“…to respond positively to God’s call is possible in Christian communities where the faith is lived intensely” – Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
- RTÉ1 to televise Mass for Vocations Sunday
- New video series ‘Vocation Voices’ promoting vocations on catholicbishops.ie
- Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, to host Seminary Open Day
The World Day of Prayer for Vocations or Vocations Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday 21 April 2013. The theme chosen for 2013 is: “Vocations as a sign of hope founded in faith”.
This is the 50th World Day of Prayer for Vocations and it also coincides with the Year of Faith, which is marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. While the Council was sitting, Pope Paul VI instituted the World Day of Prayer for Vocations which is a worldwide day of prayer to God, asking him to continue to send workers for his Church (cf. Mt 9:38)
When he published the message for Vocations Sunday 2013 in October last year, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said “Vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life are born out of the experience of a personal encounter with Christ, out of sincere and confident dialogue with him, so as to enter into his will. It is necessary, therefore, to grow in the experience of faith, understood as a profound relationship with Jesus, as inner attentiveness to his voice which is heard deep within us. This process, which enables us to respond positively to God’s call, is possible in Christian communities where the faith is lived intensely, where generous witness is given of adherence to the Gospel, where there is a strong sense of mission which leads people to make the total gift of self for the Kingdom of God, nourished by recourse to the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and by a fervent life of prayer. This latter ‘must on the one hand be something very personal, an encounter between my intimate self and God, the living God. On the other hand it must be constantly guided and enlightened by the great prayers of the Church and of the saints, by liturgical prayer, in which the Lord teaches us again and again how to pray properly.’ (Spe Salvi, 34).”
The full text of this year’s message for Vocations Sunday is available below.
- Vocations Sunday in Ireland
A number of new initiatives are taking place for Vocations Sunday in Ireland and resources have also been made available by the Bishops’ Council for Vocations for the benefit of parishes:
Mass for Vocations Sunday 2013 on RTÉ 1 Television
Mass for Vocations Sunday will be broadcast from the RTÉ studios in Donnybrook, Dublin. The celebrant will be Bishop Donal McKeown, Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor and Chair of the Bishops’ Council for Vocations. The choir will be from Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth directed by Dr John O’Keeffe. Scripture readings and prayers of the faithful will be read by those working in the area of vocations in Ireland.
Vocation Voices Video Series
Vocation Voices is a new video series from the Bishops’ Council for Vocations to promote vocations to the priesthood. The videos include priests from around the country reflection on their own personal vocation story and their priestly ministry. The videos will be available to view over the coming weeks on www.catholicbishops.ie.
All the interviewees responded to two questions:
- When did you realise you had a vocation and how did you respond?
- Would you recommend the life of a priest to others?
The interviewees are:
– Bishop Donal McKeown, Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor
– Monsignor Jim Cassin, Diocese of Ossory and Executive Secretary to the Bishops’ Education Council
– Father Rory Brady, Diocese of Raphoe
– Father Willie Purcell, Diocese of Ossory
– Father Iggy McCormack, Diocese of Killaloe
It is hoped that these inspirational stories recounting the personal faith journeys of priests will be of interest to all Catholics and especially those men who feel that they may have a calling to the priesthood.
The first video in this series is now available online at www.catholicbishops.ie
Parish Resources for Vocations Sunday
A series of resources have been prepared and made available to parishes around the country for Vocations Sunday. These include the text of this year’s Vocations Sunday message, some quotes from Pope Francis on vocations, information on ‘Vocation Voices’, social media resources including tweets which can be used to promote vocations, parish and family prayers for vocations, posters, parish newsletter notices, homily notes, prayers of the faithful, a family take-home page and useful links for those who have a query on vocations to priesthood or religious life.
These resources have been circulated to parishes and are available to download from www.catholicbishops.ie
Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, to host Seminary Open Day
On the Sunday following Vocations Sunday, Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, the National Seminary, will host an Open Day on 28 April. This Open Day is primarily to provide an opportunity for men discerning a vocation to priesthood to meet and speak with those involved in priestly formation and with seminarians. It will include a tour of the seminary, a chance to meet and chat to seminarians, a look at a day in the life of a seminarian, testimonies from priests and seminarians and an opportunity for questions. Mass will be celebrated and the open day will conclude with supper.
Notes to Editors:
- The full text of the message for Vocations Sunday follows:
MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER
FOR THE 50th WORLD DAY
OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
21 APRIL 2013 – FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Theme: Vocations as a sign of hope founded in faith
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On the occasion of the 50th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be held on 21 April 2013, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, I want to invite you to reflect on the theme: “Vocations as a sign of hope founded in faith”, which happily occurs during the Year of Faith, the year marking the 50thanniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. While the Council was in session, the Servant of God, Paul VI, instituted this day of worldwide prayer to God the Father, asking him to continue to send workers for his Church (cf. Mt 9:38). “The problem of having a sufficient number of priests”, as the Pope stated at the time, “has an immediate impact on all of the faithful: not simply because they depend on it for the religious future of Christian society, but also because this problem is the precise and inescapable indicator of the vitality of faith and love of individual parish and diocesan communities, and the evidence of the moral health of Christian families. Wherever numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are to be found, that is where people are living the Gospel with generosity” (Paul VI, Radio Message, 11 April 1964).
During the intervening decades, the various Christian communities all over the world have gathered each year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, united in prayer, to ask from God the gift of holy vocations and to propose once again, for the reflection of all, the urgent need to respond to the divine call. Indeed, this significant annual event has fostered a strong commitment to placing the importance of vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life ever more at the centre of the spirituality, prayer and pastoral action of the faithful.
Hope is the expectation of something positive in the future, yet at the same time it must sustain our present existence, which is often marked by dissatisfaction and failures. On what is our hope founded? Looking at the history of the people of Israel, recounted in the Old Testament, we see one element that constantly emerges, especially in times of particular difficulty like the time of the Exile, an element found especially in the writings of the prophets, namely remembrance of God’s promises to the Patriarchs: a remembrance that invites us to imitate the exemplary attitude of Abraham, who, as Saint Paul reminds us, “believed, hoping against hope, that he would become ‘the father of many nations,’ according to what was said, ‘Thus shall your descendants be’” (Rom4:18). One consoling and enlightening truth which emerges from the whole of salvation history, then, is God’s faithfulness to the covenant that he entered into, renewing it whenever man infringed it through infidelity and sin, from the time of the flood (cf. Gen 8:21-22) to that of the Exodus and the journey through the desert (cf. Dt 9:7). That same faithfulness led him to seal the new and eternal covenant with man, through the blood of his Son, who died and rose again for our salvation.
At every moment, especially the most difficult ones, the Lord’s faithfulness is always the authentic driving force of salvation history, which arouses the hearts of men and women and confirms them in the hope of one day reaching the “promised land”. This is where we find the sure foundation of every hope: God never abandons us and he remains true to his word. For that reason, in every situation, whether positive or negative, we can nourish a firm hope and pray with the psalmist: “Only in God can my soul find rest; my hope comes from him” (Ps 62:6). To have hope, therefore, is the equivalent of trusting in God who is faithful, who keeps the promises of the covenant. Faith and hope, then, are closely related. “Hope” in fact is a key word in biblical faith, to the extent that in certain passages the words “faith” and “hope” seem to be interchangeable. In this way, the Letter to the Hebrews makes a direct connection between the “unwavering profession of hope” (10:23) and the “fullness of faith” (10:22). Similarly, when the First Letter of Saint Peter exhorts the Christians to be always ready to give an account of the “logos” – the meaning and rationale – of their hope (cf. 3:15), “hope” is the equivalent of “faith” (Spe Salvi, 2).
Dear Brothers and Sisters, what exactly is God’s faithfulness, to which we adhere with unwavering hope? It is his love! He, the Father, pours his love into our innermost self through the Holy Spirit (cf.Rom 5:5). And this love, fully manifested in Jesus Christ, engages with our existence and demands a response in terms of what each individual wants to do with his or her life, and what he or she is prepared to offer in order to live it to the full. The love of God sometimes follows paths one could never have imagined, but it always reaches those who are willing to be found. Hope is nourished, then, by this certainty: “We ourselves have known and believed in the love that God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16). This deep, demanding love, which penetrates well below the surface, gives us courage; it gives us hope in our life’s journey and in our future; it makes us trust in ourselves, in history and in other people. I want to speak particularly to the young and I say to you once again: “What would your life be without this love? God takes care of men and women from creation to the end of time, when he will bring his plan of salvation to completion. In the Risen Lord we have the certainty of our hope!” (Address to Young People of the Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro, 19 June 2011).
Just as he did during his earthly existence, so today the risen Jesus walks along the streets of our life and sees us immersed in our activities, with all our desires and our needs. In the midst of our everyday circumstances he continues to speak to us; he calls us to live our life with him, for only he is capable of satisfying our thirst for hope. He lives now among the community of disciples that is the Church, and still today calls people to follow him. The call can come at any moment. Today too, Jesus continues to say, “Come, follow me” (Mk 10:21). Accepting his invitation means no longer choosing our own path. Following him means immersing our own will in the will of Jesus, truly giving him priority, giving him pride of place in every area of our lives: in the family, at work, in our personal interests, in ourselves. It means handing over our very lives to Him, living in profound intimacy with Him, entering through Him into communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit, and consequently with our brothers and sisters. This communion of life with Jesus is the privileged “setting” in which we can experience hope and in which life will be full and free.
Vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life are born out of the experience of a personal encounter with Christ, out of sincere and confident dialogue with him, so as to enter into his will. It is necessary, therefore, to grow in the experience of faith, understood as a profound relationship with Jesus, as inner attentiveness to his voice which is heard deep within us. This process, which enables us to respond positively to God’s call, is possible in Christian communities where the faith is lived intensely, where generous witness is given of adherence to the Gospel, where there is a strong sense of mission which leads people to make the total gift of self for the Kingdom of God, nourished by recourse to the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and by a fervent life of prayer. This latter “must on the one hand be something very personal, an encounter between my intimate self and God, the living God. On the other hand it must be constantly guided and enlightened by the great prayers of the Church and of the saints, by liturgical prayer, in which the Lord teaches us again and again how to pray properly.” (Spe Salvi, 34).
Deep and constant prayer brings about growth in the faith of the Christian community, in the unceasingly renewed certainty that God never abandons his people and that he sustains them by raising up particular vocations – to the priesthood and the consecrated life – so that they can be signs of hope for the world. Indeed, priests and religious are called to give themselves unconditionally to the People of God, in a service of love for the Gospel and the Church, serving that firm hope which can only come from an openness to the divine. By means of the witness of their faith and apostolic zeal, therefore, they can transmit, especially to the younger generations, a strong desire to respond generously and promptly to Christ who calls them to follow him more closely. Whenever a disciple of Jesus accepts the divine call to dedicate himself to the priestly ministry or to the consecrated life, we witness one of the most mature fruits of the Christian community, which helps us to look with particular trust and hope to the future of the Church and to her commitment to evangelization. This constantly requires new workers to preach the Gospel, to celebrate the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. So let there be committed priests, who know how to accompany young people as “companions on the journey”, helping them, on life’s often tortuous and difficult path, to recognize Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14:6), telling them, with Gospel courage, how beautiful it is to serve God, the Christian community, one’s brothers and sisters. Let there be priests who manifest the fruitfulness of an enthusiastic commitment, which gives a sense of completeness to their lives, because it is founded on faith in him who loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19).
Equally, I hope that young people, who are presented with so many superficial and ephemeral options, will be able to cultivate a desire for what is truly worthy, for lofty objectives, radical choices, service to others in imitation of Jesus. Dear young people, do not be afraid to follow him and to walk the demanding and courageous paths of charity and generous commitment! In that way you will be happy to serve, you will be witnesses of a joy that the world cannot give, you will be living flames of an infinite and eternal love, you will learn to “give an account of the hope that is within you” (1 Pt 3:15)!
From the Vatican, 6 October 2012
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
ENDS
For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444
