DURING HIS HOMILY at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio announced a Year of Prayer for Vocations. I am sure that we can all understand the need for more priests, deacons and religious men and women. Our dwindling numbers have been a cause of concern for many years.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, This week, we celebrate the 54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has chosen the theme, “The Missionary Dimension of Our Christian Calling.” He describes the theme in this way, “It is the summons to ‘go out from ourselves’ to hear the Lord’s voice, and the importance of the ecclesial community as the privileged place where God’s call is born, nourished and expressed.”
Promoting religious vocations is the responsibility of every baptized Catholic, said Rockville Centre Deacon Kevin McCormack when he addressed nearly 50 Brooklyn Diocesan parish vocation representatives in Bath Beach Nov. 13.
It’s ordination season and Catholics have reason to be pleased with the numbers of priests who will serve the Church well into the future. In recent years, the numbers of priestly ordinations have given Catholic Church observers reason to believe there is not a global vocations crisis, but they acknowledge there is still a need for more.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, The phrase, “Pray to the Lord of the Harvest so that He may send out laborers into His harvest,” is not the suggestion of a priest, bishop or even a pope. Rather, it is the command of the Lord Jesus, Himself, that if we are to have sufficient laborers in the vineyard of the Kingdom of God, we need to pray.
Six men were ordained transitional deacons for the Diocese of Brooklyn at St. James Cathedral Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn, on Saturday, Sept. 1.
