I recently rewatched the movie, Return to Me. It was released in the year 2000 and definitely has the elements of the romantic comedies of the late 90’s and early 2000’s–positive story line, lovable characters, and great comedy. I have watched it many times and it doesn’t get old! One of the aspects of Return to Me that I really enjoy is its depiction of a group of friends who have become like family to each other. The movie revolves around the love story between the main character, Bob, a recent widower, and a woman named Grace. In addition to falling in love with Grace, Bob is also drawn into the family that surrounds her. This family is made up of her grandpa and three old friends who work with him at his Irish Italian restaurant. The Irish Italian fusion sounds a bit silly, but the friendship between these Irish and Italian men is what makes the restaurant work. These four older gentlemen are truly like brothers to each other and like fathers and uncles to Grace. So when Bob comes into Grace’s orbit, he is immediately taken into their circle as well.
The easy camaraderie between these old men is such a beautiful thing. When Bob meets them, they instantly make him a part of their conversation and invite him to sit down and join their game of cards. Later on, as Bob and Grace begin dating, you see Bob becoming even more ingrained in their group, joining their bowling league. There is something very touching about seeing Bob’s character getting “adopted” by these four good friends. Working in the restaurant brought them together, but you can see that their mutual respect and love has bonded them even closer. They bust each other’s chops, but only because they care about each other. Their openness to welcoming others into their family shows once again when they first meet Bob’s best friend, Charlie. He doesn’t even know them, but on his first visit to their bowling night, they immediately invite him to join in on a bet that they’re making about the bowling match. He is already becoming “one of the guys.”
That sense of intimate belonging that happens in families, and close knit groups of friends which are like families, resonates with our hearts. We are drawn to families and friend groups like this because their love is expansive, always ready to welcome in newcomers and make them feel like “one of the gang.” I bet many of you can think of families and friends you have met who are like this. They are a gift.
These types of expansive, generous families remind us of the reality of the family we are blessed to be part of as Catholics. Each of us, in our own way, has been brought into this worldwide family that spans the centuries and the world, a family held together by the ultimate Lover and Friend of our souls, Jesus Himself.
This Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday in the Church because of the short Gospel we just heard, where Jesus identifies Himself as the Shepherd who knows His sheep and leads them to eternal life. He promises to keep them in His hands, and keep them close to His Father. Here Jesus is drawing on an image still familiar to us today: that of a shepherd caring for his flock and leading them to pasture. Sheep know the voice of their shepherd and thus are able to know and follow him. This is how it is with each of us and the Shepherd of our souls. Jesus has allowed us to hear His voice and become part of His flock. For some of us, this started when we were babies and were baptized into the Body of Christ which is the church. For others, you heard the voice of the Shepherd later in life and have come into the flock as an adult. In both cases, the grace of Jesus was there to welcome us and make us part of the family of the Church.
In this context, the Church invites us this Sunday to pray for vocations as part of the World Day of Prayer for vocations. In different ways, each vocation calls us to participate in the mission of the Good Shepherd. Each of us can help people to come to hear His voice, become part of His flock and thus be nourished by the Shepherd with the grace that gives us eternal life. So our task this Sunday is to pray that young people will hear and answer the call of the Good Shepherd to be part of His mission.
For some, this call will be to the great Sacrament of Marriage, where you have the opportunity to build a family life where children know the voice of the Good Shepherd and listen to Him. We are so grateful for all of you mothers, whom we celebrate this weekend in a particular way. You play such a key role in helping your children grow in the life of grace so that they can stay close to the Shepherd of their souls. Your love and support is such an important foundation in the life of your kids. Thank you for how you allow Jesus, the Good Shepherd to work through you. In the book of Revelation, we hear about people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation who have become part of the Church, with the Lamb who is also the Shepherd at the center. This is an image of that expansive love which welcomes others in. Your welcoming of children and others into your family, and your care for them as they grow and learn will help them come to know the heart of the Good Shepherd!
Fathers, you also have such an influence in the life of your kids. Never underestimate your impact in saying ‘yes’ to the Good Shepherd in your own heart. When your children – and others in your life – see the example of a father who has put his trust in God and follows the example of the Good Shepherd who would do anything to protect His flock, that will help them to have the security they need to grow and flourish. It will help them to see a reflection of the even greater love of the Lamb of God, who laid down His life for the sheep. As fathers, you can help them to trust that in Heaven, the Lamb of God reigns as Shepherd, as we hear from the book of Revelation today:
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
We should pray for our children and young people to be open to the call of the Good Shepherd to share in His mission as parents. And there is also a great need in our church to pray for young people to hear the call to be spiritual fathers and mothers. God is calling some to the great vocation of being a spiritual father as a priest, and some to the great vocation of spiritual motherhood as a religious sister. These two vocations are different ways of sharing in the mission of the Good Shepherd.
As priests, we are called to be direct instruments of Jesus the Good Shepherd. He invites us to feed the family of the Church with the grace of the Sacraments, to help you to hear the voice of the Father speaking to you in Scripture, and to help direct and guide you so that we can be on mission together and avoid the pitfalls and temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. I am so grateful for the call of God in my life to this vocation. Young men, listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd in your own heart. He may be inviting you to lay down your life for the family of the church as a shepherd, after the heart of the Good Shepherd.
And young ladies, I invite you to be open to the call of the Good Shepherd in your own hearts. I personally know multiple young women who have entrusted themselves to Jesus as religious sisters, giving up a natural family so that they can serve the church as spiritual mothers. Their lives are so full of joy! Think about how many people were touched by the service of the sisters at our school here for so many years. Even though they were sometimes tough, you know that those sisters had hearts formed by Jesus the Good Shepherd. Religious sisters are part of the mission of the Good Shepherd through their work with students, the poor, the sick, those in crisis, and so many others. Their loving gift of themselves helps people see the Good Shepherd and come to Him.
The four old men from Return to Me, with their expansive, welcoming love, remind us of what our lives should look like through our vocations. We are called to be instruments of the Good Shepherd, drawing others more and more to the beauty and goodness of the family life we share as members of His flock, the Church.
+ Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us Jesus as the Good Shepherd of the Church. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, please help our hearts to respond to Your call. Holy Spirit, help those who are discerning their vocation to be open to being mothers, fathers, priests and religious brothers and sisters after the Heart of the Good Shepherd. As we live out our vocations, help us to abandon any selfishness that would keep us from laying ourselves down for those we are called to serve. We ask this through Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. +