WASHINGTON—The
Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation
Awareness Week, November 4-10. This annual event is a special time for
parishes in the U.S. to foster a culture of vocations for the
priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life.

Pope
Francis, in his message for the 2018 World Day of Vocations, emphasized
that it is at the loving initiative of God, and by His personal
encounter with each of us, that one is called. “Even amid these troubled
times, the mystery of the Incarnation reminds us that God continually
comes to encounter us. He is God-with-us, who walks along the often
dusty paths of our lives. He knows our anxious longing for love and he
calls us to joy. In the diversity and the uniqueness of each and every
vocation, personal and ecclesial, there is a need to listen, discern and
live this word that calls to us from on high and, while enabling us to
develop our talents, makes us instruments of salvation in the world and
guides us to full happiness.”
National
Vocation Awareness Week, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, is
designed to help promote vocation awareness and to encourage young
people to ask the question: “To what vocation in life is God calling
me?” Parish and school communities across the nation are encouraged to
include, during the first week in November, special activities that
focus on vocation awareness and provide opportunities for prayerful
discernment.

Contemporary
society is all too often saturated by constant activity and noise, so
it is important this week to encourage young discerners to take time for
silent, contemplative prayer. Results of studies conducted by the
Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), notes that 72% of
those ordained to the Priesthood or solemnly professed within the last
year cited participation in Eucharistic Adoration as a prayer experience
that proved influential in their discernment. Cardinal Joseph Tobin,
Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and
Vocations echoes this finding, stating: “Quiet reflection and prayer are
essential elements for vocational discernment. It is in the interior
depths of our heart where we hear the voice of Christ, where he speaks
to us, and where he reveals his will for our lives.”
Observance
of Vocation Awareness Week began in 1976 when the U.S. bishops
designated the 28th Sunday of the year for the celebration. It was later
moved to the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January. The USCCB
Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations moved the observance
of National Vocation Awareness Week to November to engage Catholic
schools and colleges more effectively in this effort.

More
information and resources for National Vocation Awareness Week,
including a prayer card, suggested prayers of the faithful and
bulletin-ready quotes are available online at: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/national-vocation-awareness-week.cfm

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Keywords:
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Cardinal Joseph Tobin,
Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, Pope Francis,
vocations, National Vocation Awareness Week, priesthood, religious life,
consecrated life, religious, vocation, Catholic education, ministry,
prayer, Synod 2018, World Day of Vocations

Media Contact:

Judy Keane

202-541-3200

Source:: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops