by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ
You did not choose me, no, I who chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last (John 15:16).
Although Vocations Awareness Week ends today, we have a duty to pray for vocations on a daily basis. We need holy priests, deacons, and people dedicated to consecrated life. Indeed, we should all respond to our baptismal call to holiness and help each other respond to this call – “All the faithful are invited and obliged to try to achieve the holiness and perfection of their own state of life” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, #42).
We must educate the faithful about the opportunities for service that exist within the Church. We have a shortage of priests in T&T. We also need more people dedicating themselves to the different forms of consecrated life (e.g. as nuns, brothers, and monks). Pope John Paul II compared consecrated people to a plant “with many branches which sinks its roots into the Gospel and brings forth abundant fruit in every season of the Church’s life.” (Vita Consecrata, 1996).
Today’s first reading: 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 makes it clear that God calls us by name. He calls us because he wants us to live holy and virtuous lives and to work in His vineyard: “God has created me to do him some definite service” (Blessed John Henry Newman).
Let’s pray for God’s grace that when He calls us, we will be receptive and will respond generously. In order to be receptive and to trust Him, we must develop a close relationship with Him. Only then will our hearts be open to His call. And then, like Samuel, we should respond: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
As Pope Benedict XVI has said: “Both on a personal and community level we must pray a lot for vocations, so that the greatness and beauty of God’s love attract many to follow Christ on the path to priesthood and consecrated life…We also need to pray for saintly spouses, capable of showing their children, above all by setting an example, the high horizons for which to strive in freedom” (2009).
His words highlight the importance of building and sustaining holy families in which children can grow and discern their vocations. There are many ways in which we can promote vocations, for example, by:
• creating a culture of mutual love and respect between priests, deacons, religious, the laity and the wider community;
• teaching our young people about the lives of saints, including saints who were members of the clergy and religious;
• instilling in the hearts of the faithful a love for the Eucharist;
• praying incessantly for vocation. Never underestimate the power of prayer. But prayer should be accompanied by action.
I remember when I chaired a committee in the Archdiocese of Westminster, London to examine the Church’s commitment to the Caribbean community, some young people of Caribbean origin complained to the committee that when they felt that they had a call to the priesthood, they were not supported either within their parishes or at an Archdiocesan level. Their concerns were documented in our report “With You in Spirit?” which was submitted to the late Cardinal Basil Hume for action.
Discernment is a process that must be nurtured. We need supportive structures not only in our families, but also, for example, in our schools, parishes, youth groups, and at Archdiocesan level.
Catholics need relevant information to help them to discern their vocation. The Gospel in today’s world is counter-cultural. We Catholics are swimming against the tide of moral relativism, materialism, individualism etc. Unless we, the faithful, are grounded in our faith, we may fall prey to a way of life that is contrary to Gospel values.
While we pray and ask God to increase vocations in our Archdiocese and in the world, let us support those who have dedicated themselves to serve as members of the clergy or in consecrated life. As one priest said to me: “Being a priest today is challenging but, oh, so rewarding.” Thank you all for your dedication.
Let’s reflect on the words of Pope John Paul II: “…the modern world boasts of the enticing door which says: everything is permitted. It ignores the narrow gate of discernment and renunciation. I am speaking to you especially, young Christians…Your life is not an endless series of open doors. Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface, but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide! The Lord is waiting for you to put your freedom in his good hands!”
