Isaiah offers a touching reflection in the penultimate verse of the pericope used for our first reading this Sunday. All children long for the comfort of their mother or mother figure. There are times in life when our mothers are unavailable to provide us with comfort. While this is a hard truth, it allows for the opportunity to learn to rely more heavily on the Lord and on our Blessed Mother Mary. Isaiah states that “I” will be your comfort. This “I” he is using is of course the first-person singular of the Lord. Our mothers and mother figures have consistently provided for us throughout our lives and seem to always know what we may need or when something is wrong. The Lord knows our hardships and remedies perfectly. He longs to bring us to Himself so that we may all be one in Him. The Jerusalem that Isaiah speaks of in Isaiah 66:13 is not only the earthly city, but the reality of the New Jerusalem in Heaven and at the end of time. We see in today’s Gospel, because the Lord wishes for all to partake in this comfort of the New Jerusalem, Christ will not leave his flock without shepherds. Knowing this, we recognize the great line from Our Lord, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” as the quintessential rallying call for priestly vocations in our world today. Working through the sacraments, God grants grace as a medicinal remedy for the trials of this world. Without the work of the priest, these sacraments would not be possible. To enter the new Jerusalem alluded to in Isaiah, it is important to remain close to the sacramental nature of the Church, which leads to a life of grace. Let us rejoice that the Kingdom of God is at hand for us and let us please pray for more vocations to the priesthood in Maine!