Bishop Lucas on vocations

In his weekly column in the Catholic Times, the Most Reverend George J. Lucas poses an important question to parents and teachers:

What are we doing and saying this week in our homes, schools and parishes to help our youth hear the call to chastity and fidelity? They are hearing from someone about this. They deserve to hear from us about the importance of their call.

His Excellency asks this question as he reminds us that every young person is called by God, that each young person in the Diocese has a vocation.

That is, each of them is being called and chosen by God to witness to their faith in Jesus Christ in an important way. Discerning or coming to know one's vocation is an essential part of maturing in the Catholic faith. We listen in the silence of our own hearts and we listen to the encouragement we receive from others to learn how we might contribute to the life of the church with the gift of ourselves. Children and young adults need guidance and encouragement. An essential part of every religious education and youth program ought to be an ongoing emphasis on the serious responsibility to listen for God's call, with the understanding of how to respond.

Encouraging the faithful to pray for vocations and to encourage them, Bishop Lucas pointedly noted:

I do think that adults are sometimes backward about giving the explicit encouragement to the young to consider what may have already come to them in the silence of their prayer.

God is calling them. The church needs them. In your own prayer, ask God to help you understand how to encourage a young person close to you to listen, to pray and to respond to God with courage and generosity. [more]