Editor’s Note: May 11 is World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a time to pray for the clergy and those in consecrated life. In his message for this annual observance, Pope Francis, before his death, spoke of the 2025 Jubilee Year, focusing on Pilgrims of Hope: the Gift of Life. Following are excerpts from the late pontiff’s message.
Dear sisters and brothers,
On this, the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I wish to extend to you a joyful and encouraging invitation to become pilgrims of hope by generously offering your lives as a gift.
We, the adult members of the Church, and priests in particular, are called to acknowledge, discern and accompany the young on their vocational path. You, young people, for your part, are called to set out on that path, together with the Holy Spirit, who awakens in you the desire to make your lives a gift of love.
Every vocation, once perceived in the depths of the heart, gives rise to an impulse to love and service, as an expression of hope and charity, rather than a means of self-promotion. Vocation and hope go together in God’s plan for the happiness of each man and woman, all of whom are called by name to give their lives for others. (“Evangelii Gaudium”)
Many young people seek to know the path God is calling them to take. Some find, often to their surprise, that they are called to the priesthood or to the consecrated life. Others discover the beauty of the call to marriage and family life, to the pursuit of the common good and to a life of witness to the faith among their friends and acquaintances.
The discovery of our vocation comes about as the result of a journey of discernment. That journey is never solitary, but develops within a Christian community and as a part of that community.
Dear friends, the world pushes you to make hasty decisions and bombards you with a constant blare that prevents you from experiencing a silence that is open to God who speaks to the heart. Have the courage to pause, to listen to what your heart tells you, and to ask God about his dreams for you. The silence of prayer is indispensable if we are to learn how to hear God’s call amid the specific circumstances of our lives and to respond consciously and freely.
Prayerful recollection helps us to realize that all of us can be pilgrims of hope if we make our lives a gift, above all by placing ourselves at the service of those who live on the world’s material and existential peripheries. Those who heed God’s call cannot turn a deaf ear to the cry of so many of our brothers and sisters who feel excluded, wounded and abandoned. Every vocation confirms us in our mission of being Christ’s presence wherever light and consolation are most needed. In a particular way, the lay faithful are called to be the “salt, light and leaven” of the Kingdom of God through their social and professional commitments.
Consequently, pastoral ministers and vocation directors, especially spiritual directors, should readily accompany young people with the hope, patience and trust that reflect God’s own “pedagogy.” They should be capable of listening to them respectfully and sympathetically, and show themselves trustworthy, wise and helpful guides, ever attentive to discerning the signs of God’s presence in their journey.
I urge that every effort be made to foster vocations in the various spheres of human life and activity, and to help individuals to be spiritually open to the Lord’s voice. … The Church needs pastors, religious, missionaries and spouses capable of saying “yes” to the Lord with trust and hope.
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