Each year, the Holy Father asks for our prayers for a specific intention each
month. In the month of June, the Holy Father Pope Francis has asked us
to pray for priests that they, through the modesty and humility of their
lives, commit themselves actively to a solidarity with those who are most poor. This invites our attention to the mode of life of priest in the church and the society.
Priestly life, more than ever, undergoes a kind of serious crisis in the world and
especially in India today. In other words, priestly vocations are in challenging times.
Fewer vocations and more allegations to the priesthood have become a bitter reality
today.
What is a priestly vocation? The question is vitally important, especially to Catholics
struggling with their faith as they read stories of priests who have abused children
and youth, and stories of bishops who put the church’s public image before
the welfare of their flock.
We must accept that although new incidences of abuse are rare, what has become
public of past allegations and cover-ups is shocking. Pope Francis has said the scandals
have thrived in countries where the Catholic Church is “elitist and clericalist.”
Coming back to the vocation to priesthood we can see that the Catechism of the
Catholic Church states that “Christ has made of His Church a ‘kingdom of priests,’
and gives the faithful a share in his priesthood through the sacraments of Baptism
and Confirmation.” But ordained priests differ “in essence” from this “common
priesthood of all the faithful,” it continues. “It has as its purpose to serve the
priesthood of all the faithful by building up and guiding the church in the name
of Christ, who is Head of the Body.” In this sense, priesthood is a must for the
existence of the church and faithful.
Therefore, all the Popes in history and Pope Francis in particular have urginged
Catholics, time and again, to pray for the vocations and priests that the Lord might
help us discover His plan of love for our lives and grant us the courage to walk in
the path, He has chosen for each of us. This year’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations
was observed on the 4th Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, May 12.
The Pope had selected the theme, “The Courage to take a risk for God’s Promise” for the
message and it was a reflection on “how the Lord’s call makes us bearers of a promise and,
at the same time, asks of us the courage to take a risk, with him and for him”. The Holy Father thus urged young people not to be deaf to the Lord’s call, saying there can be no greater joy than to risk one’s life for the Lord. Listening to Pope’s appeal, let us pray for
more and committed vocations to priesthood and religious life.
Jaymon Mulappancheril