39. In carrying out her prophetic role, the Church feels
herself irrevocably committed to the task of proclaiming and witnessing to the
Christian meaning of vocation, or as we might say, to "the Gospel of
vocation." Here too, she feels the urgency of the apostle's exclamation:
"Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Cor. 9:16) This
admonishment rings out especially for us who are pastors but, together with us,
it touches all educators in the Church. Preaching and catechesis must always show
their intrinsic vocational dimension: The word of God enlightens believers to
appreciate life as a response to God's call and leads them to embrace in faith
the gift of a personal vocation.
But all this, however important and even essential, is not
enough: We need a "direct preaching on the mystery of vocation in the
Church, on the value of the ministerial priesthood, on God's
people's."(10) A properly structured catechesis, directed to all the
members of the Church, in addition to dissipating doubts and countering one -
sided or distorted ideas about priestly ministry, will open believers' hearts
to expect the gift and create favorable conditions for the birth of new
vocations. The time has come to speak courageously about priestly life as a
priceless gift and a splendid and privileged form of Christian living.
Educators, and priests in particular, should not be afraid to set forth
explicitly and forcefully the priestly vocation as a real possibility for those
young people who demonstrate the necessary gifts and talents.
There should be
no fear that one is thereby conditioning them or limiting their freedom; quite
the contrary, a clear invitation, made at the right time, can be decisive in
eliciting from young people a free and genuine response. Besides, the history
of the Church and that of many individual priests whose vocations blossomed at
a young age bear ample witness to how providential the presence and
conversation of a priest can be: not only his words, but his very presence, a
concrete and joyful witness which can raise questions and lead to decisions,
even definitive ones.
40. As a kingly people, the Church sees herself rooted in
and enlivened by "the law of the Spirit of life" (Rom. 8:2), which is
essentially the royal law of charity (cf. Jas. 2:8) or the perfect law of
freedom (cf. Jas. 1:25 ). Therefore,
the Church fulfills her mission when she guides every member of the faithful to
discover and live his or her own vocation in freedom and to bring it to
fulfillment in charity.
In carrying out her educational role, the Church aims with
special concern at developing in children, adolescents and young men a desire
and a will to follow Jesus Christ in a total and attractive way. This
educational work, while addressed to the Christian community as such, must also
be aimed at the individual person: Indeed, God with his call reaches the call
of each individual, and the Spirit, who abides deep within
From this point of view, the pastoral work of promoting vocations
to the priesthood will also be able to find expression in a firm and
encouraging invitation to spiritual direction. It is necessary to rediscover
the great tradition of personage spiritual guidance which has always brought
great and precious fruits to the Church's life. In certain cases and under
precise conditions this work can be assisted, but not replaced, by forms of
analysis or psychological help.(111) Children, adolescents and young men are
invited to discover and appreciate the gift of spiritual direction, to look for
it and experience it, and to ask for it with trusting insistence from those who
are their educators in the faith. Priests, for their part, should be the first
to devote time and energies to this work of education and personal spiritual
guidance: They will never regret having neglected or put in second place so
many other things which are themselves good and useful, if this proved
necessary for them to be faithful to their ministry as cooperators of the
Spirit in enlightening and guiding those who have been called.
The aim of education for a Christian is to attain the
"stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13 ) under the influence of the Spirit. This happens when,
imitating and sharing Christ's charity, a person turns his entire life into an
act of loving service (cf. Jn. 13:14 -15),
offering to God a spiritual worship acceptable to him (cf. Rom . 12:1) and
giving himself to his brothers and sisters. The service of love is the
fundamental meaning of every vocation, and it finds a specific expression in
the priestly vocation. Indeed, a priest is called to live out, as radically as
possible, the pastoral charity of Jesus, the love of the good shepherd who
"lays down his life for the sheep" (Jn. 10:11 ).
Consequently, an authentic pastoral work on behalf of
vocations will never tire of training boys, adolescents and young men to
appreciate commitment, the meaning of free service, the value of sacrifice and
unconditional self - giving. In this context it is easy to see the great value of
forms of volunteer work, which so many young people are growing to appreciate.
If volunteer work is inspired by the Gospel values, capable of training people
to discern true needs, lived with dedication and faithfulness each day, open to
the possibility of a total commitment in consecrated life and nourished in
prayer, then it will be more readily able to sustain a life of disinterested
and free commitment and will make the one involved in it more sensitive to the
voice of God who may be calling him to the priesthood. Unlike the rich young
man, the person involved in volunteer work would be able to accept the
invitation lovingly addressed to him by Jesus (cf. Mk. 10:21); and he would be
able to accept it because his only wealth now consists in giving himself to
others and in "losing" his life.
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