"GREAT HOPE"

It is my great hope that ... all the baptized may experience the joy of belonging to the Church and rediscover that the Christian vocation ... is born from within the People of God, and is a gift of divine mercy.

"THE HOUSE OF MERCY"

The Church is the house of mercy, and it is the "soil" where vocations take root, mature and bear fruit.

GOD'S CALL

The call of God comes to us by means of a mediation which is communal. God calls us to become a part of the Church, and after we have reached a certain maturity within it, He bestows on us a specific vocation.

CALLED FOR THE CHURCH

From the moment a vocation begins to become evident, it is necessary to have an adequate "sense" of the Church. No one is called exclusively for a particular region, or for a group or for an ecclesial movement, but rather for the Church and for the world.

ALWAYS PRESENT

The Christian community is always present in the discernment of vocations, in their formation and in their perseverance...

SERVING THE CHURCH

The one who has consecrated his life to the Lord is willing to serve the Church where ever it has need... Missionaries are accompanied and sustained by the Christian community...

MOTHER CHURCH

The motherhood of the Church finds expression in constant prayer for vocations and in the work of educating and accompanying all those who perceive God's call, ... through a careful selection of candidates for the ordained ministry and for the consecrated life, ... in her continual support of those who have dedicated their lives to the service of others.

"DEEP SENSE OF BELONGING"

We ask the Lord to grant to all those who are on a vocational journey a deep sense of belonging to the Church; and that the Holy Spirit may strengthen among Pastors, and all of the faithful, a deeper sense of communion, discernment and spiritual fatherhood and motherhood.

OUR PRAYER

Father of mercy, who gave Your Son for our salvation and who strengthens us always with the gifts of Your Spirit, grant us Christian communities which are alive, fervent and joyous, which are fonts of fraternal life, and which nurture in the young the desire to consecrate themselves to You and to the work of evangelization. Sustain these communities in their commitment to offer appropriate vocational catechesis and ways of proceeding towards each one's particular consecration. Grant the wisdom needed for vocational discernment, so that ... Your merciful love may shine forth...