The Church hails the fourth Sunday after Easter as a special day of prayer for vocations. On this Sunday, the Church presents the Gospel of the Good Shepherd to help us reflect on the gift of vocations. We should remember that vocations are not related soley to priesthood. We all have a vocation in life. And what is our vocation? Pope Francis says that a vocation is a treasure that God stores in the heart of human beings. It is a treasure being the road which the Lord is inviting us to take and which leads us to happiness. This happiness is He himself. Every vocation is unique and everybody has to look deep into his heart to discover this treasure donated to him by God.
In simple terms, the Gospel of the Good Shepherd reminds us of the true definition of a vocation. Naturally, if Christ is the Good Shepherd, we are called to be part of his flock. The Gospel tells us that the flock listens to his voice. Therefore, a vocation, the call of every Christian, demands from us above all a close attention to the Lord’s voice and will.
The Gospel continues: the sheep follow the Lord because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. We should reflect on our lives and ask ourselves whom we are heeding, Are we heeding God’s voice or other voices that we allow to determine our decisions? Is our life following God’s call or is it following a vocation determined by ourselves for ourselves?
Therefore, the foundation of every vocation is prayer. We pray to listen to God’s voice and to relate better with God, since if we do not learn to relate better with God, how can we discover his call for us? The answer of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross sums it all: Vocation… is an answer which we get through prayer.