PRAYING to RESPOND to OUR BAPTISMAL CALL to HOLINESS NATIONAL VOCATIONAL AWARENESS WEEK January 8 12, 2007 In Baptism we became "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that we might declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Catechism of the Catholic Church Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of our God. The God Who created us, the God Who redeemed us, the God Who calls us to wholeness and holiness has pitched His tent among us and is intimately intertwined in our lives. He is our God and we are His people. By name I have called you, by name I will save you, by name you are Mine, you are precious to Me; by name I have called you, by name I will send you, forever with you I will be. Carey Landry, 1980,NARL Phoenix, AZ LET US PRAY God, our Father, in Baptism You called us by name making us members of Your people, the Church. We praise You for Your goodness, We thank You for Your gifts. We ask You to strengthen us to live in love and service to others after the example of Your Son, Jesus. Father, look upon Your Church with love and bless Your people with generous single men and women, with loving husbands and wives, with understanding parents, with trusting children with dedicated priests, sisters, deacons and brothers.
Help us to see our vocations as a journey toward You. You have called us, not to set us apart, but to bring us together with others who need our love. Make us faithful signs of Your presence in their midst. We ask You through Christ, our Lord. PSALM 25 I wait for you, O LORD; I lift up my soul to my God. In you I trust; do not let me be disgraced; No one is disgraced who waits for you, but only those who lightly break faith. Make known to me your ways, LORD; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. For you I wait all the long day, because of your goodness, LORD. Remember your compassion and love, O LORD; for they are ages old. All the paths of the LORD are faithful love toward those who honor the covenant demands. Who are those who fear the LORD? God shows them the way to choose. LUKE 3: 15, 21-23 Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age. REFLECTION Maureen Kelly in SEASON of HOPE Do I see myself as part of a community as I live out my mission as a disciple? How much do the needs I see in others determine how I live? Am I capable of feeling the pain or seeing the need in others, or am I sometimes hardened to it? Am I aware that I depend on others to do God s work? And they on me? How willing am I to share my abundance and need? How willing to feed and be fed?
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Creator of the Universe, God of the Nations, help Your people who are longing to hear Your word; Send laborers into Your harvest - women and men on fire with Your love: Be with dedicated single people - who incarnate Your presence in their daily lives; Make their availability enable them to respond to a diversity of needs. Bless and strengthen married couples - whose relationships serve as a sign of Your fidelity to Your people; Let their love overflow to their children and neighbors. May ordained ministers - who gather the prayers and longing of Your people; Serve as a channel of Your presence through the sacraments. Let all religious sisters, brothers, and priests - whose life in community foreshadows our eternal unity in Christ; Through their service bring Your life and love to the world. May each of us respond with courage and generosity to our particular vocations, and may the Church recognize the Spirit's call to men and women of good will, trusting in Your abundance to answer all our needs. Gracious God, You have called us to life and gifted us in many ways. Through Baptism You have sent us to continue the mission of Jesus by sharing our love with others. Strengthen us to respond to Your call each day. Help us to become all You desire of us. Inspire us to make a difference in others' lives. Lead us to choose the way of life You have planned for us.
Open the hearts of all to listen to Your call. Fill all with Your Holy Spirit that we may have listening hearts and the courage to respond to You. Enkindle in our hearts the desire to make the world a better place. HYMN GO MAKE of ALL DICIPLES Go make of all disciples, we hear the call, O Lord, That comes from You, our Father, in Your Eternal Word. Inspire our ways of learning through earnest, fervent prayer And let our daily living reveal You everywhere. Go make of all disciples baptizing in the name of Father, Son and Spirit From age to age the same We call each new disciple to follow You, O Lord, redeeming soul and body by water and the Word. Go make of all disciples we at Your feet would stay, Until each life s vocation accents Your holy way. We cultivate the nature, God plants in every heart Revealing in our witness the Master Teacher s art. Go make of all disciples, we make of Your command Lo, I am with you always. We take Your guiding hand. The task looms large before us, we follow without fear. In heaven and earth Your power shall bring God s kingdom here. BLESSING May God the Father, Source of All Life, lead us in the way of truth. May God the Son, our Brother and Teacher, show us how to live a committed life. May God the Holy Spirit, the Gift of God, grace us with the wisdom to choose life. Amen + Saint John Baptist de La Salle and all you holy Brothers who have gone before us, help us to hear the Spirit of God speaking to us in the quiet of our hearts. Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever!