Faithful and joyful witness to one's own vocation “has been and
remains an excellent way to awaken in young people the desire to follow
the footsteps of Christ,” Pope Benedict said on Feb. 1.
The Pontiff's remarks were released in a message to the second
Latin-American Continental Congress for Vocations, which is being held
in Cartago, Costa Rica from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5.
The first congress was organized by the Vatican and the
Latin-American Confederation of Religious 17 years ago, while the
current gathering is the work of bishops responsible for the pastoral
care of vocations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Pope Benedict opened his message by saying that the “great task” of
evangelization requires an “ever increasing number of people to respond
generously to the call of God and make a lifelong commitment to the
cause of the Gospel.”
Because of this need, the Pope underscored that general pastoral care “must” include specific focus on vocations.
“Experience shows us that, where vocational pastoral care is well
planned and constantly practiced, vocations are not lacking,” he said.
“God is generous, and our own commitment to vocational pastoral care in
all particular Churches must be equally generous.”
The Pontiff went on to say that vocations “are not the result of any
human project, or of some efficient organizational strategy.” Rather, he
explained, at “the deepest level, they are a gift of God.”
He added that pastoral planning regarding vocations needs to “recall the primacy of the life of the spirit.”
“The young generations must be given the chance to open their hearts
to a greater reality: to Christ, the only One Who can give meaning and
fullness to their lives,” he said.
“Yet at the same time, the strengthening of our spiritual life must
lead us increasingly to identify ourselves with the will of God, and to
offer a clearer and more transparent testimony of faith, hope and
charity.”
"Faithful and joyful witness of one's own vocation has been and
remains an excellent way to awaken in young people the desire to follow
the footsteps of Christ,” the Pope stressed.
“This must be accompanied
by the courage to propose to them, with delicacy and respect, the
possibility that God may be calling them too.”
He noted that often “the divine vocation opens its way through human
words, or thanks to an environment in which people experience a living
faith.”
“The world needs God,” he concluded, “and for this reason it will
always need people who live for Him and announce Him to others.”