A Good Shepherd (06/12/2026)

I was lost. I was hurting. I felt very isolated. I was really. I was recovering at home after my surgery. My three toddlers were in another state being cared for by my loving sister-in-law because I couldn’t because of weight limitations after my surgery. I was alone. My husband was at work. And the doorbell rang. When I answered it, I found our parish priest. He’d noticed I was missing. He’d come to find me.

I can’t tell you what that moment meant to me 50+ years ago. It came to mind again just this week. His name was Fr. Albert Schubiger. My parish was St. Thomas in Beloit, Wisconsin. I’d only been there for 18 months. But he missed me. And he taught me the importance of a good shepherd who knows his flock. He taught me the power of being looked for in this world that can drive us to stray.

Through our conversation, I was reminded that I am a child of God and “miss-able.” His outreach mattered. Because of him, I went on to volunteer to teach CCD, then became a director of faith formation in two different states and then a diocesan director of several offices, before ending up as a seminary professor in pastoral theology. His example was part of so many classes I taught in pastoral ministry – in shepherding – in tending to the needs of the people. I thank the LORD for calling Fr. Schubiger to be a priest and pastor, a shepherd of a flock. I thank Fr. Schubiger for following Christ, for opening himself to the Spirit, and for being an instrument of the LORD in my life.

Fr. Schubiger taught me that the little things matter. Fr. Schubiger taught me that people matter in a profound way. I was nobody: a young mother of 3 on a very tight budget with little to contribute. But I was important to Christ, Fr. Schubiger told me. And I knew the LORD was part of our moment and would be part of my journey from that moment on.

As we journey in faith, hope and love, I pray that we can all be like Fr. Schubiger and truly see those who journey with us and notice when someone is missing. Sometimes, we just need to know along the way that we are “miss-able.”

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.