Some time ago I was asked to take part in a questionnaire by Ten:Ten Theatre who were working with the National Office for Vocation to prepare resources for schools to celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. I forgot all about it, and was (pleasantly) surprised to see myself quoted, and featured in a picture in one of the resources, "The Gift of Priests and Sisters".
I keep remembering with thanksgiving the "Good Shepherds" I have known during my time as a Catholic and a Priest.
- Three wonderful, and very different Popes: St John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis.
- Three very different Bishops of Nottingham who have welcomed, supported and affirmed me with great kindness: Bishop James McGuinness, (Arch)bishop Malcolm McMahon, Bishop Patrick McKinney.
- Many kind priests of our Diocese who accepted this married, convert cleric from a very different background from their own. I remember particularly Fr Jim Hannigan who instructed me and received me into the Church, and Fr Peter Tierney and Fr Adrian Chatterton who were a great strength to me in my early days as a Catholic and as a new priest.
- Three hard-working deacons who worked alongside me in prison chaplaincy and the two parish settings I have worked since ordination: Deacon Henry Atkinson, Deacon John Timson and Deacon Andrew Martin. It has been/is a privilege to work alongside them. They have all fed me in very different ways..
- I think of elderly priests who keep feeding their flock with the Word and Sacraments well beyond the age when most men are grateful to ease into retirement.
- I think of priests in mid-life, often with massive, even overwhelming parochial and diocesan responsibilities.
- I think of our young priests and seminarians, facing a future when their numbers are few and our culture alternates between hostility and indifference to our faith.
I pray for them all today and thank God for them, for we do what we do out of love for Him and for his people.
It is sometimes said that one picture is worth a thousand words. I have already typed too many words, so let me end with a picture which I found on the Facebook page of one of our young priests this weekend. Please do what the text asks, and please pray for more priests, deacons and sisters.
