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Fostering Vocations
Also See:
Vocations (Topic Page)
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"Then
[Jesus] said to his disciples, 'The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his
harvest.'" (Mt. 9:37-38)
"[Jesus] said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."
(Lk. 10:2)
"Religious
should remember there is no better way than their own example to
commend their institutes and gain candidates for the religious
life." (Second Vatican Council)
"Our
Lord Himself shows us the surest way of having numerous vocations,
'Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers
into his harvest': humble prayer trusting in God." (Pope Pius
XII, "Menti Nostrae", 1950 A.D.)
"One ought to pray earnestly, especially at
the Ember Seasons, that God will give us good priests. If they are
saints, what good they are able to do! But, whatever they are,
never speak against them." (St. John Vianney)
"The
first responsibility for the pastoral work of promoting priestly
vocations lies with the bishop... It is his duty to foster and
coordinate various initiatives on behalf of vocations." (Pope
John Paul II)
"May
God grant that new and larger ranks of priests, religious men and
women, equal in number and virtue to the current necessities of
the Church, may soon go forth to cultivate the vineyard of the
Lord." (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954
A.D.)
"Can.
1353 Priests and bishops, especially pastors are to work so that
boys who give signs of an ecclesiastical vocation are kept with
special care from the contagion of the world, to form piety, and
from their first studies of letters are imbued with divine things
that will encourage the seed of vocation in them." (1917 Code
of Canon Law)
"The
priestly vocation is a gift from God. It is undoubtedly a great
good for the person who is its first recipient. But it is also a
gift to the Church as a whole, a benefit to her life and mission.
The Church, therefore, is called to safeguard this gift, to esteem
it and love it. She is responsible for the birth and development
of priestly vocations." (Pope John Paul II)
"The
very life of priests, their unconditional dedication to God's
flock, their witness of loving service to the Lord and to his
Church - a witness marked by free acceptance of the cross in the
spirit of hope and Easter joy - their fraternal unity and zeal for
the evangelization of the world are the first and most convincing
factor in the growth of vocations." (Pope John Paul II)
"It
is true that the Society founded by Christ will never lack the
priests necessary for its mission. Nevertheless, it is necessary
for all to be watchful and to exert themselves, mindful of the
words of Our Lord, 'the harvest indeed is abundant but the
laborers are few', and to be as diligent as possible in giving the
Church numerous and holy ministers." (Pope Pius XII, "Menti
Nostrae", 1950 A.D.)
"Priests
and Christian educators should make serious efforts to foster
religious vocations, thereby increasing the strength of the
Church, corresponding to its needs. These candidates should be
suitably and carefully chosen. In ordinary preaching, the life of
the evangelical counsels and the religious state should be treated
more frequently. Parents, too, should nurture and protect
religious vocations in their children by instilling Christian
virtue in their hearts." (Second Vatican Council)
"How
many of us also owe to our mothers our very vocation to the
priesthood! Experience shows that very often it is the mother who
for years nurtures in her own heart a desire for a priestly
vocation for her son, and obtains it by praying with persevering
trust and deep humility. Thus, without imposing her own will, she
favors with the effectiveness typical of faith the blossoming of
an aspiration to the priesthood in the soul of her son, an
aspiration which will bear fruit in due season." (Pope John
Paul II)
"Let
the ministers of God seek not only by preaching and catechetical
instruction but also in private conversations to dissipate the
prejudices now so widespread against the priestly state by showing
its lofty dignity, its beauty, its necessity and its great merit.
Every Christian mother and father, whatever their social status,
must pray to God to make them worthy to have at least one of their
children called to His service. Finally, all Christians must deem
it their duty to encourage and aid those who feel called to the
priesthood." (Pope Pius XII, "Menti Nostrae", 1950
A.D.)
"[S]elect carefully good and upright young boys from all classes of
citizens who will come generously and spontaneously to serve at
the altar with careful zeal and exactness. Parents of higher
social standing and culture should greatly esteem this office for
their children. If these youths, under the watchful guidance of
the priests, are properly trained and encouraged to fulfill the
task committed to them punctually, reverently and constantly, then
from their number will readily come fresh candidates for the
priesthood." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947
A.D.)
"But
the first and most natural place where the flowers of the
sanctuary should almost spontaneously grow and bloom, remains
always the truly and deeply Christian family. Most of the saintly
bishops and priests whose 'praise the Church declares,' owe the
beginning of their vocation and their holiness to example and
teaching of a father strong in faith and manly virtues, of a pure
and devoted mother, and of a family in which the love of God and
neighbor, joined with simplicity of life, has reigned supreme. To
this ordinary rule of divine Providence exceptions are rare and
only serve to prove the rule." (Pope Pius XI, "Ad
Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
"We
wholeheartedly call on the entire [Church] to do their duty
in bringing about an increase in priestly vocations. We ask them
fervently to beg the Father of all, the divine Spouse of the
Church, and the Holy Spirit, her principle of life, through the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ and of
His Church, to pour out, especially at present, this divine gift,
which the Father certainly does not wish to give stintingly. They
should also fervently pray, in like manner, that souls may dispose
themselves to receive this gift by a profound faith and a generous
love." (Pope Paul VI, 1967)
"Parents
and teachers and all who are engaged in any way in the education
of boys and young men should so prepare them that they will
recognize the solicitude of Our Lord for His flock, will consider
the needs of the Church, and will be prepared to respond
generously to Our Lord when He calls, saying: 'Here I am Lord,
send me' (Isa. 6:8). This voice of the Lord calling, however, is
never to be expected as something which in an extraordinary manner
will be heard by the ears of the future priest. It is rather to be
known and understood in the manner in which the will of God is
daily made known to prudent Christians. These indications should
be carefully noted by priests." (Second Vatican Council)
"We
should also remember the numerous groups, movements and
associations of lay faithful whom the Holy Spirit raises up and
fosters in the Church with a view to a more missionary Christian
presence in the world. These various groupings of lay people are
proving a particularly fertile field for the manifestation of
vocations to consecrated life, and are truly environments in which
vocations can be encouraged and can grow. Many young people, in
and through these groupings, have heard the Lord's call to follow
him along the path of priestly ministry and have responded with a
generosity that is reassuring." (Pope John Paul II)
"Our Lord Jesus Christ did not hesitate to
confide the formidable task of evangelizing the then-known world
to a handful of men to all appearances lacking in number and
quality. He bade this little flock not to lose heart, for, thanks
to His constant assistance, through Him and with Him, they would
overcome the world. Jesus has also taught us that the kingdom of
God has an intrinsic and unobservable dynamism which enables it to
grow 'without [man's] knowing it.' The harvest of God's kingdom is
great, but the laborers, as in the beginning, are few. Actually,
they have never been as numerous as human standards would have
judged sufficient. But the heavenly King demands that we pray 'the
Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" (Pope Paul
VI, 1967 A.D.)
"Can.
233 §1 It is the duty of the whole Christian community to foster
vocations so that the needs of the sacred ministry are
sufficiently met in the entire Church. In particular, this duty
binds Christian families, educators and, in a special way,
priests, especially parish priests. Diocesan Bishops, who must
show the greatest concern to promote vocations, are to instruct
the people entrusted to them on the importance of the sacred
ministry and the need for ministers in the Church. They are to
encourage and support initiatives to promote vocations, especially
movements established for this purpose. §2 Moreover, priests and
especially diocesan Bishops are to be solicitous that men of more
mature years who believe they are called to the sacred ministries
are prudently assisted by word and deed and are duly
prepared." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"The lack of vocations in families of the middle
and upper classes may be partly explained by the dissipations of
modern life, the seductions, which especially in the larger
cities, prematurely awaken the passions of youth; the schools in
many places which scarcely conduce to the development of
vocations. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that such a scarcity
reveals a deplorable falling off of faith in the families
themselves. Did they indeed look at things in the light of faith,
what greater dignity could Christian parents desire for their
sons, what ministry more noble, than that which, as We have said,
is worthy of the veneration of men and angels? A long and sad
experience has shown that a vocation betrayed - the word is not to
be thought too strong - is a source of tears not only for the sons
but also for the ill-advised parents; and God grant that such
tears be not so long delayed as to become eternal tears." (Pope Pius XI,
"Ad
Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
"The
duty of fostering vocations pertains to the whole Christian
community, which should exercise it above all by a fully Christian
life. The principal contributors to this are the families which,
animated by the spirit of faith and love and by the sense of duty,
become a kind of initial seminary, and the parishes in whose rich
life the young people take part. Teachers and all those who are in
any way in charge of the training of boys and young men,
especially Catholic associations, should carefully guide the young
people entrusted to them so that these will recognize and freely
accept a divine vocation. All priests especially are to manifest
an apostolic zeal in fostering vocations and are to attract the
interest of youths to the priesthood by their own life lived in a
humble and industrious manner and in a happy spirit as well as by
mutual priestly charity and fraternal sharing of labor."
(Second Vatican Council)
"[A]ll
should do their utmost to increase the ranks of strong and zealous
workers in the vineyard of the Lord; the more so, as the moral
needs of society are growing greater instead of less. Of all the
means to this noble end, the easiest and the most effective is
prayer. This is, moreover, a means within the power of everyone.
It should be assiduously used by all, as it was enjoined by Jesus
Christ Himself: 'The harvest, indeed, is great but the laborers
are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He send
forth laborers into His harvest.' What prayer could be more
acceptable to the Sacred Heart of our Savior? What prayer is more
likely to be answered as promptly and bounteously as this, which
meets so nearly the burning desire of that Divine Heart?' 'Ask
therefore, and it will be given unto you'; ask for good and holy
priests and Our Lord will not refuse to send them to His Church,
as ever He has done throughout the centuries. It has been, in
fact, precisely in times which seemed least propitious, that the
number of priestly vocations increased." (Pope Pius XI,
"Ad Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
Also
See: The
Calling to Religious Life | Candidates
| Seminaries
/ Seminarians / Training / Formation | Better
a Few Good Priests Than Many That Are Not Good | Priests
/ Priesthood [Pg.] | Praise
/ Rewards / Benefits | Duties
& Responsibilities of Priests | Holy
Orders (Sacraments Reflections) |
Are
You Called to Religious Life? | Why
Priestly Celibacy? | Religious
Institutes For Men | Top
Reasons Why Women Can't Be Priests
| The
Religious Life For Women | Prayers
for Priests / Vocations | Misc.
Priests / Vocations Facts
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