Jesus turned,
saw them following, and asked, "What are you
looking for?"
They answered, "Where do you live?"
Jesus answered, "Come and see."
John
1: 38-39
" The harvest is
plenty, but laborers are few, beg the Lord
of the harvest to send more laborers"
Matthew 9:37-38
The shortage of priests
and religious has become acute. The
percentage of priests and ministers under
the age of 35 is around seven percent, much
lower than it was as recently as twenty-five
years ago.
In 1965, almost 1,000 new priests were
ordained in the United States. Now it is
less than 500 annually.
There are 67,000 women religious, more than
half are over 70.
The Holy Father asked for continual prayer
for vocations during the 2005 Year of the
Eucharist in his Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation The Church in
America n.40
"The indispensable role of the
priest within the community must lead all
the members of the Church in America to
recognize the importance of promoting
vocations. The American continent has many
young people who represent an immense
spiritual resource. Therefore, it is
necessary to foster vocations to the
priesthood and religious life where they
first develop, and Christian families must
be invited to support their children if they
feel called to follow this path. Vocations
"are a gift of God" and 'they are born in
communities of faith, above all in the
family, the parish, Catholic schools and
other Church organizations. Bishops and
priests are particularly responsible for
encouraging vocations by personally
presenting the call, and above all by their
witness of a life of fidelity, joy,
enthusiasm and holiness. The entire People
of God is responsible for promoting
vocations, and does so chiefly by persistent
and humble prayer for vocations."
As members of the faith community at
Immaculate Conception, we need to pray daily
for young men and women to be open to God's
calling to serve.
Prayers For Vocations
Loving and Generous God,
it is You who call us by name
and ask us to follow You.
Help us to grow in the Love
and Service of our Church
as we experience it today.
Give us the energy and courage
of Your Spirit
to shape its future
Grant us faith-filled leaders
who will embrace Christ's Mission
of love and justice.
Bless the Church of Immaculate
Conception
by raising up dedicated and generous
leaders
from our families and friends
who will serve Your people as Sisters,
Priests, Brothers, Deacons and Lay
Ministers.
Inspire us to know You better
and open our hearts
to hear Your call.
We
ask this through our Lord.
Amen
JESUS,
God made Man,
who didst come down from heaven to save
sinners
and to diffuse thy Charity throughout
the world,
it is thy Will that souls shall be
brought to thee
through the members of thy Church who
are called to dedicate their lives to
thy service.
We
pray therefore that many may hear thy
call,
some to the sacred priesthood,
others to the life of prayer in the
cloister or of dedication to the works
of mercy;
to feeding the hungry,
to sheltering the orphan and the aged,
to healing the sick and to instructing
our children.Multiply among us
churches
which are truly houses of prayer and
priests who are men of God.
Make our Catholic homes fortresses
against the influence of the wicked and
the worldly;
inspire both parents and children with
the spirit of self-sacrifice.
Bless our schools wherein those same
children are taught to seek
first the Kingdom of God.
Teach us all how great an honor it is to
hear thy voice inviting us to follow
thee.
The harvest, Lord Jesus, is great but
the laborers are still too few.
Send laborers, dear Lord, into fields
ripe for the harvest.
Mary,
through whom all graces come, multiply
vocations to the service of thy Son.
Amen
Other Resources
Links to other resources for vocations:
Additional Information on vocations can be
found at the following sites:
http://www.vocation.com/
http://www.religiousministries.com/
http://www.louisvillevocations.org/
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