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Praying
For a Shepherd
April
16-17, 2005
Fr.
George Smiga
John
10: 1-10
We
live in historic times. This week the cardinals of our church
will be gathered in Rome to elect a new pope. For over a quarter
of a century, we as a church have been led by the ministry
of John Paul II. But this week there will be a new pope, and
a new era in the church life will begin.
It
is very appropriate then that this Sunday in our gospel, we
are presented with this image of Christ as the shepherd, as
the gate to the sheep. This image reveals Christ's care for
us and his activity. The shepherd cares for the sheep. He
is not a thief or a bandit. Moreover, the shepherd is active.
He calls the sheep by name; they come out and follow him.
This image of Christ is something to anchor us this week,
because it is important for us to believe that Christ is the
shepherd of the church and that Christ will be active as the
new pope is chosen. After all, if we do not believe that Christ
will be active in this process of choosing the successor of
St. Peter, in what action do we expect him to be active?
All
of us probably have our own personal ideas and desires for
a new pope. I believe that it is important for us to communicate
those ideas and hopes to our shepherd. We should all spend
some time in prayer today, telling Christ what we believe
the needs of the church are and what the qualities of the
new successor to Peter should be. The gospel emphasizes the
close connection between Jesus and his sheep. They recognize
his voice; he calls them each by name. Therefore, it is not
only appropriate, but imperative, for us to believe that our
prayers, our desires, our hopes for the church are something
that our shepherd wants to hear.
Spend
some time in prayer today, communicating your vision and your
need to our shepherd. Here is what I have been praying. I
pray for a pope who will share the same energy and vision
of John Paul II, someone who will be able as effectively to
be a focus and symbol of the Catholic church in the world,
someone who could carry on the tradition of moral integrity
and authority which our past pope demonstrated to so many
throughout the world. I am also praying for a pope that has
a pastoral heart, a pope that is not only connected to the
mechanics of the church, but understands the needs of the
people throughout the world, a pope who realizes how many
people struggle with faith and doubt and the troubles in their
life and the need for the church to be present to them in
times of difficulty. I pray for a pope who realizes how important
it is that we continue the work of John Paul II in relating
to the other great religions of our world, to the Jewish people,
to the Moslems, to all people of good faith. I pray for a
pope who will respect the ministry of his fellow bishops.
The church a worldwide community. The needs vary from diocese
to diocese. I am praying for a pope who will allow local bishops
more flexibility in dealing with the particular issues of
their dioceses. I am also praying for a pope who will honestly
read the signs of the times in our world and prepare the church
to address them. Not least among those issues is the issue
of the tremendous shortage of priests in the United States
and in many other church communities throughout the world.
That
is what I am praying. But I am only one sheep. Our shepherd
needs to hear from all of us, and it is important for all
of us to express our desires, our perceptions of the needs
of the church to the shepherd, because of our relationship
to him.
So
the first thing I would recommend that we all do today and
throughout this week is pray. The second thing that I would
recommend is that we trust, that we believe that Christ our
shepherd will be active. You have already read in the newspaper
all the leading candidates for pope and all the analysis of
their strengths and weaknesses. You can be sure that when
a new pope is chosen, the media will cover us with a deluge
of details and analysis of who he is, what he believes, what
he will do or not do, which part of the church won, which
part of the church lost, in this election. I think it would
be wise to realize that much of what you read will be wrong.
Even to the extent that it is right, history has proven that
people who assume the See of Peter often revise their thinking,
often change in their attitude and approach when they are
given the responsibility to lead the church.
So
as the new pope is chosen, I think we should be slow to judge
and quick to trust. To trust and believe that Christ was involved
in this election and that this man bears a gift, a direction
that will help our church. We live in historic times. This
week it important for us to claim our relationship to Christ
the shepherd, to pray that he might know what we need and
desire from our own lips, to trust and believe that he will
be active in the upcoming days. Prayer and trust are the two
qualities we should bring as we begin this historic week in
the life of our church.
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