Dear Friends,
On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, our Gospel reading (John 10:11-18) opens with these amazing and remarkable words:
"I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. . . . I know mine and mine know me, just as
the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.” This is why the Fourth Sunday of
Easter is observed as the Good Shepherd Sunday and also as the annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
This is the week to pray for your shepherds and all who have answered the call to shepherd the people entrusted to
them. We can use the prayer proposed by St. John Paul II:
We pray . . . for all consecrated persons. Fill their hearts with the deep certainty of having been chosen to
love, to praise, and to serve. Enable them to savor your friendship, fill them with your joy and consolation,
help them to overcome moments of difficulty, and rise again with trust after they have fallen; make
them mirrors of the divine beauty. Give them the courage to face the challenges of our time and the grace
to bring to all mankind the goodness and loving kindness of our Savior Jesus Christ
We are indeed grateful to God for our deacons and priests and especially for Tom Buddington, who will be ordained a
Permanent Deacon on 8 June 2024 at the Basilica of Mary Queen of the Universe. Please keep Tom, his wife Valerie,
and his son and daughter in your prayers.
On Easter Saturday, the Congregation of Holy Cross in the USA was blessed by the ordination of eight men to the
priesthood . . . and what a blessing this is! No doubt, this is a year of exceptional plenty. But even with this great gift,
we cannot respond adequately to the needs of our many apostolates. Please keep encouraging our own sons to
commit themselves to embracing the call to serve in the priesthood.
We truly need many men and women to answer God’s call to become Deacons, Priests, Brothers, and Sisters. I
fervently pray that many of our own here at St. John’s will hear God’s call, listen, and give their Fiat, their “yes.”
You might ask, how does a person know he or she has a call, or in our church parlance, a vocation? How can a person
discern a vocation?
Here are a few tips from the Holy Cross Office of Vocations:
• Prepare your heart. Begin not by asking God but by knowing God. Attend regular Mass and Confession, reflect on
Scripture, pray and offer service.
• Ask the question. Ask for the desire to receive the answer so that when it comes you might embrace it.
• Listen for God’s call. Waiting for an answer takes patience, but God makes his will known to those who seek it
with sincere hearts.
• Address fears and questions. It is in answering God’s call that we find our greatest joy.
All of these of course begin with prayer and taking time to cultivate a desire to serve the Lord.
My deep appreciation goes to Steve and Debbie Hogan, who received the Family of the Month Award for April.
Continue to shine your light among us so that we might see the Light of Christ through you. Thank you for all you do for
us, Steve and Debbie. Congratulations!
On Monday, 22 April 2024, we will celebrate the First Anniversary of the Dedication of our beautiful Grotto. In honor of
this great blessing, we will celebrate the Eucharist at the Grotto at 6 p.m. followed by praying the Rosary.
Have a Blessed Week!
With love,
Fr. John
2