis is also a member of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuit Order, whose founder was St Ignatius of Loyola. Like St Francis he lived in a time of crisis for the Church as the Protestant Reformation spread across Europe, but again thousands of young men were inspired by him and his companions to give their lives and to sacrifice everything for the glory of God and the preaching of the Catholic faith to the ends of the earth. There is example and inspiration there for us also and the hope that young men today will respond to the Lord’s call with equal generosity of spirit and self-sacrifice for love of the Lord Jesus. May they be inspired also by the words of Paul and Barnabas in today’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles:

“For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: I have made you the light of the nations, so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.”

In this Diocese we are looking forward to the celebration of the 1450th anniversary of the arrival of St Columba and his monk companions on Iona on Pentecost Sunday 563. They arrived as missionaries from Ireland and through their preaching the Christian faith spread across the Highlands and Islands, and then to other parts of Scotland and the North of England. They were wonderful men filled with the power of the Holy Spirit as they brought the Good News of Jesus Christ into the darkness of a pagan world. We see signs today that many people seem to turn away from the Gospel or have been little touched by it, and we need more of those who will speak in Christ’s name and rekindle the flames of faith in our land. The Church in this Year of Faith wishes to renew our sense of mission, and the fervour of St Columba and the Celtic monks in making Christ known to the people of our time. While all the faithful witness to Christ by the example and quality of their Christian lives, we need those also who will dedicate themselves as today’s missionaries and will bravely speak in Christ’s name to the needy people of our time. If you are one of those whom the Lord is calling, will you now respond?

I encourage you all to pray then for vocations, not only today but frequently. If you know any young men, or perhaps older ones, whom you think could be priests why not suggest this possibility to them or pray for them in a particular way. Many of us who have been ordained heard the Lord’s call at a young age and were encouraged by our families and the Church to respond positively – for some this must still be the case and we should be willing to recognise God’s grace at work and cooperate with it. Let us rediscover the possibility that the Lord calls young people from our parishes, schools, communities, and let us strive to allow his voice to be heard and his call to be answered.. Let us pray frequently also for our bishops, priests, deacons and religious sisters and brothers, and especially for Tony Wood as he prepares for his ordination as a priest of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles. May Mary, the Mother of the Church assist our prayers and help us to be attentive to the voice of her Son Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Our loving Lord and Saviour.