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Prayers for the Vocation
June 10, 2007
This week in The Tidings, the cover story is an article about the recent ordination on June 2 of the five new priests to serve the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The number of priests ordained each year is always a reminder of the need to keep alive the efforts and prayers for increasing priestly vocations. Last year, Cardinal Mahony declared a Year of Prayer for Priestly Vocations, encouraging the faithful and parishes of Los Angeles to focus their attention and prayers on the priest shortage.
TIME has an article this week about the new push of the Chicago Archdiocese to recruit more vocations to the priesthood from within their region:
Beginning July 1, the church will launch a drive to find more of them, using the 500 or so active priests across the city and suburbs to help spread the word. Roughly a dozen full or part-time priests will work Chicago’s 80 neighborhoods and northern suburbs much like recruiters for the police or fire or any business group would. Schools will be visited in the 364 local parishes, as well as public and private institutions, colleges and universities and career fairs, as the archdiocese looks to reverse a trend in which, currently, about 90% of all seminary freshman drop out.
While many diocese have active campaigns that use the Internet, TV ads and other marketing strategies, the Archdiocese of Chicago has appointed a vocation director and will use more direct, one on one approaches to personally invited men to consider their calling to the priesthood.
Read More:
- The Tidings - New priests: ‘The spirit of the Lord is upon them’
- TIME - The Search for Homegrown Priests
Prayer for Priestly Vocations
Father, in every generation you provide
ministers of Christ and the Church.
We come before you now, asking that you
call forth more men to serve our Archdiocese
in the ministerial priesthood.
Give us priests who will lead and guide
your holy people gathered by Word and Sacrament.
Bless us with priestly vocations so that we can continue
to be a truly Eucharistic Church,
strengthened in our discipleship of Jesus Christ,
your Only Son.
Raise up, we pray, men who are generous in their service,
willing to offer their lives and all their gifts
for your greater glory and for the good of your people.
We make our prayer in the presence and power
of the Holy Spirit, through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
Topics: Vocations |