The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The happy convergence of Mother’s Day (in the United States) with this day of prayer surely has some divine providence behind it. As we ask God to raise up good and holy priests and religious, we can see in the genius of motherhood a template for all vocations, modeled on the template of Christ, the Good Shepherd. As Jesus knows His sheep and is responsive to their needs, so a mother knows her children and is responsive to their needs. Priests, in the words of the late Pope Francis, ought to have the smell of their sheep, that is, they ought to be so close to them that they are able to respond to the cries of those entrusted to their care, as mothers hear their children and and care for them. Consecrated religious men and women, ordained priests, and all called to service in the Church, are entrusted with the shepherding mission of Jesus, who protects and guides His flock. We learned this protection, this responsiveness, this tender care at our mothers’ knee.
As I write this, we are also awaiting the election of a new Pope. By the time these words are published or you read them, a successor of St. Peter may already have stepped out on the balcony. But just in case he hasn’t yet, let us see a further invitation today. This World Day of Prayer for Vocations is an invitation to ask the Lord for the gift of good priests to lead our parishes, good bishops to guide our dioceses, and, at this moment in the immediate future of the Church, to ask God for a wise, prudent, gentle servant to lead His Church. Whoever he may be, may God bless him and grant him courage.
At the risk of speaking too generally, mothers have a remarkable capacity for multitasking. Mothers famously seem to be able to do it all, even on the day set aside to honor them. Today we see the liturgical celebration of the Fourth Sunday of Easter overlapping with Mother’s Day, during a papal conclave. So let’s add one more layer. It is the month of May, which for centuries has been specially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is the model of all motherhood and the mother of the Church. Pope St. John Paul II wrote of her, “Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts herself ‘in the middle,’ that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that as such she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she “has the right” to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary “intercedes” for mankind. And that is not all. As a mother she also wishes the messianic power of her Son to be manifested, that salvific power of his which is meant to help man in his misfortunes, to free him from the evil which in various forms and degrees weighs heavily upon his life… The Mother of Christ presents herself as the spokeswoman of her Son’s will, pointing out those things which must be done so that the salvific power of the Messiah may be manifested.” [1] From her position as mother, may Mary intercede for our mothers, that they may follow her example, be open to the infinite graces and blessings of Almighty God, and receive the reward promised to those who point the way to Jesus. May the Blessed Mother protect and guide the College of Cardinals and our future Pope. And may her prayers raise up good and faithful servants after the heart of the Good Shepherd, her Son, Jesus Christ.
[1] Encyclical Redemptoris Mater #21
