ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

I thank you for joining Bishop Cistone, Father Babowitch, all our priests, deacons, seminarians and myself this evening for this Vicariate Holy Hour for Priestly Vocations. What a great gift it is to be gathered here with you—here before Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. It is a further gift to have here the monstrance blessed by our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II. This traveling monstrance unites us not only with our brothers and sisters throughout the world but also with our Holy Father whose first anniversary of death we will remember next Sunday.

All of us have just listened to Saint Luke’s account of the call of Peter the fisherman. Certainly, this passage of Scripture is an important one in the life of Peter, but it is also important for the Church at large, for you and for me. For here we find the beginning of Peter’s response to the Lord, his initial decision to leave all things behind to follow Christ and to take his first step in becoming a "fisher of men."

This scripture passage tells us much about Peter, but it also reveals to us much about Jesus Himself. For we see in this passage not only the call and mission of Peter to become a fisher of men, but also the call and mission of Christ who is the great Fisher of Men. He is the One who comes into this world to draw mankind to Himself, so that mankind can be saved. It is here in this passage that we see the great Fisher of Men, Jesus our Lord, at work.

From the first sentence of the Gospel account, we see that Jesus had already attracted to Himself a large group of people. We are told that a crowd was pressing in on Jesus, to hear His word, to be taught by him. Clearly, this crowd of people had been "caught" in the net of Jesus’ Love; their hearts were "hooked" on His word. So great is the crowd that Jesus puts Himself in a boat, from which he can teach them. And we find Jesus not only teaching the crowd, but also letting them benefit, through Peter, from His own mission of being the fisher of men.

We see this in the call of Peter. For in calling Peter and the other Apostles, Jesus is sharing with them the work His Father had given Him to do. The great Fisher of Men is calling others to act in His place. And we see that in sharing in the work of Christ, in being attentive to His word, in being obedient and docile, Peter and the other Apostles find fruitfulness and great fulfillment. Peter and his fellow Apostles share in the work of Jesus Christ.

Dear Friends: as we look at Christ’s Church today, we find a Church in great need. There is a great need for God’s work to be done. There is a great need for all of Christ’s followers to realize the mission entrusted to them. Like the apostle Peter, after a long night of fishing and catching nothing, there are many in the Church today whose spirits are downcast. We find so many people searching, looking for meaning in life. Sadly, many come up short, with empty or torn nets.

In the light of such a situation, our Gospel account teaches us a great truth. Namely, it is not merely working hard that produces results for and in the Church; it is working in and with Christ. As Christians we are invited to make the work of Christ our own. We do this first of all by prayer. In prayer all of us accept Christ’s call and participate in His mission.

It is in this context that we see the particular and unique work of the Catholic priest. For the work of the priest is the work of Christ, our head. It is an important work, a necessary work, a work that Christ wills to be done in and through the Church today. A work of offering sacrifice to the Father, making intercession for God’s people and making one’s own life a gift for others so that all may be one in Christ. Everyone in the Church needs the Eucharist, but the Eucharist is given only through the priest. This is why everyone needs the priest and why everyone must pray and work for vocations to the priesthood.

Friends: surely there is no lack on Christ’s part of calling men to be priests. Jesus is calling many to be His fishers of men. There is however a shortage of men who are listening to the call and accepting it. There is a shortage of parents welcoming that call for their sons. There is a shortage of understanding the call of Christ. In the Gospels, Jesus told us to do one thing in order to have more workers in the vineyard. He told us to pray. So that is what we are here tonight to do. But prayer is not merely asking Jesus for something. Prayer is encountering Jesus, and being changed by him. This is what happened to Peter on the boat. This is what happens to us in this church, as we pray to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This is what needs to happen to us each and every day.
And so in praying for vocations, we must first take time to acknowledge Jesus and to approach Him, as the crowd in the Gospel did. We must pray for the desire to be "caught" by Jesus. Then, we can hear His word—a word which reminds us of the mission which He shares with us, His mission of love. Then, from that encounter, we find our way, our place, in Him. We discover who He wants us to be. We find fruitfulness, happiness and peace. Such gifts do not come to us automatically, but only when we discover Christ. We discover that the call of Christ is a call to each of us to share His mission in our own way, but also to promote His priesthood for the good of everyone in the Church.

Parents: do not be afraid of God’s call for your children. For God’s call is an awesome call. Young people: do not be afraid of God’s call to you. Do not be afraid to discover His claim on your life, or His plan for your future.

In a few short weeks we will celebrate once again the depth of Christ’s love in the mysteries of Holy Week. At that time we shall encounter the Jesus who laid down His life for His friends. You and I are His friends. Let us recommit ourselves to that gift of His friendship. Let us not be afraid to be a friend of Christ, to be caught in the net of His love and to make His love present in this world. For it is only in this way, that the work of Christ can continue in and through us.

Tonight, as we acknowledge Jesus present in the Eucharist, let us reclaim our friendship with Him. Let us pray that young people throughout the Church may experience this friendship in every vocation, in every state in life: in Christian married love, in the consecrated life, in the single dedicated life. In particular tonight we pray that from this friendship with Jesus more workers will come forth, ready to leave everything else behind, and like Peter to follow Jesus as His priests, as generous and dedicated fishers of men. Amen.