Quick Links
Vocations
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” –Jer 1:4
What's Happening
The Sisters of Bon Secours invite you to attend a Come and See Vocation Weekend
February 20—21, 2010
June 26—27, 2010
October 23—24, 2010
CLICK HERE to download flyer (pdf)
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR CONSECRATED LIFE
February 7, 2010
In 1997, John Paul II called for consecrated life to be promoted throughout the universal Church. He declared February 2, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, to be observed as World Day for Consecrated Life (WDCL). In the United States, when February 2 is not on a Sunday, we celebrate on the Sunday after the Presentation. This year WDCL is observed on February 7, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life invites all the Church to reflect on the role of Consecrated Life within the Christian community. Those who choose to live a consecrated life do so for the sake of the gospel.
Some Christian women and men respond to God’s call to become followers of Jesus through profession of vows and a life dedicated to prayer and service. They live out the consecrated life in different ways. Religious sisters, nuns, brothers, religious priests, and monks consecrate their lives through their profession of the evangelical vows and live as part of a community. Single lay people may choose to be consecrated virgins and make private vows to the local bishop as they live out their vocation in various walks of life. Secular institutes are another form of living the consecrated life as single people. Those who become followers of Jesus through the consecrated life bless the Church.
NCCV offers this resource to assist you in your local celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life. May this kit provide you with ideas to create a meaningful celebration in your parish, diocese, religious community or other church institution.
Download Bulletin Announcements, General Intercessions. Sample Activities, and more:
Why keep doubting that God could be calling you to the priestho+
od? Crossroads, provides an opportunity for young men to gather monthly to actively seek out God’s will in their life. Take part in Crossroads to be encouraged by other men who are asking the same questions and wondering the same things about their vocation. Who’s at Crossroads—High school juniors, seniors, collegians, men in love with Jesus Christ and His Church. Fr. Jason coordinates the monthly gatherings. Please contact him at jjalbert@rcbm.org or 669-3100
Updated for 2009-2010!
Vocation Awareness Curriculum
The Church across the country turns her attention to vocations, to the unrelenting and prevailing call of the Lord to the priesthood and the consecrated life. Click here to download materials for Catholic school teachers and catechists to use to promote vocations.
Related Links
Office for Vocations - www.liveinblackandwhite.com
Serra Club - www.serranh.org
Secular Institutes - www.secularinstitutes.org
Missionaries of the Kingship of Chirst - www.simkc.org
In His goodness, God personally called each one of us. Even before we were born, God knew us and loved us with a love beyond all telling. The words spoken to the prophet Jeremiah remind us that God created us with a purpose. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you.” The greatest gift we have been given is our life; a life that flows from the love of God who desires to share His goodness with us. The primary vocation we have been given is to accept the gift of life from God and to acknowledge that He created us with the purpose of loving Him and serving Him. In loving and serving the Lord we have been promised happiness here on earth and in heaven for all eternity.
Through baptism, we put on Christ and become sons and daughters of God and are given a share in His divine nature. In this new life of grace we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who freely offers all that is necessary to live a holy life clothed in heartfelt compassion, generosity, gentleness and patience because, as St. Paul says, we are “God’s chosen ones” (Col 3:12).
As we look throughout the New Testament we see that the Christian is called. Each one of us is called to the perfection of love which is to be loved by God and to love Him in return. However, each Christian lives the call to love according to the particular mission he or she is given. Not all are called to do the same work, yet everyone’s vocation is ordered to the good of the whole Church.
Every vocation is a sacred gift and it is to be discovered, cherished and lived in a spirit of gratitude to God. Today, there is a great need for all members of the Church to recognize their unique vocation. Since each person must grow in his or her awareness of what it means to be called by God to the vocation of marriage, consecrated life or the ordained priesthood the Vocation Office offers numerous opportunities for discernment.