Today is world day of prayer for vocations. We have long believed that the best advertisement for vocations are happy religious.
Go to Live + Jesus for just some examples of this.
Though I would go farther and say the best advertisement for vocations is joyous Catholics, whether they be ordained, consecrated, or of the laity.
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Benedict XVI ordained 22 men on Sunday in St. Peter’s Basilica, including the son of the man who has been the Vatican’s official photographer for decades.
Juan Carlos Mari was ordained as a member of the Legionaries of Christ, a conservative religious order, the order said. His father Arturo has been taking photographs of pontiffs on pilgrimages and during ceremonies for decades for the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. The elder Mari was among the faithful in the pews on Sunday.
Benedict called for prayers for the new priests to persevere in their ministry and remain faithful.
He also asked for prayers for more vocations for the priesthood. The Catholic Church has seen candidates for the priesthood decline in parts of the West, and far-flung parishes in developing countries are sometimes short of priests.
Papal Message for Day of Prayer for Vocations "Consecrated Life Is at the Service of This Communion"
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Our priest has the Elect do this on Easter Vigil. It is also very moving.
I still say that until we begin to uphold and pray for the strengthening of the vocation of marriage we will continue to see a crisis in the number of men entering the priesthood. When more couples view their marriage as a vocation they will be less likely to to be selfish about the need for grandchildren or whatever holds them back from freely offering their sons the choice of priestly vocation.