The Branches
I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest.
(Ezekiel 34:15)
Hello Everyone –
I received my First Holy Communion on April 3, 1969. The pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish, Cross Plains, at the time was Father Richard N. Schlaefer. He was a gentle, kind and holy man. He taught me how to serve at Mass. I attribute my vocation in large part to him, along with the great School Sisters of Saint Francis (Layton Boulevard).
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, we just celebrated the fourth Sunday in the Easter season — Good Shepherd Sunday — where we heard about sheepfolds, thieves and robbers, gatekeepers, and the One who is the “gate for the sheep.” It’s the same weekend that we celebrate World Day of Prayer for Vocations each year.
In reflecting on these occasions, I was prompted to rummage among the sacramental certificates that I have received over the years — Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Ordinations — and among the papers, I discovered a copy that I had saved of the acceptance speech that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered at the University of Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 1964, when he received the Nobel Peace Prize. His words are as crucial today as then:
I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.” I still believe that we shall overcome.
There is little doubt that, as the Lord tells us: “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy” (Jn 10:10). We need the Good Shepherd and the courage to listen to His voice in our lives.
St. Gregory the Great, pope from 590 to 604, tried to provide encouragement in not dissimilar times from ours:
What are the pastures of these sheep if they are not the deepest joys of the everlasting fresh pastures of paradise? For the pasture of the saints is to see God face to face; when the vision of God never fails, the soul receives its fill of the food of life for ever. And so, dear brothers and sisters, let us seek these pastures and there join in the joy of the celebrations of so many citizens in heaven. Let their happiness and rejoicing be an invitation to us. Let our hearts grow warm, let our faith be rekindled, let our desires for heavenly things grow strong; for to love like this is to be on the way.
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
