Yes, you are the one I am calling!

Today the Archdiocese of Toronto invites you to say a prayer for vocations. A vocation is a call to dedicate your life to something; today we pray that men and women will hear the call to the religious life.

In May 1965, Pope Paul VI said,

"By vocations, in this context, we mean the free and privileged invitations to serve Christ completely and to love Him with a love of preference in positions specifically determined by Holy Church. They are vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life, in which it is clearly manifest that Christ is inviting, that He has implanted this desire, that He is waiting for a reply. For it is indeed Christ who is calling. As He did to the Apostles whom He Himself chose and formed, Jesus still repeats in this our day: "Come, follow me." It is the Shepherd who engages in a personal, and intimate, conversation that may well startle and even convince, for "He calls each one by name, nominatim:" Yes, you are the one I am calling! ...

"Let each one pause to consider that he has received the grace, the very great privilege of belonging to the Church, of being one of those who have been called; that he has his Christian vocation. And let each one of those who, realizing that he has received this sublime call, a call common to all, hear a more direct invitation, a deeper, a more exacting and more intimate call ... Vocation... is something which, today as in the past, may be a grace that is extended to many; to many souls who are aspiring for the better things of life, for perfection; to those who have an ardent desire for the salvation of their brothers; to many hearts who, no matter how humble, no matter how timid, feel within themselves that strength which renders all things not only possible, but easy. ...

"Let us pray that this may come to pass. Perhaps there are some who, listening to Our humble voice with their ears, hear within their hearts the voice of Christ the King who is calling to them. Let us pray that this may be so. We bestow a special blessing on all those who "hear the word of God and keep it." (Archbishop Pocock Fonds, PO CL26.35a)

If you need some extra inspiration for prayers, here are a few that Archbishop Pocock saved:

"A Prayer For Vocations by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI

O Jesus, Divine Shepherd of souls, who called the Apostles to become fishers of men, now call the ardent and generous hearts of our youth to make them Your followers and ministers. Let them share Your thirst for that universal redemption for which You daily renew Your Sacrifice upon the altar. O Lord Jesus, "always living to make intercession for us", extend our horizons to the entire world, where so many brethren make silent supplication for the light of truth and the warmth of love, so that answering Your call, many young men may prolong here Your mission, edify Your Mystical Body, the Church, and become "the salt of the earth and the light of the world".

"Extend, O Lord, Your loving call to many pure and generous-hearted young women, that they may grow in their desire for evangelical perfection and may dedicate themselves to the service of the Church and their neighbors who so desperately need such assistance and charity. Amen.

"(This prayer was composed by Pope Paul VI and is recommended to be said on Good Shepherd Sunday - World Day of Prayer for Vocations - and throughout the year.)"

1965

PO CL26.35b

Archbishop Pocock Fonds

  

"Prayer for Vocations

"O God, Who wouldst have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of Thy truth: send, we beseech Thee, laborers into Thy harvest, and grant them grace with all boldness to speak Thy Word; so that Thy Word may run and be glorified, and all nations may know Thee the only God and Him Whom Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ Thy Son, our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen"

1934

PO SU52.06
Archbishop Pocock Fonds

"O My God, Thou who art the God of wisdom and of counsel, Thou who readest in my heart the sincere will to please Thee alone, and to govern myself with a regard to my choice of a state of life, entirely in conformity with Thy most Holy desire, grant me, by the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin, my Mother, and of my holy patrons, specially of St. Joseph and St. Aloysius, the grace to know what state I ought to choose, and when known to embrace it, so that in it I may be able to pursue and increase Thy glory, work out my salvation, and merit that heavenly reward which Thou hast promised to those who do Thy holy will. Amen."

1929

PO SU52.07

Archbishop Pocock Fonds

And a poem!

"The Call of Christ

"So many others I might ask, 

Yet I am calling thee;

And wilt thou hesitate, My child,

To come and follow Me?

"I will repay each sacrifice:

The great ones and the small,

None shall be lost in heaven,

Where I am Judge of all.

"Come, I will make the burden light;

My yoke, a bondage sweet,

That shall bring gladness to they heart

And swiftness to thy feet.

"Come, give thy will and all to Me,

And live forevermore;

Each sacrifice thou makest now,

Within My Heart I'll store.

"And when life's pilgrimage is done,

With thee I'll keep My tryst;

In heaven's court thou shalt be called

The chosen friend of Christ.

-Anon"

1938

PO SU52.01

Archbishop Pocock Fonds

For more information about vocations to religious life, check the website of the Archdiocese of Toronto's Office of Vocations, and the website of the National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors. If you'd like to spend time promoting vocations, check out the website of Serra Canada.