Responsibilities
Can. 233 §1. The duty of fostering vocations rests with the entire Christian community so that the needs of the sacred ministry in the universal Church are provided for sufficiently. This duty especially binds Christian families, educators, and, in a special way, priests, particularly pastors. Diocesan bishops, who most especially are to be concerned for promoting vocations, are to teach the people entrusted to them of the importance of the sacred ministry and of the need for ministers in the Church and are to encourage and support endeavours to foster vocations, especially by means of projects established for that purpose.
Invitation
If we love our faith, we will be proactive and fervent in speaking about it. If we love our Church, we will be concerned about having enough priests and religious to serve it. If we care about vocations, we will do all we can to foster and nurture them.
Promoting vocations in all parishes are a priority for our diocese. These initiatives are critical for the future of the Church – the Body of Christ.
If we are passionate about serving the Body of Christ, we must rouse ourselves from our lethargy and step out of our comfort zone. We must intensify our language of invitation, boldly and directly asking our young people, “Will you become a priest or a religious?” And we must also be willing to pray and work unceasingly to foster vocations in our own children, grandchildren, or siblings, and in the young people in our own parish and school.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I earnestly invite you to bear witness to our Lord by promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Let us work together to strengthen quality vocations across the diocese. The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. Will you help?
Witness Awakens Vocations
We belong to a Eucharistic Church in which we serve and we are served. What a grace! What a privilege! Many members, but one Body, reminding us of how just important every vocation is. We lovingly serve one another through our own vocation on our journey of faith.
Every priest, every consecrated person, faithful to his or her vocation radiates the joy of serving Christ and draws all Christians to respond to the universal call to holiness. St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests, taught people primarily by the witness of his life. It was from his example that the people learned how to pray. (excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI, 47th World Day of Prayer for Vocations).
Personal witness, through the example of a life well-lived as a disciple, has encouraged and inspired many young people. It is the most convincing factor in the growth of vocations. Many vocations are motivated by a number of good, happy and faith-filled holy priests and religious. We are grateful indeed that we have many holy priests and religious in our Church today, particularly in our own Archdiocese, who are giving their all in their humble, loving, faithful and dedicated service to the Church.
The call is there but we fail to respond. We do not have a vocation crisis but rather we have a discipleship crisis. Very often we have been so busy when the phone rang that we did not want to answer. Our Lord constantly rings us by the call of heart and we pretend not to hear or we may be so preoccupied with our own business that we do not hear the call
As we belong to one Body, we are in this together - to awaken in each other, most especially our young people, the desire and commitment to respond generously to Christ’s call through our constant prayers, encouragement and well-lived lives as disciples, giving witness to our faith and our Church.
With trust and prayers,
