Dear Friends in Christ:
Did you know that you are a pastor? Well, you are! In fact, every parishioner of St. John Vianney is a pastor. Yes, you are a pastor, your spouse is a pastor, and your kids are pastors too! Now before you rush into my office and start measuring for curtains, let me explain.
What exactly is a pastor? A pastor, in this sense, is one who shepherds, leads, guides, and cares for a flock. My flock is rather sizable, your flock is likely a bit smaller, but no less important. My flock happens to be you and all the parishioners of this wonderful parish. Your flock is your family, your friends, neighbors, classmates, and coworkers. Being a pastor does not mean bossing people around. Being a pastor means to serve. Our job as pastors, both yours and mine, is to help lead and guide people to Jesus. As baptized Catholics, we were baptized into Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, our true pastor. As the baptized, we share in his divine life and in his ministry. At our baptisms, we were empowered to share in his three-fold ministry of being priest, prophet, and king. That means we share in his priestly ministry of sanctification and sacrifice, his prophetic ministry of preaching and teaching, and his kingly ministry of shepherding and serving.
Every Catholic has a call, a vocation, by virtue of their baptism, to be holy, to proclaim the Gospel, to bring Christ’s love to others, and to bring others to Christ. Every good pastor knows that the flock that we are called to shepherd, be it St. John Vianney, your home, your office, classroom, the local coffeeshop, or gym, truly belongs to the Lord. We are all sheep of his flock! (Ps 100). As individual pastors, we help lead and guide others to follow Christ and help them become pastors too!
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, shows us how to be good and effective pastors. Although he had all authority and power, he humbled himself and empowered others. Though he was rejected and despised, betrayed and let down, he never gave up on us or gave into temptation. When Jesus fell under the weight of the cross, his love for us brought him back up. Though Jesus knew pain and suffering, he never lost joy.
What brings a pastor the most joy is not when people love them, but when people love God! Seeing others experience the love of God and desiring to love God even more – that is a pastor’s joy. As pastor of this parish, I desire that one day we will all be united together in heaven. That is what I work and pray for. As pastor of your flock, you are called to work and pray that your spouse, your kids and grandkids, your neighbors, coworkers and friends, get to heaven too! This is the most important job and God has chosen just the right person for this mission. God has chosen you!
After the resurrection, when the Lord appeared to St. Peter on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (Jn 21:15ff), he asked him three times “Do you love me?” Each time Peter responded “Yes, Lord, you know I love you!” To which Jesus told him to feed and tend HIS sheep. Jesus was telling St. Peter, and is telling us, that to love him is to ‘Be a pastor and be a good one!’