|
Date: 2006-04-12
Vocation in the Mystery of the Church
Venerable Brethren in the Episcopate,
Dearest Brothers and Sisters,
The celebration of the coming World Day of Prayer for Vocations gives me
the opportunity to invite the entire People of God to meditate the theme
Vocation in the mystery of the Church. The Apostle Paul writes: "Blessed
be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... even as he chose us in
him before the foundation of the world ... He destined us in love to be
his sons through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:3-5). Before the creation of
the world, before our coming into existence, the heavenly Father chose
us personally, calling us to enter a filial relationship with Him,
through Jesus, the Incarnate Word, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit. Dying for us, Jesus introduced us into the mystery of the
Father's love, a love which completely embraces his Son and which He
offers to all of us. In this way, united with Jesus, the Head, we form a
sole body, the Church.
The weight of two millennia of history makes it difficult to grasp the
novelty of this wonderful mystery of divine adoption, which is at the
center of St. Paul's teaching. The Father, as the Apostle reminds us,
"has made known to us the mystery of his will ..., as a plan to unite
all things in him" (Ephesians 1:9-10). And he adds, with enthusiasm: "In
everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called
according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:28-29).
The concept is indeed wonderful: We are called to live as brothers and
sisters of Jesus, to feel that we are sons and daughters of the same
Father. This is a gift that overturns every merely human idea and plan.
The confession of the true faith opens wide our minds and hearts to the
inexhaustible mystery of God, which permeates human existence. What
should be said therefore of the temptation, which is very strong
nowadays, to feel that we are self-sufficient to the point that we close
ourselves to the mysterious plan of God for us? It is the love of the
Father, which is revealed in the person of Christ, which puts this
question to us.
In order to answer the call of God and start on our journey, it is not
necessary to be already perfect. We know that the awareness of his own
sin allowed the prodigal son to start on his return journey and thus
feel the joy of reconciliation with the Father. Weaknesses and human
limits do not present obstacles, as long as they help us to make us more
aware of the fact that we need the redeeming grace of Christ. This is
the experience of St. Paul who confessed: "I will all the more gladly
boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2
Corinthians 12:9). In the mystery of the Church, the mystical Body of
Christ, the divine power of love changes the heart of man, making him
able to communicate the love of God to his brethren. Down the centuries
many men and women, transformed by divine love, have consecrated their
own existences to the cause of the Kingdom.
Already on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, many allowed themselves to
be conquered by Jesus: They were in search of healing in body or spirit,
and they were touched by the power of his grace. Others were chosen
personally by Him and became his apostles. We also find persons, like
Mary Magdalene and other women, who followed him on their own
initiative, simply out of love. Like the disciple John, they too found a
special place in his heart. These men and women, who, through Jesus,
knew the mystery of the love of the Father, represent the variety of
vocations which have always been present in the Church. The model of one
who is called to give witness in a particular manner to the love of God,
is Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who, in her pilgrimage of faith, is
directly associated with the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption.
In Christ, the Head of the Church, which is his Body, all Christians
form "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own
people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him" (1 Peter 2:9).
The Church is holy, even if her members need to be purified, in order
that holiness, which is a gift of God, can shine in them with its full
splendor. The Second Vatican Council highlights the universal call to
holiness, when it affirms: "The followers of Christ are called by God,
not because of their works, but according to his own purpose and grace.
They are justified in the Lord Jesus, because in the Baptism of faith
they truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature. In this
way, they are really made holy" ("Lumen Gentium," No. 40).
Within the framework of this universal call, Christ, the High Priest, in
his solicitude for the Church, then calls, in every generation, persons
who are to take care of his people; in particular, he calls to the
ministerial priesthood men who are to exercise a fatherly role, whose
source is the very fatherhood of God (cf. Ephesians 3:14). The mission
of the priest in the Church cannot be substituted. Therefore, even if in
some regions there is a scarcity of clergy, it should never be doubted
that Christ continues to raise up men who, like the Apostles, leaving
behind all other work, dedicate themselves completely to the celebration
of the sacred mysteries, to the preaching of the Gospel and to the
pastoral ministry.
In the apostolic exhortation "Pastores Dabo Vobis," my venerated
Predecessor John Paul II wrote in this regard: "The relation of the
priest to Jesus Christ, and in him to his Church, is found in the very
being of the priest by virtue of his sacramental consecration/anointing
and in his activity, that is, in his mission or ministry. In particular,
'the priest minister is the servant of Christ present in the Church as
mystery, communion and mission. In virtue of his participation in the
"anointing" and "mission" of Christ, the priest can continue Christ's
prayer, word, sacrifice and salvific action in the Church. In this way,
the priest is a servant of the Church as mystery because he actuates the
Church's sacramental signs of the presence of the risen Christ'" (No.
16).
Another special vocation, which occupies a place of honor in the Church,
is the call to the consecrated life. Following the example of Mary of
Bethany who "sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching" (Luke
10:39), many men and women consecrate themselves to a total and
exclusive following of Christ. Although they offer different kinds of
services in the field of human formation and the care of the poor, in
teaching or in assisting the sick, they do not consider these activities
as the principal aim of their life, since, as the Code of Canon Law well
underlines, "The first and foremost duty of all religious is to be the
contemplation of divine things and assiduous union with God in prayer"
(Canon 663 §1).
Moreover, in the apostolic exhortation "Vita Consecrata" John Paul II
noted: "In the Church's tradition religious profession is considered to
be a special and fruitful deepening of the consecration received in
Baptism, inasmuch as it is the means by which the close union with
Christ already begun in Baptism develops in the gift of a fuller, more
explicit and authentic configuration to him through the profession of
the evangelical counsels" (No. 30).
Remembering the counsel of Jesus: "The harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37), we acknowledge the great need
to pray for vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. It
is not surprising that, where people pray fervently, vocations blossom.
The holiness of the Church depends essentially on union with Christ and
on being open to the mystery of grace that operates in the heart of the
Christians.
Therefore, I should like to invite all the faithful to nurture an
intimate relationship with Christ, the Teacher and Pastor of his people,
imitating Mary who kept the divine mysteries in her heart and meditated
them diligently (cf. Luke 2:19). Together with her, who occupies a
central position in the mystery of the Church, we pray:
O Father, raise up among Christians
numerous and holy vocations to the priesthood, to keep the faith alive
and guard the gracious memory of your Son Jesus through the preaching of
his word and the administration of the Sacraments, with which you
continually renew your faithful.
Give us holy ministers of your altar,
who are careful and fervent guardians of the Eucharist, the sacrament of
the supreme gift of Christ for the redemption of the world.
Call ministers of your mercy,
who, through the sacrament of Reconciliation, spread the joy of your
forgiveness.
Grant, O Father, that the Church may welcome with joy numerous
inspirations of the Spirit of your Son and, docile to His teachings, may
she care for vocations to the ministerial priesthood and to the
consecrated life.
Sustain the Bishops, priests and deacons, consecrated men and women, and
all the baptized in Christ, so that they may faithfully fulfill their
mission at the service of the Gospel.
This we pray You through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us.
From the Vatican, March 5, 2006
Benedict XVI
 JP II on Vocations |
