Pope Francis: The Church is a vocational symphony.
Pope Francis releases his Message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Fourth Sunday of Easter – also known as Good Shepherd Sunday.
Pope Francis reflects on the theme “Vocation: Grace and Mission” in his Message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, saying, “This day is a precious opportunity for recalling with wonder that the Lord’s call is grace, a complete gift, and at the same time a commitment to bring the Gospel to others.”
The Day of Prayer for Vocations falls each year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, when the Church reads the Gospel passage of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-10). The Day is marked this year on Sunday, 30 April.
Chosen by God
In this year’s Message, the Holy Father emphasizes that each human person is chosen by God, “created by love, for love, and with love, and made for love.” Recalling his own call to the priesthood, Pope Francis explains that God’s call “tends to make itself known gradually,” and one that calls for a response on our part. “Vocation is ‘the interplay between divine choice and human freedom’ … God calls us in love and we, in turn, respond to Him in love.”
“O Jesus, divine Shepherd of souls, you called the apostles and made them fishers of men. Continue to draw to yourself ardent and generous souls from among the young, in order to make them your followers and your ministers. Give them a share in your thirst for the redemption of all… Open before them the horizons of the entire world… By responding to your call, may they prolong your mission here on earth, build up your Mystical Body which is the Church, and be ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world.’”