Today, Pope Benedict ordained 22 men to the priesthood at St. Peter’s. AsiaNews reports:

Twenty two young men from Italy, but also from the Philippines, Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Slovakia were ordained today by Benedict XVI in a suggestive ceremony in St Peters Basilica, concelebrated by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope’s Vicar for the diocese of Rome, along with various auxiliary bishops.

Some of the newly ordained hail from Roman collages and seminaries, others are students from seminaries run by the Neocathecumenal movement (Redemptoris Mater) or Legion of Christ.   Their initiation to the priesthood took place on the very day the universal Church celebrates “Good Shepherd Sunday” (IV Sunday of Easter) and the 44th world day of prayer for vocations.

In his homily Benedict XVI underlined first and foremost the profound unity between the priest and the Good Shepherd, “the Son of man who wanted to share the human condition in order to gift them new life and guide them to salvation”, defined as “good” (kalos), a sign of definitive beauty and goodness “since messianic times”.  One’s relationship with Christ “is a deep and personal relationship; knowledge of the heart of he who loves and is loved; of he who is faithful and in turn has faith; knowledge of love because of which the Shepherd invites his to follow him”.  This relationship is also “a source of constant consolation and indestructible hope”. Because “Christ never abandons us” and “no obstacle can ever impede his universal plan of salvation”.

Teresa Benedetto has a translation of the homily:

The goodness of the Lord is always with you and is powerful. The Sacrament of Holy Orders which you are about to receive will make you participants in Christ’s own mission. You will be called on to spread the seed of His word – the seed that carries in it the Kingdom of God, to dispense divine mercy and to nourish the faithful with His Body and Blood.

To be his worthy ministers, you should nourish yourselves incessantly with the Eucharist, source and summit of Christian life – coming to the altar, your daily school of sanctity, of communion with Jesus, so you can enter into His feelings.

In coming to the altar to renew the Sacrifice of the Cross, you will discover more and more the richness and tenderness of the love of the divine Master who calls you today to a more intimate friendship with Him.

If you listen to Him obediently, if you follow Him faithfully, you will learn to translate His love and His passion for the salvation of souls, into your life and pastoral ministry. And each of you, dear priests-to-be, will become, with Jesus’s help, a good shepherd, ready to give your own life for Him, if necessary.

That is how it was at the beginning of Christianity with the first disciples, while – as we heard in the first Reading – the Gospel was being spread with attendant consolations and difficulties.

It is worthwhile to underline the last words of the passage from the Acts of the Apostles that we heard earlier: "The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit" (13,52).

Despite misunderstandings and opposition, the Apostle of Christ
does not lose hope; rather he is the witness of that joy that comes from being with the Lord, from love for HIm and for our brothers.

Vocations also was the subject of the Regina Coeli address:

This year, the theme of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations is "Vocation in the service of the Church communion". The Second Vatican Council, in order to present the mystery of the Church in our time, has given a privileged place to the category of ‘communion.’

This perspective highlights the rich variety of gifts and ministries among the people of God. All those who have been baptized are called on to contribute to the work of salvation.

In the church, however, there are some vocations specially dedicated to the service of communion. The first responsibility for the Catholic communion belongs to the Pope, successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome; with him as custodians and teachers of unity are the Bishops, successors to the Apostles, assisted by the priests. But even conserated persons and all the faithful are also at the service of this communion.

At the heart of the Church communion is the Eucharist. The different vocations draw from this Sacrament the spiritual force to constantly edify in charity the one ecclesial Body.