Bishop Cullinan welcomes Pope Francis' message for Vocations Sunday

The Waterford and Lismore diocese, which stretches into Tipperary, says that this year’s message is full of wonderful imagery which tries to capture the essence of vocation to priesthood and religious life

The 2022 World Day of Prayer for Vocations will be celebrated this Sunday, 8 May. Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore and Chair of the Bishops’ Council for Vocations, will celebrate the Mass at 11.00am and it will be broadcast from the RTÉ studios in Donnybrook, Dublin, on RTÉ One Television, on RTÉ Radio One Extra/LW252.

Pope Francis has chosen the theme ‘Called to Build the Human Family’ for his message for Vocations Sunday. Welcoming the message Bishop Cullinan said, “Pope Francis is encouraging all of us to be part of making God’s dream come true. He is asking us all to give the very best of ourselves. He reminds us that as Christians we do not only receive a vocation individually but that we are called together “like the tiles of a mosaic”.

“Pope Francis uses this year’s Vocations Sunday message to remind all clergy and religious that we are called to be involved in the Church’s mission, to be guardians of one another and of creation; to welcome God’s gaze; to respond to God’s gaze; and to build a fraternal world.

“This year’s message is full of wonderful imagery which tries to capture the essence of vocation to priesthood and religious life but which also captures the vocation at the heart of every lay person. Pope Francis said,

‘The word “vocation” should not be understood restrictively, as referring simply to those who follow the Lord through a life of special consecration. All of us are called to share in Christ’s mission to reunite a fragmented humanity and to reconcile it with God. Each man and woman, even before encountering Christ and embracing the Christian faith, receives with the gift of life a fundamental calling: each of us is a creature willed and loved by God; each of us has a unique and special place in the mind of God. At every moment of our lives, we are called to foster this divine spark, present in the heart of every man and woman, and thus contribute to the growth of a humanity inspired by love and mutual acceptance. We are called to be guardians of one another, to strengthen the bonds of harmony and sharing, and to heal the wounds of creation lest its beauty be destroyed. In a word, we are called to become a single family in the marvellous common home of creation, in the reconciled diversity of its elements. In this broad sense, not only individuals have a “vocation”, but peoples, communities and groups of various kinds as well.’

Bishop Cullinan

“I encourage the faithful to read the Holy Father’s message and to pray for vocations, synodality and harmony in our Church.”

Preparations for the Vocations Sunday Mass are being coordinated by Sister Moira Bergin of the National Centre for Liturgy, Maynooth and by Father Willie Purcell, National Coordinator for Diocesan Vocations.

Commenting ahead of the Mass Father Willie Purcell, National Coordinator for Diocesan Vocations, said, “Vocations Sunday invites us to join with the whole world in praying for vocations to the diocesan priesthood and religious life. Every vocation is missionary, and is lived out in witnessing to the unconditional love of God in our lives expressed in our service of those whom we are called to minister to. Vocations Sunday offers the timeless invitation to ‘listen to the voice of the Lord’ (John 10:27) and to discern the call of God to priesthood and religious life. As we continue to walk together on the Synodal Pathway, Vocations Sunday offers us all an opportunity to be part of the renewal of the Church at this time as a priest, sister and brother.”