Pray, recommit to journeying with young for vocations, says bishop

(OSV News) -- An annual observance centered on vocations is a moment for prayer and rededication to helping young people find their place in God's plan, said Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan.

"With fervor … let us pray and renew our commitment to journey with and encourage young people as they discover the hope God has placed in their hearts through discerning how He has called them to be witnesses of the love 'poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,'" said Bishop Boyea, quoting Romans 5:5.

The bishop, who serves as chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, issued an Oct. 15 statement ahead of National Vocation Awareness Week, which the nation's Catholics will mark Nov. 2-8.

Launched in 1976 by the U.S. bishops, the observance was moved in 1997 to coincide with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January, then returned in 2014 to the first full week in November.

Regardless of scheduling, the goal of National Vocations Awareness Week remains timeless and crucial -- and the aim is a whole-of-church effort, said the USCCB in its Oct. 15 media release containing Bishop Boyea's statement.

"Each year, national Catholic organizations, dioceses, schools, and local parish communities sponsor events and provide different resources to raise awareness for vocations, and help those who are discerning a vocation, particularly one to ordained ministry or consecrated life," said the USCCB.

The USCCB's website, www.usccb.org, includes a dedicated page with resources for National Vocations Awareness Week -- available in both English and Spanish -- including prayers, handouts and bulletin inserts, a recommended reading list for those discerning a vocation, and links to helpful ministries and organizations.

The Catholic Church defines a vocation -- from the Latin word "vocare," meaning "to call" -- as "the calling or destiny we have in this life and hereafter."

Laity are intended to shape temporal affairs in accord with God's will, while priestly and religious vocations "are dedicated to the service of the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation," states the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

"In this Jubilee Year of Hope, let us celebrate all who have responded to God's call whether to serve as husbands, wives, parents, priests and others as ordained ministers, or consecrated persons,” said Bishop Boyea.

He quoted a June 24 meditation Pope Leo XIV offered during the Jubilee of Seminarians, in which the pope said, "If you cultivate your heart through daily periods of silence, meditation, and prayer, you will learn the art of discernment. "

In that meditation, Pope Leo stressed the importance of "learning discernment," since young hearts in particular can "overflow with desires, dreams and ambitions," often rendering them "overwhelmed and bewildered."

By following the example set by Mary, said the pope, "we will surely learn to keep all those things in our heart and meditate on them."