Vocations  Mass 2007

1. This is a Mass for vocations. The source of vocation is the call of God. And this evening the Lord speaks to each one of us inviting us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And I want to encourage us to respond to God’s call, to grow in holiness and to be faithful to our Christian vocation.

2. I want to encourage those of you who are parents. It would have been very difficult for me to hear God’s call and to take my place in the life of the Church without the example of my parents. You mothers and fathers are very blessed by God in your marriage and in your children. I am sure we all agree that the best thing you can give your children is a secure and happy family in which children and young people learn the meaning of love and social responsibility. It is also vital that you pass on your faith to your children, teach them how to pray, and encourage them to go to Mass and to benefit from the sacraments. It is so important for children and young people not just to be told but to see with their own eyes that God is central to our lives, that we live our lives in God’s presence, that the great choices in our lives are made whispering a prayer to God for guidance. This is your vocation and your way to holiness. This is how you respond to the Lord’s call to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

3. I want also to direct a word of affection and encouragement to the young people and children who are here this evening. When we speak of vocation, we are talking about the future of the church because the future of the church depends on people continuing to hear God’s call and continuing to answer God’s call. The Lord speaks in a special way to you this evening, calling you to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It may not appear so to you, but your contemporaries, other young people, even those who seem the furthest away from your Catholic values, have a deep need to see people dare to live according to the full humanity which we see in Jesus Christ. Even though they may scoff, in their hearts they know this is not the defeat of self, but this is the victory of love over selfishness and of grace over evil. So you continue to go to Mass, follow Christ, and always act out of a spirit of Christian love and service.

4. When we have a Mass for vocations, in a special way we pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Let me say a word to the seminarians who are here this evening. You know how close you are to my heart and how much you are in the prayers of the diocese. We hope you come to know as fully as possible God’s purpose for you and we look forward with all our hearts to the day when you will serve the diocese as priests. We continue to pray that others will follow you in the coming years in sufficient numbers for the diocese, for an increase in the number of our priests is probably the most single most important thing that the diocese needs at this time.

5. And there are priests and religious here this evening. You, Sisters, and you my dear brothers in the priesthood know all about vocation for the Lord has called you to serve in a life which is consecrated to him and to the service of your brothers and sisters in the Church. You know that a vocation needs to be renewed every day, that we need to keep on saying yes, so that we continue to live the joy and the very deep satisfaction of our calling as priests and religious, and so that we can say again and again with the prophet, “Here I am, Lord, send me.”

St. Mirin’s Cathedral

Thursday 13^th September 2007