2012-04-30 15:03:32

Pope ordains 9 priests on World Day of Prayer for Vocations


(April 30, 3012) Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday marked the Catholic Church’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations by ordaining nine new priests for the Diocese of Rome in St Peter’s Basilica. The Church marks World Day of Prayer for Vocations every year on Good Shepherd Sunday, which falls on the 4th Sunday of Easter. In his homily the Pope explained that the nine young men are, in fact, “no different from other young people” apart from the fact that “they had been deeply touched by the beauty of God’s love, and could not help but respond with their whole lives.” Regarding their ordination as a sign of God’s “provident and faithful love for the Church,” he asked pilgrims to pray that “all young people be attentive to the voice of God that speaks inwardly to their heart and calls them to break away from everything to serve Him.” “The Lord is always calling” he said, adding that “many times we do not listen” due to being “distracted by many things” or by being “afraid to hear the voice of the Lord because we think it might take away our freedom.” The answer to these fears is the recognition that our freedom is “fully realized” in responding to love and, in particular, to the love of God. The Pope commended all those discerning such a vocation to the Virgin Mary, calling her “mother of every vocation in the Church.”








All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.