Dear brothers and sisters,
Fourth Sunday of Easter is characterized by the Gospel of the
Good Shepherd - in the tenth chapter of St. John – which we
read every year. Today’s passage contains these words of Jesus:
" My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can
take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to
me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the
Father’s hand. The Father and I are one"(10.27 to 30).These
four verses contain Jesus’ entire message, the core of His
Gospel: He calls us to participate in His relationship with the
Father, and this is eternal life.
Jesus wants to establish a relationship with his friends that is a
reflection of His relationship with the Father, a relationship of
mutual belonging in full trust, in intimate communion. To
express this deep understanding, this relationship of friendship
Jesus uses the image of the shepherd with his sheep: he calls
them, and they know his voice, they respond to his call and
follow him. How beautiful this parable is! The mystery of the
voice is suggestive: from our mother's womb we learn to
recognize her voice and that of our father, from the tone of a
voice we perceive love or disdain, affection or coldness. The
voice of Jesus is unique! If we learn to distinguish it, He guides
us on the path of life, a path that goes beyond the abyss of
death.
But at a certain point Jesus, referring to his sheep, says: "My
Father, who has given them to me..." (Jn 10,29). This is very
important, it is a profound mystery, that is not easy to
understand: if I feel attracted to Jesus, if his voice warms my
heart, it is thanks to God the Father, who has put in me the
desire of love, of truth, life, beauty ... and Jesus is all this to the
full! This helps us to understand the mystery of vocation,
particularly the call to a special consecration. Sometimes Jesus
calls us, invites us to follow him, but maybe we don’t realize that
it is Him, just like young Samuel. There are many young people
today, here in the square. There are many of you! So many of
you young people present today in the square!
I would like to ask you: have you sometimes heard the voice of
the Lord which through a desire, a certain restlessness, invites
you to follow Him more closely? Have you heard it? I can’t hear
you…there you are! Have you had any desire to be apostles of
Jesus? Youth must spend itself for high ideals. Do you think so?
Do you agree? Ask Jesus what he wants from you and be brave!
Be brave, ask Him!!! Behind and before every vocation to the
priesthood or consecrated life, is always the strong and intense
prayer of someone: a grandmother, a grandfather, a mother, a
father, a community ... That's why Jesus said, "Pray the Lord of
the harvest - that is, God the Father - to send out laborers into
his harvest" (Mt 9:38). The vocations are born in prayer and
from prayer, and only in prayer can they persevere and bear
fruit. I like to underline this today, the "World Day of Prayer for
Vocations." We pray especially for the new priests of the
Diocese of Rome, whom I had the joy of ordaining this morning.
And we invoke the intercession of Mary. Today there were 10
young men who have said "yes" to Jesus and were ordained
priests this morning ... This is beautiful! Let us invoke the
intercession of Mary who is the woman who said "yes." Mary
said "yes," all her life! She has learned to recognize the voice of
Jesus since she bore him in her womb. Mary, Our Mother, help
us to know better the voice of Jesus and follow it, to walk the
path of life!
Thank you so much for your greeting, but let us also proclaim
Jesus loudly... Let us all pray together to the Virgin Mary.