WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS. May 7, 2017

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1 In 1963 Pope Paul VI designated Good Shepherd Sunday as World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, protects us as his flock and promises us the gift of eternal life. As followers of Jesus we are called to remain faithful to the grace of God. As we celebrate this feast we pray for fidelity to our vocation. The Church invites us to honor the vocation of all Christians given at baptism. May we who have dedicated our lives to God through the vocation of marriage, priesthood, diaconate, consecrated life, and the single life remain faithful to our commitments. May those who are discerning their life vocation listen to the grace of God to guide them. NCCV had created this resource for the celebration of World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the USA Council of Serra International is happy to continue to provide it. There are many other vocation resources that are available to enhance vocation awareness in your parish, religious community, or other church groups. Please let us know how we can help you in your ministry. WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS YEAR A Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts of the Apostles 2: 14a, Psalm 23:1-2a, 3b-4, 5, 6 1 Peter 2: 20b-25 John 10: 1-10 CONTENTS May 7, 2017 Prayer Resources Liturgy Planning Guide Homily Notes General Intercessions Prayer Service Prayer Card Master Promotional Resources Bulletin Announcements Clip Art Event Poster Led by the Spirit for Mission His Holiness Pope Francis Family Take Home Page The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

2 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS May 7, 2017 Introductory Rites Processional Hymn Penitential Rite Sprinkling Rite Gloria Opening Prayer LITURGY PLANNING GUIDE Year A The King of Love, ST. COLUMBA, WLP Jesus, Shepherd of Our Souls, Fred Kane, GOOD SHEPHERD, Hope Publishing, GIA All People Who on Earth Do Dwell, OLD HUNDRETH, GIA Come, Worship the Lord, John Michael Talbot, OCP _ A sprinkling rite is suggested. Send Us Flowing Water, Lord, Joe Mattingly, WLP Springs of Water, Marty Haugen, GIA Agua De Vida/Water of Life, Jamie Cortez, OCP _ Liturgy of the Word First Reading Acts 2: 14a Psalm Response Psalm 23: 1-6 Let All the Earth Cry Out, Stephen Sommerville, WLP We Are God s People, David Haas, GIA We Are God s People, Timothy R. Smith, OCP _ Second Reading 1 Peter 2: 20b-25 Gospel Acclamation Gospel John 10: 1-10 Homily General Intercessions _ See Homily Notes See General Intercessions The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

3 Liturgy of the Eucharist Preparation of the Gifts Preface Holy, Holy, Holy Memorial Acclamation Great Amen The Lord s Prayer Lamb of God The Greatest Gift, James Marchionda, WLP The Summons, John Bell, OCP My Shepherd, Lord, Gary Hardin, BROTHER JAMES AIR, OCP Instrumental Communion Processional Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless, ST. AGNES, WLP With a Shepherd s Care, James Chepponis, GIA Gentle Shepherd/Jesús, Pastor Tan Dulce, Tobias Colgan, OSB, OCP Pescador De Hombres, Cesáreo Gabaráin, OCP Concluding Rites Prayer after Communion Blessing and Dismissal Recessional Hymn We Are Your People, Herman Stuempfle, Jr., SINE NOMINE, WLP Hymn of Joy, HYMN TO JOY, WLP Go Make of All Disciples, ELLACOMBE, Text: Matthew 28:19-20, Leon Atkins Abingdon Press, WLP, GIA, OCP The God Who Sends Us Forth, John Foley, SJ, GIA

4 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS May 7, 2017 HOMILY NOTES During Mass some years ago, a priest was using the penitential rite for the blessing of people with holy water. As he began the rite, the priest realized that the sacramentary (the book used for prayers in the liturgy, today the New Roman Missal) had been left in the sacristy. Without a word, the priest immediately left to retrieve the book in the sacristy. In the meantime, the little server, not knowing what had happened to Father, picked up the holy water container and went up and down the aisle blessing all the people! The people were smiling and making the sign of the cross. When the priest returned, he laughed and said: I couldn t have done a better job myself, and continued with the Mass. In this true story, we readily understand how the little server saw a need and then felt called to do something about it. The boy had seen this holy action celebrated before one that reminds us of our baptism and he was ready to get involved. On this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, we are reminded, as baptized Catholics and all Christians, that our central vocation is both a call to holiness and to service. Holiness... is the vocation of our times, of all of us, said Pope Paul VI in Vatican Council II. Pope Francis constantly calls upon young people to be evangelizers and all of us to give our lives in service as followers of Jesus Christ. We know that all vocations flow from baptism. But what do we mean by the word vocation? A good understanding of the word vocation might well be considered within the following sequence of statements: 1) Through the sacrament of baptism each person receives a call or vocation. 2) God calls all who are baptized to holiness and service. 3) This call is lived as a single, married, ordained or consecrated person. In this last statement, we understand that vocation is to be lived as a life commitment. Those who are single have responded to the vocation of joyfully acknowledging that God has called them to be a prophetic witness of what it means to be a single, loving, committed Christian in today s world. Those who are married have responded to the vocation of joyfully relying upon a God who has called them to a shared witness of what it means to have a covenantal commitment of love in today s world. Those who are consecrated and ordained have responded to the vocation of joyfully journeying with God s people as priests, sisters, brothers and others who have promised and vowed to grow in faith and holiness while helping God s people to do the same. In each vocational commitment we are called to be loving and supportive of one another. As we celebrate this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Gospel passage could not have been better chosen. In the story of the Good Shepherd, as recounted in John 1: 1-10, we listen to the words of Christ: My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. This passage confirms the contemporary story of a man who went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The man tells of how in the city of Bethlehem he watched two shepherds caring for their flocks of sheep. Homily notes provided through the kindness of Rev. David Hulshof, St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

5 To his amazement, at the end of the day, he watched the shepherds put their respective flocks in the same cave the sheep intermingling with each other. Wondering how the shepherds would ever be able to separate the sheep, he arose early the next morning to observe. The pilgrim watched while one of the shepherds walked some distance from the cave. At a certain point, the shepherd gave a particular call and immediately his flock ran out to him. The sheep knew the shepherd s voice. Together, shepherd and sheep went on their way. The question is posed to you and me. Do we have a familiarity with the voice of the Good Shepherd in our lives? When God calls us to a commitment of single, married, consecrated or ordained life have we prepared ourselves to respond? And are we prepared to continue that response every day of our lives? Ultimately, a vocation is not defined by doing but rather by being. We are called to live our lives in a generous response to the One who gave us life. Being in the presence of the Father, sharing in the mission of Christ, and witnessing in the power of the Holy Spirit is what being a follower of the Good Shepherd is all about. How do we prepare ourselves? Personal and communal prayer, frequent reception of the sacraments, the reading of scripture, educating ourselves in the faith, and being of service to one another are ways in which we can more readily discern the Good Shepherd s beckoning voice in our daily lives. In 2002, Pope John Paul II called for a joint U.S. and Canadian pastoral plan to create a culture of vocations in North America. In the plan we were all reminded that: The vocational reality of the Church calls for a deep respect for the complementarity and interdependence of all Church vocations. Because the Church is at once community and communion of vocations, all its members need to be concerned about and committed to the flowering of all vocations in the Church, and not merely their own. So let us pray for vocations in our Church. We need committed men and women who believe that their call to single, married, ordained or consecrated life is from God. We need to support each response of vocation and make sure each kind of vocation is an encouraged and viable option for our children. On a personal note, I thank God for the gift of your vocations as I thank God for the gift of my own vocation in serving you as priest (deacon). Thank you for the many ways you witness God s love to me in this parish (campus or community). My friends, the Good Shepherd calls each of us by name. May we respond to that call with the familiarity of truly knowing, loving and serving the One who calls us? Other notes that may be helpful in homily preparation: Harvard s Dr. Barry Brazelton once demonstrated to a television audience that even very young infants quickly become aware of the identity of their parents. He took an infant in his arms and asked the audience to watch the infant s eyes. He spoke to the baby. Then he asked the other people to speak. There was little recognition from the baby. Then the mother of the baby spoke and the baby s eyes visibly brightened. The infant turned toward the sound of the mother s voice. It was obvious that the child knew his mother s voice in distinction from the others. A good vocation is simply a firm and constant will in which the called person has to serve God in the way and in the places to which Almighty God has called him. (St. Francis de Sales) There are two powerful words that Jesus often used in relation with his disciples. Those words are come and go. Living one s vocation is knowing how to do both. The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

6 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS May 7, 2017 GENERAL INTERCESSIONS Presider: Let us seek the loving care of our Good Shepherd as we present the needs of our Church and world. Reader: After each prayer, please respond: Lord, hear our prayer. That all Church leaders will be filled with the Holy Spirit as they guide us, we pray: That leaders of nations may work together to bring about greater justice and lasting peace, we pray: That we, the People of God, may listen intently to the call of the Good Shepherd and have the courage to be witnesses of the Gospel as we live out our baptismal commitment, we pray: That those who are suffering may find comfort and encouragement so they may know joy, we pray: That our youth may find direction in their lives as they discern God s call to priesthood, consecrated life, married life, single life, or the diaconate, we pray: For those who have died (especially...) may they be filled with the joy of everlasting life, we pray: Presider: Loving God, we know of your gentle care for us. We trust that you will give us what we need. Shepherd us to follow in your ways now and forever. Amen. The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

7 Music Selections Open Wide the Doors to Christ, Joseph Diermeier, WLP The King of Love, ST COLUMBA, WLP A Blessing, James Marchionda, WLP Shepherd Me, O God, Marty Haugen, GIA The Summons, John L. Bell, OCP Lead Me, Guide Me, Doris Akers, Unichappell Music, Inc. WLP, GIA, OCP Psalmody Suggestion: Psalm 100 Reading Acts 13:14, Reflection Invite a married couple, a single person, a priest, brother, sister, consecrated virgin, deacon to share how his/her vocation blesses and challenges him/her. General Intercessions See General Intercessions WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS May 7, 2017 Prayer Service Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A Offering/Blessing Ask married couples to stand and pray the offering. Invite single adults to stand and pray the offering. Invite priests, deacons, religious, consecrated virgins to stand and pray the offering. All are invited to stand and are blessed. A sung blessing may be used during the sprinkling. The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

8 Call to Prayer Song Leader: O Lord, open our lips All: and our mouth will declare your praise. Opening Prayer Leader: Psalmody Reading Reflection Let us pray: All: Loving God, You call us your Beloved and welcome us into your flock. On this day of prayer for vocations, give joy to your servants and help us to listen and respond to your call. May the grace of the resurrection empower us to live a life of loving service. We ask this through Christ Jesus. Amen. Offering with Blessing We offer to you, O God, our hearts filled with love. By our vocation of (marriage, single life, priest, brother, sister, deacon, consecrated virgin) we dedicate our lives to you and ask for a blessing. Blessing with Sprinkling May Jesus, the Good Shepherd, fill your hearts with joy. Amen. May Jesus, the Good Shepherd, guide your steps all the days of your life. Amen. May Jesus, the Good Shepherd, lead you to eternal life. Amen. Blessing over Assembly May God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit Bless you with abiding peace. Amen. Sign of Peace Concluding Song General Intercessions The Lord s Prayer

9 Prayer for Vocations God, Our Father, Thank you for your son, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who leads us to fullness of life. By our baptism, we are called by name to continue the mission of Jesus. Give us the grace to listen with an open heart to the voice of Jesus and to respond generously with a joyful spirit. Strengthen the men and women you called to serve through marriage, the single life, the diaconate, priesthood, and consecrated life. Guide all who are discerning their Christian vocation. In gratitude we offer this prayer through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, united with you forever. Amen. Prayer for Vocations God, Our Father, Thank you for your son, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who leads us to fullness of life. By our baptism, we are called by name to continue the mission of Jesus. Give us the grace to listen with an open heart to the voice of Jesus and to respond generously with a joyful spirit. Strengthen the men and women you called to serve through marriage, the single life, the diaconate, priesthood, and consecrated life. Guide all who are discerning their Christian vocation. In gratitude we offer this prayer through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, united with you forever. Amen. Prayer for Vocations God, Our Father, Thank you for your son, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who leads us to fullness of life. By our baptism, we are called by name to continue the mission of Jesus. Give us the grace to listen with an open heart to the voice of Jesus and to respond generously with a joyful spirit. Strengthen the men and women you called to serve through marriage, the single life, the diaconate, priesthood, and consecrated life. Guide all who are discerning their Christian vocation. In gratitude we offer this prayer through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, united with you forever. Amen. Prayer for Vocations God, Our Father, Thank you for your son, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who leads us to fullness of life. By our baptism, we are called by name to continue the mission of Jesus. Give us the grace to listen with an open heart to the voice of Jesus and to respond generously with a joyful spirit. Strengthen the men and women you called to serve through marriage, the single life, the diaconate, priesthood, and consecrated life. Guide all who are discerning their Christian vocation. In gratitude we offer this prayer through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, united with you forever. Amen.

10 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS May 7, 2017 BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENTS For use Sunday, April 30, 2017 Do you believe that God calls all people to spread the Good News? How are you responding to the call? Do you want some help? Next week is World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Come, join with the parish in prayer for special blessings that each person will be strengthened in their vocation. (Add details about your parish observance.) For use Sunday, May 7, 2017 Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter or Good Shepherd Sunday, is a special day for everyone in our parish. We celebrate World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We ask that we may be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit as we carry on the mission of Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Let us pray for one another that we may be strengthened in our Christian vocations as married and single people, priests, deacons, and religious. May our youth listen to God s call and be encouraged to respond generously. (Add details about your parish observance.) The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

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12 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

13 The Holy See MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 54th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS Led by the Spirit for Mission Dear Brothers and Sisters, In the last few years, we have considered two aspects of the Christian vocation: the summons to go out from ourselves to hear the Lord s voice, and the importance of the ecclesial community as the privileged place where God s call is born, nourished and expressed. Now, on this 54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I would like to reflect on the missionary dimension of our Christian calling. Those who drawn by God s voice and determined to follow Jesus soon discover within themselves an irrepressible desire to bring the Good News to their brothers and sisters through proclamation and the service of charity. All Christians are called to be missionaries of the Gospel! As disciples, we do not receive the gift of God s love for our personal consolation, nor are we called to promote ourselves, or a business concern. We are simply men and women touched and transformed by the joy of God s love, who cannot keep this experience just to ourselves. For the Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy (Evangelii Gaudium, 21). Commitment to mission is not something added on to the Christian life as a kind of decoration, but is instead an essential element of faith itself. A relationship with the Lord entails being sent out into the world as prophets of his word and witnesses of his love. Even if at times we are conscious of our weaknesses and tempted to discouragement, we need to turn with God with confidence. We must overcome a sense of our own inadequacy and not yield to pessimism, which merely turns us into passive spectators of a dreary and monotonous life. There is no room for fear! God himself comes to cleanse our unclean lips and equip us for the mission: Your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

14 Whom shall I send and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I, send me (Is 6:6-8). 2 In the depths of their heart, all missionary disciples hear this divine voice bidding them to go about, as Jesus did, doing good and healing all (cf. Acts 10:38). I have mentioned that, by virtue of baptism, every Christian is a Christopher, a bearer of Christ, to his brothers and sisters (cf. Catechesis, 30 January 2016). This is particularly the case with those called to a life of special consecration and with priests, who have generously responded, Here I am, Lord, send me! With renewed missionary enthusiasm, priests are called to go forth from the sacred precincts of the temple and to let God s tender love overflow for the sake of humanity (cf. Homily at the Chrism Mass, 24 March 2016). The Church needs such priests: serenely confident because they have discovered the true treasure, anxious to go out and joyfully to make it known to all (cf. Mt 13:44). Certainly many questions arise when we speak of the Christian mission. What does it mean to be a missionary of the Gospel? Who gives us the strength and courage to preach? What is the evangelical basis and inspiration of mission? We can respond to these questions by meditating on three scenes from the Gospels: the inauguration of Jesus mission in the synagogue at Nazareth (cf. Lk 4:16-30); the journey that, after his resurrection, he makes in the company of the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and, finally, the parable of the sower and the seed (cf. Mt 4:26-27). Jesus is anointed by the Spirit and sent. To be a missionary disciple means to share actively in the mission of Christ. Jesus himself described that mission in the synagogue of Nazareth in these words: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord s favour (Lk 4:18-19). This is also our mission: to be anointed by the Spirit, and to go out to our brothers and sisters in order to proclaim the word and to be for them a means of salvation. Jesus is at our side every step of the way. The questions lurking in human hearts and the real challenges of life can make us feel bewildered, inadequate and hopeless. The Christian mission might appear to be mere utopian illusion or at least something beyond our reach. Yet if we contemplate the risen Jesus walking alongside the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-15), we can be filled with new confidence. In that Gospel scene, we have a true liturgy of the street, preceding that of the word and the breaking of the bread. We see that, at every step of the way, Jesus is at our side! The two disciples, overwhelmed by the scandal of the cross, return home on the path of defeat. Their hearts are broken, their hopes dashed and their dreams shattered. The joy of the Gospel has yielded to sadness. What does Jesus do? He does not judge them, but walks with them. Instead of raising a wall, he opens a breach. Gradually he transforms their discouragement. He makes their hearts burn within them, and he opens their eyes by proclaiming the word and breaking the bread. In the same way, a Christian does not bear the burden of mission alone, but realizes, even amid weariness and misunderstanding, that Jesus walks with him, speaks to him, breathes with him, works with him. He senses Jesus alive with him in the

15 midst of the missionary enterprise (Evangelii Gaudium, 266). 3 Jesus makes the seed grow. Finally, it is important to let the Gospel teach us the way of proclamation. At times, even with the best intentions, we can indulge in a certain hunger for power, proselytism or intolerant fanaticism. Yet the Gospel tells us to reject the idolatry of power and success, undue concern for structures, and a kind of anxiety that has more to do with the spirit of conquest than that of service. The seed of the Kingdom, however tiny, unseen and at times insignificant, silently continues to grow, thanks to God s tireless activity. The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep or rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how (Mk 4:26-27). This is our first reason for confidence: God surpasses all our expectations and constantly surprises us by his generosity. He makes our efforts bear fruit beyond all human calculation. With this confidence born of the Gospel, we become open to the silent working of the Spirit, which is the basis of mission. There can be no promotion of vocations or Christian mission apart from constant contemplative prayer. The Christian life needs to be nourished by attentive listening to God s word and, above all, by the cultivation of a personal relationship with the Lord in Eucharistic adoration, the privileged place for our encounter with God. I wish heartily to encourage this kind of profound friendship with the Lord, above all for the sake of imploring from on high new vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life. The People of God need to be guided by pastors whose lives are spent in service to the Gospel. I ask parish communities, associations and the many prayer groups present in the Church, not to yield to discouragement but to continue praying that the Lord will send workers to his harvest. May he give us priests enamoured of the Gospel, close to all their brothers and sisters, living signs of God s merciful love. Dear brothers and sisters, today too, we can regain fervour in preaching the Gospel and we can encourage young people in particular to take up the path of Christian discipleship. Despite a widespread sense that the faith is listless or reduced to mere duties to discharge, our young people desire to discover the perennial attraction of Jesus, to be challenged by his words and actions, and to cherish the ideal that he holds out of a life that is fully human, happy to spend itself in love. Mary Most Holy, the Mother of our Saviour, had the courage to embrace this ideal, placing her youth and her enthusiasm in God s hands. Through her intercession, may we be granted that same openness of heart, that same readiness to respond, Here I am, to the Lord s call, and that same joy in setting out (cf. Lk 1:39), like her, to proclaim him to the whole world. From the Vatican, 27 November 2016

16 First Sunday of Advent 4 Franciscus Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

17 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS May 7, 2017 Call to Prayer Leader: All: Leader: Prayer FAMILY TAKE-HOME PAGE We gather In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God calls each of us by name. As a sign of our willingness to listen to God s call let us each respond Here I am, Lord! when you hear your name called. (Leader says each person s name aloud and the person responds.) Jesus, we want to follow you. Help us to listen to your Word and to hear your voice in our hearts and in each other. We want to be near you forever. Amen. Reading A Reading from the Gospel of John (John ) Jesus said: My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and no one can ever take them from me or the Father. The Father and I are one. The Gospel of the Lord. All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! Sharing Prayers Take time to share about the ways Jesus talks to us and how we listen. What helps us follow Jesus more closely? (Offer personal intentions) The Lord s Prayer Sign of Peace (Share a sign of peace with each person.) Closing Prayer Dear God, You made everyone special in their own way. Please help us to find our vocation in life. Guide us to choose the right path in serving you. Amen. Taken from Dear God, Open My Heart (A collection of children s vocation prayers), p. 29 Available from NCCV Closing Song Somebody s Knockin at My Door, (Optional) He s Got the Whole World in His Hands Hush, Hush Somebody s Callin My Name The Summons (Or a song of your choosing)

18 Vocation Poster Materials needed: Piece of plain paper, (large enough to draw your hand), crayons or markers. 1. Discuss how Jesus depends on our hands to carry on his work 2. Share about how each of you depends on Jesus to show you the way and helps you to be his follower. 3. Trace your hand on a piece of paper. 4. Around the hand write the saying (or something similar): Jesus, take my hand and I will follow you. 5. Display the poster as a reminder to share your gifts. Vocation Chain Materials needed: strips of construction paper, glue or tape, crayons or markers. 1. Talk about the gifts/qualities of each person. 2. Write these gifts/qualities on strips of paper. 3. Join the strips to form a chain. 4. Place the chain somewhere as a sign of your willingness to join your gifts to serve God. Thank You Card Materials needed: paper for a homemade card or a purchased Thank You card, markers. 1. Create or buy a Thank You card for your pastor who is a representative of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. 2. Write a note about what you appreciate about him. 3. Invite him for dinner and/or give him the card. Vocation Conversation Starters As a family, take time to talk about the various vocation choices: married people, single people, diocesan priest, deacon, religious priest, brother, or sister. With each vocation choice share what attracts you about that life style, what would be hard about that life style, and then share what gifts you may have to live out that vocation choice. The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International

19 World & National Annual Events 2017 Year A 2018 Year B 2019 Year C National Vocation Awareness Week November 5-11 November 4-10 November 3-9 World Day for Consecrated Life* February 5 February 4 February 3 World Day of Prayer for Vocations** May 7 April 22 May 12 *The US Bishops observe WDCL on February 2 when that date falls on a Sunday; if not it is observed on the Sunday after February 2. **The Holy Father issues a pastoral letter each year for the celebration of World Day of Prayer for Vocations. This was unavailable at press time. It may be available at the Vatican Website closer to the date of the event ( USA Council of Serra International Our mission is to foster and affirm vocations to the priesthood and vowed religious life. Pray! Invite! Encourage! Affirm! Vocations Serra s National Council for the United States 333 W Wacker Dr Suite 500 Chicago IL Telephone (312) Fax (312) Toll-free voice: Toll-free fax: serraus@serraus.org ~ The USA Council of Serra International would like to also thank Mr. Frank J. Zolvinski M.A., Coordinator of Religious Education and Dr. Kristopher W. Seaman, Director: Office of Worship/Diocesan Music for Diocese of Gary, IN for their time and thoughtful assistance in preparing these materials for our celebration National Vocation Awareness Week. The USA Council of Serra International Vocations Committee is able to prepare and provide this planning kit to dioceses, parishes, schools, religious congregations, and Serra clubs at no cost through a generous grant from the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. Should you want to insure our ability to continue this program at no cost please consider a gift to the Bishop Britt Vocation Fund. For more information please contact the USA Council of Serra International or USA Council of Serra International