Good Shepherd Sunday is the annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations. This custom began in 1963. It is a day set aside to pray for vocations to the priesthood and the permanent diaconate, as well as to the consecrated life, the vocation of priest, brother, or sister within a religious order that observes the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Sheep without shepherds. Jesus was distraught over the dismal quality of spiritual leadership during his time. When he looked out over the people, “his heart was moved for pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). So Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Mt 9:37; see Lk 10:2).
The laborers are few. The number of priests and religious has declined, there is a shortage, and there is a great need. Bishops are anxious because there are not enough priests to staff the parishes in their dioceses. Parishioners are anxious because parishes with multiple priests have been reduced, small parishes have been combined, and some parishes have gone without a priest. Priests are anxious because more duties have fallen on their shoulders.
Ask the master. Jesus promised that prayers for vocations would be effective, because if a person asks for a good thing, “It will be given to you” (Mt 7:7); and, “For everyone who asks, receives” (Mt 7:8); “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive” (Mt 21:22).
Pray for vocations. Prayer should be offered by the Church at its liturgies, and this can be easily done with a petition in the General Intercessions or a special prayer offered by the congregation after Holy Communion. A prayer for vocations can be offered before council, staff, faculty, and committee meetings. Vocation prayer cards can be placed on the inside cover of hymnals, in the pews, on tables at the entrances, and in the Eucharistic Adoration chapel.
Family prayer. It is also extremely important for families to pray at home together for vocations. Parents who pray for vocations encourage their own children to consider such a calling, and children who are reminded regularly about service to the Church are more likely to keep an open mind, be better able to hear the call, and be more inclined to respond favorably.
Priests, deacons, and religious, and prayer. It may seem obvious, but those who have accepted a religious vocation should pray for vocations. It is a sad phenomenon that some priests and religious have grown disenchanted with their own vocations, their religious superiors, their diocese or religious institute, or the Church, and do not pray for vocations and do not invite others to consider one. Statistically, over eighty percent of newly ordained priests report that a major element of their call was the personal invitation of a priest, but surveys of priests reveal that only thirty percent offer invitations. Parishioners should pray that their priests and religious would be more positively disposed and actively engaged in vocation promotion.
Once is not enough. The World Day of Prayer is a single day, and while it is important to pray for vocations on Good Shepherd Sunday, it is important to pray for vocations on other Sundays and weekdays, too. It is tremendously important to pray for vocations regularly.
