Pope’s Message for the 50^th World Day of Prayer for Vocations

December 15, 2012: Wherever numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are to be found, that is where people are living the Gospel with generosity” said Pope Benedict XVI in his message for the Catholic Church’s 50^th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will be observed on 21^st April 2013. The message on the theme ‘Vocations as a sign of hope founded in faith’ was released in the Vatican on Saturday.
Citing Pope Paul VI, the Pontiff said that ‘the problem of having a sufficient number of priests 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.

The Pope said that he was happy that it occurs during the Year of Faith, the year marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. While the Council was in session, Pope Paul VI, instituted this day of worldwide prayer to God the Father, asking him to continue to send workers for his Church.
‘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’, the Pope said. Indeed, he explained, 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 is remembrance of God’s promises.
“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, the Pope elaborated.
What exactly is God’s faithfulness, to which we adhere with unwavering hope? It is his love!
In the midst of our everyday circumstances Jesus 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.
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. Deep and constant prayer brings about growth in the faith of the Christian community.
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.
The Pontiff hoped that young people will be able to cultivate a desire for what is truly worthy, for lofty objectives, radical choices, service to others in imitation of Jesus.