Vatican
City, 16 January 2014
(VIS) – Following is the Holy Father's message to the bishops,
priests, consecrated, and faithful throughout the world for the 51st
World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will take place this 11 May
and has the theme of “Vocations: Witness to the Truth”.
“Dear
Brothers and Sisters,
1.
The Gospel says that 'Jesus went about all the cities and villages...
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to
his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are
few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers
into his harvest”' (Mt 9:35-38). These words surprise us, because
we all know that it is necessary first to plow, sow and cultivate to
then, in due time, reap an abundant harvest. Jesus says instead that
“the harvest is plentiful”. But who did the work to bring about
these results? There is only one answer: God. Clearly the field of
which Jesus is speaking is humanity, us. And the efficacious action
which has borne “much fruit” is the grace of God, that is,
communion with Him (cf. Jn 15:5). The prayer which Jesus asks of the
Church therefore concerns the need to increase the number of those
who serve his Kingdom. Saint Paul, who was one of 'God’s fellow
workers', tirelessly dedicated himself to the cause of the Gospel and
the Church. The Apostle, with the awareness of one who has personally
experienced how mysterious God’s saving will is, and how the
initiative of grace is the origin of every vocation, reminds the
Christians of Corinth: 'You are God’s field' (1 Cor 3:9). That is
why wonder first arises in our hearts over the plentiful harvest
which God alone can bestow; then gratitude for a love that always
goes before us; and lastly, adoration for the work that he has
accomplished, which requires our free consent in acting with him and
for him.
2.
Many times we have prayed with the words of the Psalmist: 'It is he
who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture' (Ps 100:3); or: 'The Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession' (Ps 135:4). And yet we are God’s
'possession' not in the sense of a possession that renders us slaves,
but rather of a strong bond that unites us to God and one another, in
accord with a covenant that is eternal, 'for his steadfast love
endures for ever' (Ps 136). In the account of the calling of the
prophet Jeremiah, for example, God reminds us that he continually
watches over each one of us in order that his word may be
accomplished in us. The image is of an almond branch which is the
first tree to flower, thus announcing life’s rebirth in the
springtime (cf Jer 1:11-12). Everything comes from him and is his
gift: the world, life, death, the present, the future, but—the
Apostle assures us—'you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s' (1
Cor 3:23). Hence the way of belonging to God is explained: it comes
about through a unique and personal relationship with Jesus, which
Baptism confers on us from the beginning of our rebirth to new life.
It is Christ, therefore, who continually summons us by his word to
place our trust in him, loving him 'with all the heart, with all the
understanding, and with all the strength' (Mk 12:33). Therefore every
vocation, even within the variety of paths, always requires an exodus
from oneself in order to centre one’s life on Christ and on his
Gospel. Both in married life and in the forms of religious
consecration, as well as in priestly life, we must surmount the ways
of thinking and acting that do not conform to the will of God. It is
an 'exodus that leads us on a journey of adoration of the Lord and of
service to him in our brothers and sisters' (“Address to the
International Union of Superiors General”, 8 May 2013). Therefore,
we are all called to adore Christ in our hearts (1 Pet 3:15) in order
to allow ourselves to be touched by the impulse of grace contained in
the seed of the word, which must grow in us and be transformed into
concrete service to our neighbour. We need not be afraid: God follows
the work of his hands with passion and skill in every phase of life.
He never abandons us! He has the fulfilment of his plan for us at
heart, and yet he wishes to achieve it with our consent and
cooperation.
3.
Today too, Jesus lives and walks along the paths of ordinary life in
order to draw near to everyone, beginning with the least, and to heal
us of our infirmities and illnesses. I turn now to those who are well
disposed to listen to the voice of Christ that rings out in the
Church and to understand what their own vocation is. I invite you to
listen to and follow Jesus, and to allow yourselves to be transformed
interiorly by his words, which 'are spirit and life' (Jn 6:62). Mary,
the Mother of Jesus and ours, also says to us: 'Do whatever he tells
you' (Jn 2:5). It will help you to participate in a communal journey
that is able to release the best energies in you and around you. A
vocation is a fruit that ripens in a well cultivated field of mutual
love that becomes mutual service, in the context of an authentic
ecclesial life. No vocation is born of itself or lives for itself. A
vocation flows from the heart of God and blossoms in the good soil of
faithful people, in the experience of fraternal love. Did not Jesus
say: 'By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another' (Jn 13:35)?
4.
Dear brothers and sisters, this 'high standard of ordinary Christian
living' (cf John Paul II, “Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio
Ineunte”, 31) means sometimes going against the tide and also
encountering obstacles, outside ourselves and within ourselves. Jesus
himself warns us: the good seed of God’s word is often snatched
away by the Evil one, blocked by tribulation, and choked by worldly
cares and temptation (cf Mt 13:19-22). All of these difficulties
could discourage us, making us fall back on seemingly more
comfortable paths. However, the true joy of those who are called
consists in believing and experiencing that he, the Lord, is
faithful, and that with him we can walk, be disciples and witnesses
of God’s love, open our hearts to great ideals, to great things.
'We Christians were not chosen by the Lord for small things; push
onwards toward the highest principles. Stake your lives on noble
ideals!' (“Homily at Holy Mass and the Conferral of the Sacrament
of Confirmation”, 28 April 2013). I ask you bishops, priests,
religious, Christian communities and families to orient vocational
pastoral planning in this direction, by accompanying young people on
pathways of holiness which, because they are personal, 'call for a
genuine “training in holiness” capable of being adapted to every
person’s need. This training must integrate the resources offered
to everyone with both the traditional forms of individual and group
assistance, as well as the more recent forms of support offered in
associations and movements recognized by the Church' (“Novo
Millennio Ineunte”, 31).
Let
us dispose our hearts therefore to being 'good soil', by listening,
receiving and living out the word, and thus bearing fruit. The more
we unite ourselves to Jesus through prayer, Sacred Scripture, the
Eucharist, the Sacraments celebrated and lived in the Church and in
fraternity, the more there will grow in us the joy of cooperating
with God in the service of the Kingdom of mercy and truth, of justice
and peace. And the harvest will be plentiful, proportionate to the
grace we have meekly welcomed into our lives. With this wish, and
asking you to pray for me, I cordially impart to you all my Apostolic
Blessing.”
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