Lord Jesus: In view of so many seminaries and novitiates without vocations,

and so many peoples without priests or apostles, our hearts were moved by the sorrow

 that  tore from yours that anguished lament: the harvest is plentiful

harvest is plentiful, and the workers are few, obedient to your command to pray

for these, we beseech thee:

That there will be no lack of those who will bring  children to thee,

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

That the blind of soul may see, and the deaf may hear, and the dead may rise, and the poor may be evangelized.

the dead and the poor may be evangelized,

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

That the oppressed of the devil may be set free and the righteous may be justified

and the saints more sanctified,

Send laborers into your harvest, O Lord

That there may not fail to be in every town one who says to those who dwell therein:

“Behold your mother” showing your mother,

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

That all who suffer may come to you, and resting on your breast

may find peace,

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

That everywhere the clean oblation of the pure, holy and immaculate Host may be offered to your Name

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

That your desire, of your disciples eating your Passover, may be fulfilled daily.

and the house of your feast be always full,

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

That not a single village may be left without a tabernacle and without a priest to

bring his neighbors to him,

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

That your name may be sanctified, that your Eucharistic kingdom may come to us,

and for all men on earth may your will be done as for the angels in heaven.

Send workers into your harvest, O Lord

V/ Lord, the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.

R/ Send us holy priests and religious, according to your heart.

V/ Mary Immaculate, Mother and Queen of those consecrated to God.

R/ Tell to your Son with the same efficacy as at the wedding feast of Cana:

My children on earth have neither priests nor religious.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS FRANCIS FOR THE 58TH WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

8 December last, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, marked the beginning of a special year devoted to him (cf. Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 8 December 2020). For my part, I wrote the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, whose aim was “to increase our love for this great saint”. Saint Joseph is an extraordinary figure, yet at the same time one “so close to our own human experience”. He did not do astonishing things, he had no unique charisms, nor did he appear special in the eyes of those who met him. He was not famous or even noteworthy: the Gospels do not report even a single word of his. Still, through his ordinary life, he accomplished something extraordinary in the eyes of God.

God looks on the heart (cf. 1 Sam 16:7), and in Saint Joseph he recognized the heart of a father, able to give and generate life in the midst of daily routines. Vocations have this same goal: to beget and renew lives every day. The Lord desires to shape the hearts of fathers and mothers: hearts that are open, capable of great initiatives, generous in self-giving, compassionate in comforting anxieties and steadfast in strengthening hopes. The priesthood and the consecrated life greatly need these qualities nowadays, in times marked by fragility but also by the sufferings due to the pandemic, which has spawned uncertainties and fears about the future and the very meaning of life. Saint Joseph comes to meet us in his gentle way, as one of “the saints next door”. At the same time, his strong witness can guide us on the journey.

Saint Joseph suggests to us three key words for each individual’s vocation. The first is dream. Everyone dreams of finding fulfilment in life. We rightly nurture great hopes, lofty aspirations that ephemeral goals – like success, money and entertainment – cannot satisfy. If we were to ask people to express in one word their life’s dream, it would not be difficult to imagine the answer: “to be loved”. It is love that gives meaning to life, because it reveals life’s mystery. Indeed, we only have life if we give it; we truly possess it only if we generously give it away. Saint Joseph has much to tell us in this regard, because, through the dreams that God inspired in him, he made of his life a gift.

The Gospels tell us of four dreams (cf. Mt 1:20; 2:13.19.22). They were calls from God, but they were not easy to accept. After each dream, Joseph had to change his plans and take a risk, sacrificing his own plans in order to follow the mysterious designs of God, whom he trusted completely. We may ask ourselves, “Why put so much trust in a dream in the night?” Although a dream was considered very important in ancient times, it was still a small thing in the face of the concrete reality of life. Yet Saint Joseph let himself be guided by his dreams without hesitation. Why? Because his heart was directed to God; it was already inclined towards him. A small indication was enough for his watchful “inner ear” to recognize God’s voice. This applies also to our calling: God does not like to reveal himself in a spectacular way, pressuring our freedom. He conveys his plans to us with gentleness. He does not overwhelm us with dazzling visions but quietly speaks in the depths of our heart, drawing near to us and speaking to us through our thoughts and feelings. In this way, as he did with Saint Joseph, he sets before us profound and unexpected horizons.

Indeed, Joseph’s dreams led him into experiences he would never have imagined. The first of these upended his betrothal but made him the father of the Messiah; the second caused him to flee to Egypt, but saved the life of his family. After the third, which foretold his return to his native land, a fourth dream made him change plans once again, bringing him to Nazareth, the place where Jesus would begin his preaching of the Kingdom of God. Amid all these upheavals, he found the courage to follow God’s will. So too in a vocation: God’s call always urges us to take a first step, to give ourselves, to press forward. There can be no faith without risk. Only by abandoning ourselves confidently to grace, setting aside our own programmes and comforts, can we truly say “yes” to God. And every “yes” bears fruit because it becomes part of a larger design, of which we glimpse only details, but which the divine Artist knows and carries out, making of every life a masterpiece. In this regard, Saint Joseph is an outstanding example of acceptance of God’s plans. Yet his was an active acceptance: never reluctant or resigned. Joseph was “certainly not passively resigned, but courageously and firmly proactive” (Patris Corde, 4). May he help everyone, especially young people who are discerning, to make God’s dreams for them come true. May he inspire in them the courage to say “yes” to the Lord who always surprises and never disappoints.

A second word marks the journey of Saint Joseph and that of vocation: service. The Gospels show how Joseph lived entirely for others and never for himself. The holy people of God invoke him as the most chaste spouse, based on his ability to love unreservedly. By freeing love from all possessiveness, he became open to an even more fruitful service. His loving care has spanned generations; his attentive guardianship has made him patron of the Church. As one who knew how to embody the meaning of self-giving in life, Joseph is also the patron of a happy death. His service and sacrifices were only possible, however, because they were sustained by a greater love: “Every true vocation is born of the gift of oneself, which is the fruit of mature sacrifice. The priesthood and consecrated life likewise require this kind of maturity. Whatever our vocation, whether to marriage, celibacy or virginity, our gift of self will not come to fulfilment if it stops at sacrifice; were that the case, instead of becoming a sign of the beauty and joy of love, the gift of self would risk being an expression of unhappiness, sadness and frustration” (ibid., 7).

For Saint Joseph, service – as a concrete expression of the gift of self – did not remain simply a high ideal, but became a rule for daily life. He strove to find and prepare a place where Jesus could be born; he did his utmost to protect him from Herod’s wrath by arranging a hasty journey into Egypt; he immediately returned to Jerusalem when Jesus was lost; he supported his family by his work, even in a foreign land. In short, he adapted to different circumstances with the attitude of those who do not grow discouraged when life does not turn out as they wished; he showed the willingness typical of those who live to serve. In this way, Joseph welcomed life’s frequent and often unexpected journeys: from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, then to Egypt and again to Nazareth, and every year to Jerusalem. Each time he was willing to face new circumstances without complaining, ever ready to give a hand to help resolve situations. We could say that this was the outstretched hand of our heavenly Father reaching out to his Son on earth. Joseph cannot fail to be a model for all vocations, called to be the ever-active hands of the Father, outstretched to his children.

I like to think, then, of Saint Joseph, the protector of Jesus and of the Church, as the protector of vocations. In fact, from his willingness to serve comes his concern to protect. The Gospel tells us that “Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night” (Mt 2:14), thus revealing his prompt concern for the good of his family. He wasted no time fretting over things he could not control, in order to give full attention to those entrusted to his care. Such thoughtful concern is the sign of a true vocation, the testimony of a life touched by the love of God. What a beautiful example of Christian life we give when we refuse to pursue our ambitions or indulge in our illusions, but instead care for what the Lord has entrusted to us through the Church! God then pours out his Spirit and creativity upon us; he works wonders in us, as he did in Joseph.

Together with God’s call, which makes our greatest dreams come true, and our response, which is made up of generous service and attentive care, there is a third characteristic of Saint Joseph’s daily life and our Christian vocation, namely fidelity. Joseph is the “righteous man” (Mt 1:19) who daily perseveres in quietly serving God and his plans. At a particularly difficult moment in his life, he thoughtfully considered what to do (cf. v. 20). He did not let himself be hastily pressured. He did not yield to the temptation to act rashly, simply following his instincts or living for the moment. Instead, he pondered things patiently. He knew that success in life is built on constant fidelity to important decisions. This was reflected in his perseverance in plying the trade of a humble carpenter (cf. Mt 13:55), a quiet perseverance that made no news in his own time, yet has inspired the daily lives of countless fathers, labourers and Christians ever since. For a vocation – like life itself – matures only through daily fidelity.

How is such fidelity nurtured? In the light of God’s own faithfulness. The first words that Saint Joseph heard in a dream were an invitation not to be afraid, because God remains ever faithful to his promises: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid” (Mt 1:20). Do not be afraid: these words the Lord also addresses to you, dear sister, and to you, dear brother, whenever you feel that, even amid uncertainty and hesitation, you can no longer delay your desire to give your life to him. He repeats these words when, perhaps amid trials and misunderstandings, you seek to follow his will every day, wherever you find yourself. They are words you will hear anew, at every step of your vocation, as you return to your first love. They are a refrain accompanying all those who – like Saint Joseph – say yes to God with their lives, through their fidelity each day.

This fidelity is the secret of joy. A hymn in the liturgy speaks of the “transparent joy” present in the home of Nazareth. It the joy of simplicity, the joy experienced daily by those who care for what truly matters: faithful closeness to God and to our neighbour. How good it would be if the same atmosphere, simple and radiant, sober and hopeful, were to pervade our seminaries, religious houses and presbyteries! I pray that you will experience this same joy, dear brothers and sisters who have generously made God the dream of your lives, serving him in your brothers and sisters through a fidelity that is a powerful testimony in an age of ephemeral choices and emotions that bring no lasting joy. May Saint Joseph, protector of vocations, accompany you with his fatherly heart!

Very recently, my dear grandmother passed away. She was mother of 6, who all got married, grandmother of 26, so far 5 married and one priest religious, and 8 great grandchildren. After more than 63 years of a strong and radiating marriage, she left for heaven at the age of 89 years old and left my grandfather, who had cared for her for many years. 

My mother, her daughter, told me several times how incredible it was that she never complained about any of her suffering, and how she was never unfaithful. She lived very profoundly and concretely from and for prayer and the Sacraments. Her greatest joy in life was living in Christ, and passing on Christ to those around her. 

And she was very human, a little vain, and in the many family games, often "creative" with the rules out of a competitive attitude. But also very human in the more positive sense, of listening, caring, reconciling, serving. And mostly, what makes us most human, is what elevates us in Christ. Praying without ceasing... Receiving God's mercy in Confession... Being taken up in the divine life through the frequent Communion. 

Our dear grandmother's mother prayed much that one of her sons would become a priest. All got married, and her prayers passed on to the next generation... In the end, a great grandson (myself) and a grandson (my mother's cousin, one year after me) became priests. And who knows who is still to come!

It is at the moment of death that one's sacrifice of love becomes definitive. It is so recently that our whole family has realized even deeper how much she loved God, how much she loved all of us, and so many others.

And to many people I told without scruples: her prayers have a real part in my discovery of my priestly vocation and also in my perseverance in the vocation! She told me every time she saw me, that they prayed for me every day in their daily Rosary. My mother repeated to me that they prayed for me every day.

What a gift to the Church, to the world, is a praying mother, grandmother, great grandmother, a loving and believing woman!

Please, dear mothers, never cease your prayers, never!

Pray for the repose of my grandmother Annemieke. But maybe, after her testimony and so many more things that I could recount, we can start asking for her intercession as well! Several people have already instinctively started asking her intercession and some special graces have already been given.

Pray, pray, in and through the Holy Sacraments, and our dear Mother Church, and our dear Religious Family will be blessed with abundant vocations, holy vocations!

God bless you all!

In Christ and Mary,

Father Johannes van Voorst IVE