On Sunday 26 April, the Catholic Church marks Good Shepherd Sunday, also known as Vocations Sunday, which was first launched by Pope Paul VI in 1964.
In a video recorded in the Chapel at The English College’s Convento Palazzola just outside Rome, Bishop Nicholas Hudson, Bishop of Plymouth, reflected upon his own journey to the priesthood.
“This is a very special place for me because it was in this place, in this chapel, that I took my first solemn action towards ordination as a priest because I was ordained deacon in this chapel by one of my predecessors, Bishop Cyril Restio of Plymouth.”
Bishop Hudson recalled his days at seminary in Rome, reflecting in particular on how the martyrs, particularly Ralph Sherwin, inspired him.
“I remember my first day at the college, I was very touched to be told that Ralph Sherwin was the first of 44 students who were trained and ordained at the college. He then went back on the mission to England and Wales and was martyred for the faith.
“I had this very strong sense throughout all my training for the priesthood that it was on account of the martyrs’ courage and on account of the courage of people like St Thomas More and St John Fisher, who are also celebrated in this chapel, that the faith was still enabled, was still allowed to be practised in England and Wales, and that we’re very much following in their footsteps.”
Appealing to young men who are considering a calling to the priesthood, Bishop Hudson offered encouragement and assurance:
“Jesus said, ‘You did not choose me, no, I chose you.’ That was always something that sustained me in priesthood. I never felt worthy, but whenever I was thinking, ‘Am I really called?’, I felt a strong sense that Jesus might want me to come and see and explore this vocation. I’d say the same thing to any young man who’s thinking that the Lord might be calling him to the priesthood: Do not hesitate to go and talk to another priest about it, and, if and when you’re ready, talk to the vocations director of your diocese.”
There are many vocations that we celebrate on Vocations Sunday, including those of religious sisters. To women considering how they fit in the mission of the Church, Bishop Hudson said:
“Their vocation, their apostolate, is just as important and wonderfully complementary. We have a number of very fine religious women who work in Plymouth diocese, and I would encourage any young women who are called to the religious life similarly to approach another religious sister and talk to her about it.”
In a final concluding reflection, Bishop Hudson remembered how questioning is a normal and important part of the journey towards a vocation in the Church.
“In all the years I was training here, I used to do a lot of praying in this chapel wondering, ‘Lord, are you really calling me to be a priest? What will it be like?’ And I found it to be an even richer life than I expected. So I’d say to both men and women, men who are feeling possibly called to explore a vocation to priesthood and women who are feeling possibly called to explore a vocation to religious life, to have the courage actually to take a closer look and see if it’s what the Lord might be calling them to do.”
