Nurturing a Priestly Vocation

I have posted about this topic on a few occasions in the time I've been blogging. As the mother of a devout Catholic son, I want to encourage my son to be open to God's calling to the priesthood, should he received it. I have to be careful though not to make him feel I am forcing him into a vocation other than what God wants for him. I don't want him to do it for me because I want a son who's a priest.

What do I do? I pray every single day for this intention. I pray especially during the Consecration at daily Mass. More vocations to the priesthood is my main intention when we are at Adoration and I pray especially for my son. I also ask every priest I meet to pray for my son's vocation.

But I want to share with you what the father of a priest advises us to do. It is an email he shared with my friend Easter and posted on her new blog:

Advice of a Father Whose Son is a Priest

The following is the Diocesan Prayer for Vocations

Heavenly Father,
Your divine Son taught us
to pray to the Lord of the harvest
to send laborers into His vineyard.

We earnestly beg you
to bless our Diocese and our world
with many priests, deacons, and religious
who will love You fervently and gladly
and courageously spend their lives
in service to Your Son's Church,
especially the poor and the needy.

Bless our families and our children,
and choose from our homes
those whom you desire for this holy work.
Teach them to respond generously
and keep them every faithful
in following Your Son Jesus Christ,
that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit
and with the inspiration of
Blessed Damien and Blessed Marianne
the God News of redemption
may be brought to all.

We ask this through Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Vocations Office, Diocese of Honolulu
1184 Bishop Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
808-585-3343
manao@rcchawaii.org
vocations.catholichawaii.org