On the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my wife and I did a Holy Hour for vocations, as part of the 40-Hour Devotion for Vocations in the Diocese of Austin. At daily Mass, except when I am serving, I would pray the Prayer for Vocations after receiving Holy Communion. With our Lord Jesus Christ physically present in me in the Holy Eucharist, I pray this pray to our Lord that he may "send out more laborers" for the "harvest of souls is abundant but the laborers few." I invite you all the pray this Prayer for Vocations with me on a daily basis. Without priests, there is no Eucharist. With the Eucharist, there is no Mass and no Church.
During my Holy Hour, I prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. . . .
For the First Joyful Mystery - The Annunciation, I reflected on how God comes to Mary and gives her her life's vocation to be the Mother of God. Our Lord comes to all of us and gives us our life's vocation, we only need to discern his will for us and pray for the courage to give Christ our "Yes" in the same way that Mary gave God her "Yes." It is a "Yes" that, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, can change the world and, at the very least, change our own life. Mary's "Yes" did both - it changed her life for all eternity and it changed the world because, through her vocation as the Mother of God, God dwelt among us.
For the Second Joyful Mystery - The Visitation, I reflected on how Jesus invites husbands and wives to foster vocations in their families - the domestic churches. When Mary visited her cousin, Elizabeth, the infant in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy. Saint John the Baptist received his vocation from our Lord Jesus Christ and his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, nurture and encouraged his vocation throughout his childhood until he went forth from their home to become the forerunner to Jesus Christ. I pray that all parents help foster and nurture their children's vocation, whatever it may be. Discernment of vocations starts in the family and it starts with the parents as leaders of their domestic churches - priest, prophet, and king.
For the Third Joyful Mystery - The Nativity of our Lord, I reflected on the Incarnation evokes in my awe and wonder of a God who becomes one of us to save us and reconcile us to our Father in heaven. Throughout his life, Jesus was obedient to his parents - Mary and Saint Joseph, but most of all, he was obedient to his Father in heaven even to death on the Cross. Jesus had a mission from the Father and he fulfilled his mission. In the same way, we are called to discern God's mission for us in the vocation that He calls us to and fulfill that mission that He has given us. Jesus promises to be with us to the end of the age as we journey through life.
For the Fourth Joyful Mystery - The Transfiguration, I reflected on how God reveals Himself to us and how we are called to respond to Him with faith. In the Gospel account of the Transfiguration, Peter, Andrew, John, and James got a glimpse of the glory of Jesus Christ. We too get a glimpse of the glory of Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when Heaven opens and the Holy Spirit descends upon the bread and wine and transform them into the Body and Blood of Christ. We also a glimpse of God's glory in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Many priests who I know have shared with me that they hear God's call to the priesthood during their time spent in prayer before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. In the family (the domestic church), we have our "mountaintop" experience (just like Peter, Andrew, John, and James did) when vocation is fostered. From there, we are sent by our Lord Jesus Christ, in our family, to go down the mountain and invite others to come and see Jesus for themselves in the vocation that we are called to in our life.
For the Fifth Joyful Mystery - The Institution of the Eucharist, I reflected on the gift of Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist and how blessed we are as Catholics to receive our Lord in just an intimate and special way. The Eucharist - the "source and summit" of our Christian life - strengthen us and gives us the courage to discern and answer God's call to the vocation that He has planned for us. It is so important for parents to make sure that their children receive the Eucharist regularly so that they can grow in love with our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. In those intimate moments when our Lord and our God dwells in us is when we open our hearts to hear where He is calling us in our life's vocation.
I continue to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life. Personally, I pray for two young people in my life that their parents help them discern their life's vocation and where God is calling them to serve Him and HIs faithful people.
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