Abbey News
Sunday, April 25, 2010
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter and Good Shepherd Sunday, is the 47th World Day of Prayer For Vocations. It is a day of special prayer throughout the Church for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has chosen today to launch their new website as a resource for both laity and clergy in promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. To visit the site go to ForYourVocation.
The following press release is issued by Rev. David Toups, the executive director of the secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.
'ForYourVocation.org’ offers resources for people in discernment, includes info for parents, teachers, catechists, vocation directors. Efforts respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s call to use social media.
According to a news release by the National Religious Conference the new web site has two goals:
To help individuals hear and respond to the call by God to the priesthood or consecrated life, and
To educate all Catholics on the importance of encouraging others through prayer and activities to promote vocations.
The release goes on to say:
Site elements include discernment resources for men and women, respectively, aids for promoting a vocation culture within the home, and a range of tools for educators, youth leaders and vocation directors including prayers, videos, best practices, lesson plans and vocation awareness programs.
In response to Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 Theme for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Witness Awakens Vocations, the site also hosts videos of priests and religious men and women giving witness to their vocations, as well as testimonies from family members.
The message of the Holy Father for today can be found at Witness Awakens Vocations, a timely reminder to priests and religious of the importance of one's personal witness in promoting and encouraging vocations to the religious life and priesthood.
Here at Genesee we will continue praying fervently for priestly and religious vocations throughout the Church and for our community making our own the prayer of our Holy Father at the conclusion of his message:
May this World Day once again offer many young people a precious opportunity to reflect on their own vocation and to be faithful to it in simplicity, trust and complete openness. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, watch over each tiny seed of a vocation in the hearts of those whom the Lord calls to follow him more closely, may she help it to grow into a mature tree, bearing much good fruit for the Church and for all humanity. With this prayer, to all of you I impart my Apostolic Blessing.
Coming Attractions 
Tuesday of this week we'll be celebrating the memorial of our Saint Rafael Arnaiz Baron for the first time. For the past several years, before last year's October 11th canonization, the celebration has been of Blessed Rafael. We'll be keeping the day with solemnity fare in the refectory and optional work in the afternoon. Baking in the morning as usual. There's a brief bio on the Order's web site at Saint Rafael.
Sometime on Wednesday we expect the arrival of Fr. Felix of our daughter house, Novo Mundo, in Brazil. He's coming in for his five year visit to family and community. He'll be giving us a first hand report of the community in chapter Sunday.
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