"Particularly in these
times, when the voice of the Lord seems to be drowned out by "other
voices" and his invitation to follow him by the gift of one’s own life
may seem too difficult, every Christian community, every member of the
Church, needs consciously to feel responsibility for promoting
vocations" and “especially missionary vocations”.
The call
to the responsibility for the whole Christian community to foster and
support vocations to characterizes the message of Benedict XVI for World
Day of Prayer for Vocations, celebrated May 15, released Thursday.
“People will always have need of God, - writes the Pope -
even in an age marked by technical mastery of the world and
globalization:” but “the workers are few."
Reflecting on the theme of the Day, "Proposing vocations in the local Church," Benedict XVI noted that " The
work of carefully encouraging and supporting vocations finds a radiant
source of inspiration in those places in the Gospel where Jesus calls
his disciples to follow him and trains them with love and care. We
should pay close attention to the way that Jesus called his closest
associates to proclaim the Kingdom of God (cf. Lk 10:9). In the first
place, it is clear that the first thing he did was to pray for them:
before calling them, Jesus spent the night alone in prayer, listening to
the will of the Father (cf. Lk 6:12) in a spirit of interior detachment
from mundane concerns”.
“It is Jesus’ intimate conversation with the Father which
results in the calling of his disciples. Vocations to the ministerial
priesthood and to the consecrated life are first and foremost the fruit
of constant contact with the living God and insistent prayer lifted up
to the "Lord of the harvest", whether in parish communities, in
Christian families or in groups specifically devoted to prayer for
vocations”.
“The Lord does not fail to call
people at every stage of life to share in his mission and to serve the
Church in the ordained ministry and in the consecrated life. The Church
is "called to safeguard this gift, to esteem it and love it. She is
responsible for the birth and development of priestly vocations" (John
Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores dabo vobis, 41)”.
This is why, the Pope affirms “It is essential that every
local Church become more sensitive and attentive to the pastoral care
of vocations, helping children and young people in particular at every
level of family, parish and associations – as Jesus did with his
disciples - to grow into a genuine and affectionate friendship with the
Lord, cultivated through personal and liturgical prayer; to grow in
familiarity with the sacred Scriptures and thus to listen attentively
and fruitfully to the word of God; to understand that entering into
God’s will does not crush or destroy a person, but instead leads to the
discovery of the deepest truth about ourselves; and finally to be
generous and fraternal in relationships with others, since it is only in
being open to the love of God that we discover true joy and the
fulfilment of our aspirations.
"Proposing Vocations in the Local Church"
means having the courage, through an attentive and suitable concern for
vocations, to point out this challenging way of following Christ which,
because it is so rich in meaning, is capable of engaging the whole of
one’s life”.
Benedict XVI reminds Bishops in particular that “to
ensure the continuity and growth of your saving mission in Christ, you
should "foster priestly and religious vocations as much as possible, and
should take a special interest in missionary vocations" (Christus
Dominus, 15).
The Lord needs you to cooperate with him in ensuring that
his call reaches the hearts of those whom he has chosen. Choose
carefully those who work in the Diocesan Vocations Office, that valuable
means for the promotion and organization of the pastoral care of
vocations and the prayer which sustains it and guarantees its
effectiveness.
I would also remind you, dear brother Bishops, of the
concern of the universal Church for an equitable distribution of priests
in the world. Your openness to the needs of dioceses experiencing a
dearth of vocations will become a blessing from God for your communities
and a sign to the faithful of a priestly service that generously
considers the needs of the entire Church”.
He then addresses a “fraternal and special greeting” to
all those who “who work closely in various ways with the priests in
their parishes. In particular, I turn to those who can offer a specific
contribution to the pastoral care of vocations: to priests, families,
catechists and leaders of parish groups. I ask priests to testify to
their communion with their bishop and their fellow priests, and thus to
provide a rich soil for the seeds of a priestly vocation. May families
be "animated by the spirit of faith and love and by the sense of duty"
(Optatam Totius, 2) which is capable of helping children to welcome
generously the call to priesthood and to religious life. May catechists
and leaders of Catholic groups and ecclesial movements, convinced of
their educational mission, seek to "guide the young people entrusted to
them so that these will recognize and freely accept a divine vocation"
(ibid.)”.
“For this reason, every moment in the life of the Church
community – catechesis, formation meetings, liturgical prayer,
pilgrimages – can be a precious opportunity for awakening in the People
of God, and in particular in children and young people, a sense of
belonging to the Church and of responsibility for answering the call to
priesthood and to religious life by a free and informed decision”.