Pope Francis releases message for 2018 World Day of
Vocations
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| Thirteen newly ordinated priests lie on the floor as Pope Francis leads their ordination mass, on 2014 World Day of Prayer for Vocations.- ANSA |
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday released his
message for the 2018 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, reflecting on the three
aspects of every vocation: listening, discerning, and living.
The 55th recurrence of the Day for Vocations is to be
commemorated next year on 22 April.
Listening, discerning, and living: these lie at the heart of
Pope Francis’ message for next year’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
The Holy Father said 2018 is a special year for vocations,
because the Synod of Bishops will reflect on young people, especially “the
relationship between young people, faith, and vocation”.
Pope Francis reminded Christians that God never ceases to
call men and women to follow Him.
“We are not victims of chance or swept up in a series of
unconnected events; on the contrary, our life and our presence in this world
are the fruit of a divine vocation,” he said.
He said the mystery of the Incarnation shows that God
constantly “comes to encounter us”, even in troubled times.
“In the diversity and the uniqueness of each and every
vocation, personal and ecclesial, there is a need to listen, discern and live
this word that calls to us from on high and, while enabling us to develop our
talents, makes us instruments of salvation in the world and guides us to full
happiness.”
A listening heart
Pope Francis made it clear that “God comes silently” and
that, without a listening heart, His voice can be “drowned out” by the
distractions of daily life.
“Nowadays listening is becoming more and more difficult,
immersed as we are in a society full of noise, overstimulated and bombarded by
information… This prevents us from pausing and enjoying the taste of
contemplation, reflecting serenely on the events of our lives, going about our
work with confidence in God’s loving plan, and making a fruitful discernment.”
He said Christians need “to listen carefully to his word and
the story of his life, but also to be attentive to the details of our own daily
lives”.
Discernment
Turning to spiritual discernment, Pope Francis said this is
“a process by which a person makes fundamental choices, in dialogue with the
Lord and listening to the voice of the Spirit, starting with the choice of
one’s state in life”.
He said the Christian vocation always has a prophetic
dimension, since current events in a person’s life and in the world must be
examined “in the light of God’s promise”.
“Every Christian ought to grow in the ability to “read
within” his or her life, and to understand where and to what he or she is being
called by the Lord, in order to carry on his mission,” he said.
Living one’s vocation
Pope Francis then added a note of urgency.
“Vocation is today! The Christian mission is now,” he said.
“Each one of us is called – whether to the lay life in
marriage, to the priestly life in the ordained ministry, or to a life of
special consecration – in order to become a witness of the Lord, here and now.”
Everyone is called to live their vocation, the Pope said,
and there is no reason to fear God’s call, even to a life consecrated to God’s
kingdom.
“It is beautiful – and a great grace – to be completely and
forever consecrated to God and the service of our brothers and sisters.”
Please find below the official English translation of
the Pope’s message:
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 2018 World
Day of Vocations
Dear Brothers and Sisters.
Next October, the Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops will meet to discuss the theme of young people and in
particular the relationship between young people, faith and vocation.
There we will have a chance to consider more deeply how, at the centre of our
life, is the call to joy that God addresses to us and how this is “God’s plan
for men and women in every age” (SYNOD OF BISHOPS, XV ORDINARY GENERAL
ASSEMBLY, Young People, The Faith and Vocational Discernment, Introduction).
The Fifty-fifth World Day of Prayer for Vocations once again
proclaims this good news to us, and in a decisive manner. We are not
victims of chance or swept up in a series of unconnected events; on the
contrary, our life and our presence in this world are the fruit of a divine
vocation!
Even amid these troubled times, the mystery of the
Incarnation reminds us that God continually comes to encounter us. He is
God-with-us, who walks along the often dusty paths of our lives. He knows
our anxious longing for love and he calls us to joy. In the diversity and
the uniqueness of each and every vocation, personal and ecclesial, there is a
need to listen, discern and live this word that calls to us from on high and,
while enabling us to develop our talents, makes us instruments of salvation in
the world and guides us to full happiness.
These three aspects – listening, discerning and living –
were also present at beginning of Jesus’ own mission, when, after his time of
prayer and struggle in the desert, he visited his synagogue of Nazareth.
There, he listened to the word, discerned the content of the mission entrusted
to him by the Father, and proclaimed that he came to accomplish it “today” (Lk
4:16-21).
Listening
The Lord’s call – let it be said at the outset – is not as
clear-cut as any of those things we can hear, see or touch in our daily
experience. God comes silently and discreetly, without imposing on our
freedom. Thus it can happen that his voice is drowned out by the many
worries and concerns that fill our minds and hearts.
We need, then, to learn how to listen carefully to his word
and the story of his life, but also to be attentive to the details of our own
daily lives, in order to learn how to view things with the eyes of faith, and
to keep ourselves open to the surprises of the Spirit.
We will never discover the special, personal calling that
God has in mind for us if we remain enclosed in ourselves, in our usual way of
doing things, in the apathy of those who fritter away their lives in their own
little world. We would lose the chance to dream big and to play our part
in the unique and original story that God wants to write with us.
Jesus too, was called and sent. That is why he needed
to recollect himself in silence. He listened to and read the word in the
synagogue, and with the light and strength of the Holy Spirit he revealed its
full meaning, with reference to his own person and the history of the people of
Israel.
Nowadays listening is becoming more and more difficult,
immersed as we are in a society full of noise, overstimulated and bombarded by
information. The outer noise that sometimes prevails in our cities and
our neighbourhoods is often accompanied by our interior dispersion and
confusion. This prevents us from pausing and enjoying the taste of
contemplation, reflecting serenely on the events of our lives, going about our
work with confidence in God’s loving plan, and making a fruitful discernment.
Yet, as we know, the kingdom of God comes quietly and
unobtrusively (cf. Lk 17:21), and we can only gather its seeds when, like the
prophet Elijah, we enter into the depths of our soul and are open to the
imperceptible whisper of the divine breeze (cf. 1 Kg 19:11-13).
Discerning
When Jesus, in the synagogue of Nazareth, reads the passage
of the prophet Isaiah, he discerns the content of the mission for which he was
sent, and presents it to those who awaited the Messiah: “The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He
has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
(Lk 4:18-19).
In the same way, each of us can discover his or her own
vocation only through spiritual discernment. This is “a process by which
a person makes fundamental choices, in dialogue with the Lord and listening to
the voice of the Spirit, starting with the choice of one’s state in life”
(SYNOD OF BISHOPS, XV ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Youth, Faith and Vocational
Discernment, II, 2).
Thus we come to discover that Christian vocation always has
a prophetic dimension. The Scriptures tell us that the prophets were sent
to the people in situations of great material insecurity and of spiritual and
moral crisis, in order to address in God’s name a message of conversion, hope
and consolation. Like a whirlwind, the prophet unsettles the false
tranquility of consciences that have forgotten the word of the Lord. He
discerns events in the light of God’s promise and enables people to glimpse the
signs of dawn amid the dark shadows of history.
Today too, we have great need of discernment and of
prophecy. We have to resist the temptations of ideology and negativity,
and to discover, in our relationship with the Lord, the places, the means and
situations through which he calls us. Every Christian ought to grow in
the ability to “read within” his or her life, and to understand where and to
what he or she is being called by the Lord, in order to carry on his mission.
Living
Lastly, Jesus announces the newness of the present hour,
which will enthuse many and harden the heart of others. The fullness of
time has come, and he is the Messiah proclaimed by Isaiah and anointed to
liberate prisoners, to restore sight to the blind and to proclaim the merciful
love of God to every creature. Indeed, Jesus says that “today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21).
The joy of the Gospel, which makes us open to encountering
God and our brothers and sisters, does not abide our slowness and our
sloth. It will not fill our hearts if we keep standing by the window with
the excuse of waiting for the right time, without accepting this very day the
risk of making a decision. Vocation is today! The Christian mission
is now! Each one of us is called – whether to the lay life in marriage,
to the priestly life in the ordained ministry, or to a life of special
consecration – in order to become a witness of the Lord, here and now.
This “today” that Jesus proclaimed assures us that God
continues to “come down” to save our human family and to make us sharers in his
mission. The Lord continues to call others to live with him and to follow
him in a relationship of particular closeness. He continues to call
others to serve him directly. If he lets us realize that he is calling us
to consecrate ourselves totally to his kingdom, then we should have no fear!
It is beautiful – and a great grace – to be completely and forever
consecrated to God and the service of our brothers and sisters.
Today the Lord continues to call others to follow him.
We should not wait to be perfect in order to respond with our generous
“yes”, nor be fearful of our limitations and sins, but instead open our hearts
to the voice of the Lord. To listen to that voice, to discern our
personal mission in the Church and the world, and at last to live it in the
today that God gives us.
May Mary Most Holy, who as a young woman living in obscurity
heard, accepted and experienced the Word of God made flesh, protect us and
accompany us always on our journey.
From the Vatican, 3 December 2017
First Sunday of Advent
(Devin Sean Watkins)
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