VATICAN CITY, DEC 7, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Basilica the Holy Father welcomed 2,500 members of Serra International, a worldwide volunteer organization of Catholics whose primary aim is to foster vocations to the priesthood and to encourage spiritual growth.
"Your baptismal calling leads you towards others," the Pope told them. "It is essentially a missionary calling, as you have learned from the example of Blessed Junipero Serra, the great evangelizer of California. Following in his footsteps, you have come to share in the heartfelt concern of Christ Himself: 'The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few!'."
He pointed out that "amid all the complexity of the present time, now, at the dawn of a new millennium, we need to recognize the search for meaning - a real yet often silent search - which is spreading through society. There is an unexpressed sense of need for Christ. ... In order to respond to this need, the whole Church must become completely ministerial, a community of heralds and witnesses, rich in laborers for the harvest."
"Dear Serrans," remarked John Paul II, "you are committed in a special way to promoting vocations. Never forget that yours must be above all a commitment to prayer" which "moves the heart of God, ... which is a powerful key to resolving the vocations question" and "is also a school of life." He highlighted the efforts of Serra International "to spread an authentic culture of vocations."
"Within the People of God," the Pope affirmed, "there is a specific mission awaiting each one. Because the needs of the 'harvest' are so great, all the members of God's People must grow in the awareness of 'being called'.
He urged Serrans to "continue giving their contribution, in full harmony with your bishops," to be close to priests and "to meet the needs, with the charity that distinguishes you, of vocations among the poor."
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