14th Sunday C Lk.10:1-12, 17-20 Praying for Vocation The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest (Lk.10:2). A son went to his mother and told her that he would like to enter the seminary after high school. The mother, even though she is a very pious woman became upset because he is her only son. Later on she realized that it is a blessing to have a priest in the family, so she prayed to God. “Dear Lord, I am sorry for being so selfish not allowing my son to become your priest. But now that I am enlightened, I am offering him to you. If you like you can also take my husband.” One of the verses in our gospel reminds me of the prayer for vocation, which we used to pray after the Mass in the seminary: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” With the shortage of priests, I believe we need to pray for vocation more seriously. There was a small town in northern Italy called Lu. The most famous of the religious sons of Lu was Blessed Fillipo Rinaldi. Of that family two girls and five boys entered the Salesian Order. Fr. Fillipo was the third successor of St. John Bosco and he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 29, 1990. They say that the wealth of vocation in this place goes back to 1881 when the parish priest, Msgr. Alessandro Canora, started the custom of having the women of Lu gather in the village church every Tuesday to pray for vocations (Steyl Aktuell). We need good and holy priests so let us pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to His harvest. Let us pray for vocation but let us also put some efforts in our prayer. One time a mother was telling a nun, “O Sister, if you only knew…When I get back home, all my housework is till waiting for me, plus my husband and the children. Whereas you, you go to your chapel and pray and refresh yourself. How I wish I also had it that good!” The nun said, “You’re right! We also think that we have it good. But we wonder why if that is so, so few come and join us (Willi Hoffsuemmer). It is good to become a priest, it is good to enter religious life and it is good to serve the Lord. We need to be more vocal about this. But the best advertisement to encourage young people to enter religious life is of course through witnessing. Please don’t just criticize your priests, don’t leave the church if you don’t like your priests but rather help them to become better and holier in their chosen vocation. We too need your encouragement, affirmation, support and love. A father was so proud of his children. One night he was telling them starting off with the eldest, “Hey Tom, you’re good in math you should become an accountant when you grow up.” Then to the second, “Dan, you are good in reasoning, I think you can become a good lawyer someday.” Then to the youngest, “Hey Johnny, you’re a good boy but not so athletic and not so intelligent. You’re hobby is cross stitch, perhaps you can think of entering the seminary.” Dear parents, God has been good to you. Offer your best children to Him. Encourage your kids to think about entering religious life. Have a sense of pride not only for future lawyers, doctors, and business magnates but also for your sons and daughters who would like to offer their lives for the service of God. Rev. Fr. Clod V. Bagabaldo
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 08:04:20 +0000
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