2011-02-10 13:26:36

Message of the Holy Father for the 48th World Day of Prayer for Vocations


(February 10, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI said that it is indeed challenging today to accept the invitation of Jesus to follow him and 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, he added. At the same time 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. The Pope said this in his message given at Rome on Thursday, for the 48th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be celebrated on 15 May 2011, the Fourth Sunday of Easter. He invited the faithful to reflect on the theme: “Proposing Vocations in the Local Church”. Pope Paul VI instituted the World Day of Prayer for Vocations celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Easter on the 11th April 1964 and seventy years ago Pope Pius XII established the Pontifical Work of Priestly Vocations. The Pontiff explained how Jesus called his disciples to follow him and trained them with love and care and before ascending into heaven he sent them out to the whole world with the command to make disciples of all nations. The Pope explained that “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. The Pontiff called on the Bishops to “foster priestly and religious vocations as much as possible, and should take a special interest in missionary vocations”, to ensure the continuity and growth of their saving mission in Christ.







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