20 April 2024 – 4th Sunday of Easter (Year B) (Sunset Mass) | Good Shepherd Sunday/Vocation Sunday

by Fr Desmond Jansen

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there was this one particular lady who has three sons and she was getting ready to celebrate her 100th birthday.

So the three sons said, “Well, mummy is going to celebrate her 100th birthday. We should get her the best gift.”

So the elder son said “I am going to build mommy a big mansion with swimming pool, with jacuzzi, so that she can have a happy life at the end.”

The second son said “Oh you don’t know mommy well. Mommy loves to travel. I am going to get her a Maybach Mercedes with a driver. She just has to tell and the driver will take her anywhere she wants to go.”

Third one said “Both of you don’t know mommy well. Mommy loves to read the bible and because of her old age, she couldn’t read properly, she couldn’t see. So I am going to get this parrot from this particular monastery which the monks have been training this parrot for the past 5 years in getting to know the Bible well. The only thing is I have pledged to give them RM1 Million for the next 5 years. It is okay. For mommy nothing is big.”

So the birthday came, they had a good celebration. After a month, the mother wrote letter. Old lady can’t write email so wrote letter.

So she said to the first son, “Dear Andrew, the house you gave me is too big. I only stay in one room but I have to clean the entire house. So I am going back to my apartment. You can take back this bungalow.”

To the second one, she wrote, “Dear Anslem, I am too old to travel. I am too tired plus the driver you sent me is not respectful, very rude. You can take back the driver and the car.”

To the third son, “Dear Edwin, you are the only son that knows what your mom know. The bird you sent was delicious. I have done soup.”

So my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate the Vocation Sunday, let us ask ourselves “Do I know what is my calling? Do I know what is my vocation?” Because sometimes when I talk about vocation, as the Assistant Director of Vocation, when I go around promoting vocation, the answer, classic answers that I get is:-
Father, I am sinful.
Father, I am not worthy.
Father, I am too young.
Father, I am too old.
Father, I don’t know the bible; and
Father I don’t think so I can become God’s instrument. I am so weak.

My only question to them is “Who said you have to be perfect? Who said a sinner cannot become a priest, or cannot get married, cannot be a religious or serve God?”

I said “Look at all our prophets. Look at all our apostles. Were they perfect?”

No, they were weak, they were afraid, they even ran away. They even question God but yet God chose them. So please, if you say “Father, I am sinful”, then I think if you are not sinful means I have to take your photo and put over there (points to Jesus on the Cross). All of us are sinful, all of us are sinners and God knows that very well when He was dying on the cross. He knows it very well and yet He died for us because He loves us, because He wants to give us salvation and hope. 

So every time when we fall, remember to rise up and start walking with Jesus. Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. Every great saint once upon a time was a great sinner. I mean my favourite saint, Saint Augustine, first class playboy. The amount of girlfriends he had, in fact the mother has to pray for him and she became a saint because of praying. But today, he is not just a saint. He is a Doctor of the Church, the highest rank the church can give a person. So if Saint Augustine, a playboy, can become the Doctor of the Church, what about us? Yes or not?

All of us have been called in different ways. And please for goodness sake don’t put the priesthood up there, then religious, then marriage, then single down there. No. All vocations are equal. Get that right.

It is just that we have been called differently. We are called differently but our mission is the same – to serve God. Right? So don’t think you are getting married, you are lesser holier than me. Oh no, please. It is a beautiful vocation. All of us are equal. Get that right. Because I know in Asian mentality, always the priest up there, the bishop is even higher, cardinal even more higher. No. We are equal. All right?

That is why because sometimes I say vocation, the only think they remember is priesthood and religious. No. What about marriage? What about single consecrated life? So please vocation. There are four types of vocation. That is first.

Second, how are we going to live our vocation as children of God? When we are baptised, we became children of God. Yes or not? Ah….how are we going to live?

You know when I was small right, when I do wrong in front of my dad, he will say “Just like your mother’s family la….korenges, monkey.” When I do wrong in front of my mom, she would say “Just like your father. Tak boleh pakai.” But then, ultimately we forgot we are children of God. When someone sees us, they must say “Hey, this is Christian.” They must see Jesus in us. And to do that, we don’t have to do big, big mighty things. Simple little things can bring Jesus to people’s lives.

You go to the restaurant, when the waitress comes to give you food, do we say ‘Thank you’? Even in church, when we say ‘Peace be with you’, do you really look at the person’s face and say ‘Peace be with you’ or (bowing head multiple times without looking up) like tua pek kong? You hardly even see the person’s face. Smile and say ‘Peace be with you’.

And dear husband and wife, when ‘Peace be with you’ time, please hug her and hug him and give a kiss. You know when loving time, when girlfriend dating time, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’ After married, don’t want to see the face also. And children, please hug your parents. Can or not? Can we do it? Hey, I am asking you to hug your wife, not somebody else’s wife, you know. Please do it. ‘Peace be with you’ is a very beautiful word. You are telling your peace to that person and if you do it without peace, aiyoh…tsk. Do it with love. And when you come to Mass, please smile. When there is a smile in your face, you are bringing joy to a person who is even going through some problems. And talk to the person next to you. This one, after Mass, start car and cabut. Talk to people. You see someone new, welcome them. That is how we live our vocation as children of God.

And thirdly, please pray for vocation. Not only to priesthood, but also for marriage, for religious and single life. Today, the amount of divorce that is happening is so high. The rate of a divorcee is so high. So please pray for marriage also that couples will live faithfully and happily. And please pray for us priests. Last year, about 5,000 have left priesthood. All young priests. Globally, 5,000 have left priesthood.

You know Sundays right, I am super tired. Four Masses. After the last Mass I just want to go back and sleep. So please let us pray for each other. Prayers is the greatest gift God has given and the greatest power to fight against temptations. So let us pray for each other as we celebrate this Good Shepherd Sunday.

And fourthly, love yourself.  Care for yourself. Respect yourself. Be patient to yourself. When I say self-care, self-love, self-respect, self-patience, most of the Asian would say, “Father that is selfish.” Oh please, that is not selfish. That is healing. We are unable to love, care, respect and be patient with others when we don’t do it to ourselves. We are unable to give something to others when we don’t have it to yourself. So please be gentle to yourself, be kind to yourself, be patient with yourself and always give yourself a second chance.

Whenever you fall, rise up and give yourself a second chance and start over again. And that is how our life will become beautiful. If not, always it is going to be hell. It is going to be stressful, it is going to be painful. So treat yourself well. By treating yourself well, you are able to treat other people well. So can or not? Can you love yourself? Respect yourself? Care for yourself? Amen. Hey, you all promised. If you never fulfill you go to purgatory.

So take care, have a good day, God bless you all.

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