The Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. The Gospel presents Jesus Christ as the shepherd who calls and gathers his sheep, knows them by name, cares for them, guides and leads them to fresh pastures, searches for the lost sheep and, in his Paschal immolation, gives his life for his sheep.
On March 3, we also celebrated the World Day of Prayer for Religious Vocations. In it Pope Francis reminds us that, in the saving task born of the paschal mystery, the Good Shepherd needs collaborators.
In his universal prayer intention, the Pope Francis asks to pray for priests "so that with the sobriety and humility of their lives, they may engage in active solidarity, especially towards the poorest".
Through humble human instrumentsThe Lord must continue preaching, sanctifying, forgiving sins, healing physical and moral wounds, consoling the sad, teaching the ignorant and accompanying those who feel alone and abandoned. These are the different vocations that the Spirit raises up in his Church to continue fulfilling the mission of the Good Shepherd, living like him in chastity, poverty and obedience, at the service of the People of God.
With this prayer for vocations we thank God for the life and witness of so many priests and consecrated men and women who in pastoral ministry, in prayer, in the work and silence of the cloister, in service to the poor and marginalized, in accompanying the sick and elderly and in the Catholic school are generously spending their lives in the service of God and their brothers and sisters.
The wealth brought to the Church by the gift of the gift of the priestly ministry and consecrated life in its multiple charisms and institutions.
It commits us to think that behind every priestly vocation, there is another call from the Lord to each one of us, Christians, asking for personal effort to ensure the means for their formation and our prayer for their vocation.
Each year at CARF we have more than 800 priests, seminarians and religious who need our help. training assistance. They come from more than 100 countries and are being trained in prestigious institutions in Pamplona and Rome in order to help their communities live a better and fuller life.
CARF and its benefactors, understand the importance of the importance of prayer. Although they do not ask for it, they need your prayers to be comforted and to continue their mission. Therefore, on the web you can personalize your prayer for vocations.
You can also help the Foundation to promote the habit of praying for vocations among your friends and acquaintances. You can do so at order online a pack to pray for priests that will make this mission easier for you.
The church and priests need more committed people like you. With your effort and joy, we will be able to increasing the number of scholarships and benefiting more priests to make this a better world.
All the scholarships we offer are destined to a particular priest and you will always have access to his image, name and surname so that you can put his name and surname on your scholarship. Face your Donation and you can pray for him and him for you and your family throughout the year.
May we accompany them on this Day and always with affection and prayer that they may be faithful to the call they have received and that the Lord may grant us many, holy and generous vocations for the glory of God and the good of the Church.
Lord Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament,
that you wanted to perpetuate yourself among us
through your Priests,
make their words yours alone,
that their gestures are your gestures,
may his life be a true reflection of yours.
Let them be the men who speak to God about men.
and speak to the men of God.
They should not be afraid of service,
serving the Church as she wants to be served.
May they be men, witnesses of the eternal in our time,
walking along the paths of history with your same step
and doing good to all.
Be faithful to their commitments,
zealous of their vocation and dedication,
clear mirrors of one's own identity
and may they live with the joy of the gift received.
I ask this through your Mother Holy Mary:
She who was present in your life
will always be present in the life of your priests, Amen.
With the collaboration of: Mr. Juan José Asenjo Pelegrina
