Daily Thought For June 7, 2020

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Thank You So Much For All Of Your Prayers

God promises the Church not just any sort of shepherds, but shepherds “after his own heart.” And God’s “heart” has revealed itself to us fully in the heart of Christ the good shepherd. Christ’s heart continues today to have compassion for the multitudes and to give them the bread of truth, the bread of love, the bread of life (cf. Mk. 6:30ff.), and it pleads to be allowed to beat in other hearts—priests’ hearts: “You give them something to eat” (Mk. 6:37). People need to come out of their anonymity and fear. They need to be known and called by name, to walk in safety, along the paths of life, to be found again if they have become lost, to be loved, to receive salvation as the supreme gift of God’s love. All this is done by Jesus, the good shepherd—by himself and by his priests with him.

 Now, as I bring this exhortation to a close, I turn my thoughts to all aspirants to the priesthood, to seminarians and to priests who in all parts of the world—even in the most difficult and dramatic conditions, but always with the joyous struggle to be faithful to the Lord and to serve his flock unswervingly—are offering their lives daily in order that faith, hope and charity may grow in human hearts and in the history of the men and women of our day.
#82 John Paul II. (1992). Pastores Dabo Vobis. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 

 **This document was a huge help in my formation in studying for the priesthood. Today is the 23rd anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and support as we continue the adventure of discipleship. May God richly bless you and your families.**

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