National Vocation Awareness Week January 11-17, 2009

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1 National Vocation Awareness Week January 11-17, 2009 Now it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me. Galatians 2:20 As the Church celebrates National Vocation Awareness week, each person has been given the responsibility to foster vocations in the Church. During this week Catholics pray especially for an increase in vocations to religious life and the priesthood. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks Jesus initiation into public ministry. At His baptism Jesus is named the Beloved Son of God. With this celebration we recommit ourselves to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Initiated through our baptism we too are the Beloved of God, commissioned to proclaim Good News with our lives. Is God calling me? What will you do with your life? What are your plans? Have you ever thought of committing your existence totally to Christ? Do you think that there can be anything greater than to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus? - Pope John Paul II Dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ. He takes nothing away, and He gives you everything. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. - Pope Benedict XVI Presence of God Remembering the promise of Jesus that whenever two or three gather in His name, He will be with us, we recall that Our Hope, our Brother and our Redeemer is with us. To the Father give glory. To the Son give praise. To the Spirit most Holy, give honor. Leader: Let us take a moment to remember men and women we know who proclaim the Gospel with their lives. With them let us proclaim the Good News All: now and always. Amen. Psalm 29 Give to the LORD the glory due God's name. Bow down before the LORD'S holy splendor! The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the GOD of glory thunders, the LORD, over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is power; the voice of the LORD is splendor. 2 Timothy 1:6-10 I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

2 He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to His own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Mark 1: 7-11 And this is what John proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of His sandals. I have baptized you with water; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased." Reflection Father Roger J. Landry The Church in the United States marks National Vocation Awareness Week. It is meant to be a period of intense prayer to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to gather his harvest alongside His Son. As we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, we are all called to ponder the meaning and purpose of our own baptism, how we have been consecrated to God and chosen by Him to share in His mission of the salvation of the world. As we transition into Ordinary Time on Monday, we are then moved to reflect on how God is calling us to spend best the limited time we have been given. Each of us is asked to recall that our entire existence is vocational that God has called us into existence, from "before the foundation of the world," to be "holy and blameless in his sight" (Eph 1:4). God has, in short, chosen us to love him and to love others, to be a holy disciple and a fervent apostle, to become a saint and a saint maker. National Vocation Awareness Week is a response to the roots of the much talked about "vocations crisis" in the Church, which extends far beyond a shortage of priests, brothers and religious sisters. The deepest part of the crisis concerns how Catholics as a whole are responding to their primary vocation to be saints. Forty-five year ago, the fathers of Second Vatican Council powerfully and beautifully reminded all Catholics of the "universal call to holiness," that each of us is called by God not just to be a "good person" but heroically virtuous, to get not merely a passing grade on the final exam of life but to strive with God's help to make the eternal honor roll. Once one begins to focus one's life on receiving and reciprocating God's love, then the particularity of one's "vocation within a vocation," of one's state of life within the universal call to holiness, becomes rather secondary. For once one gives back to God the gift of life he or she has received, once one reaches the point of saying to God, "thy will be done" and "let it be done to me according to your word," then it really doesn't matter how God decides to spend the blank check one has given Him. General Intercessions Leader: Aware that God s favor rests on us, we present the prayers of our heart. Together let us pray: Response: Gracious God, bless us! For world and church leaders (pause): For the gifts of integrity, right judgment, and vision that together we may build a just and peace filled world. We pray: For each of us that we may be cognizant that Christ lives in us through our baptism and calls us to a deeper relationship with Him. We pray:

3 For married couples (pause): For the gifts of love, understanding, and fidelity that families may be rooted in Christ and be witnesses of the Gospel. We pray: For single men and women (pause): For the gifts of compassion, joy, and dedication that they may proclaim the Good News with their lives. We pray: For priests, sisters, brothers, deacons, and all Church ministers (pause): For the gifts of courage, commitment, and passion that they may be a source of hope for our Church as they minister among God s people. We pray: For those who are discerning their vocation (pause): For the gifts of openness, generosity, and faith, that they may have a discerning heart to hear God s call. We pray: For the sick, for those who have died and for their caregivers (pause): For the gifts of comfort, consolation, and trust, that they may receive the support they need in these difficult times. We pray: Leader: Gracious God, We thank You for Your many gifts to Your people. Continue to bless us through Jesus, Your beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hymn: For the Light of the World David Haas Refrain: For the life of the world we will stand together We will serve the Lord for the life of the world, We will cry for justice And every heart will sing that Jesus Christ is Lord. We walk together to be children of light, Our God calls each of us by name. Christ moves within us for we are God s work of art. We are empowered by the love of Christ Whose life has conquered sin and death. There is no other name but Jesus Christ the Lord. We are the chosen people God has called, The life we live is not our own. If we will die with Christ then we will be free. The lost and the broken will be healed from their shame, The poor will see the face of God. Sent by the Spirit we are called to serve. We are called to joyfully live out the Gospel message.

4 Prayer 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 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 Jesus the Christ Who first showed us how to live, to love and to serve. Amen. Blessing May God the Father, Source of All Life, lead us in the way of truth. Amen. May God the Son, Beloved One, show us how to live a committed life. Amen. May God the Holy Spirit, Gift of God, grace us with wisdom to choose life. Amen. And may the blessing of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever. Amen. + Saint John Vianney, St. John Baptist de La Salle, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, and Blessed Frederic Ozanam, help each of us to use our faith and talents to build up the Kingdom of God. Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever! When you hear God s voice today, harden not your hearts. Vocations are everyone s business.

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