Continuing the mission of Jesus

On this 57th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, we offer this scheme of the Holy Hour of Prayer for Vocations, for those who wish to observe it. This scheme is proposed by the Vocation Ministry team of the Province of Peru. We hope it will be useful to you

Opening

Today we are gathered here to adore Jesus present in the Eucharist, to beg him, above all, for all of us here, for our life and our health. And, in a special way, for all the vocations of the Universal Church. Men and women who give their life to God to bring it to life and to proclaim it in the reality in which we live. 

(Setting: sandals, a bible, and a poster with the words: Continuing the mission of Christ)

Lord, You have come to the seashore / Neither searching for….. the rich nor the wise,…….. desiring only………..that I should follow

Refrain:

O Lord, with your eyes set upon me, / gently smiling, you have spoken my name;
all I longed for I have found by the water. At your side,……… I will seek other shores.

Lord, see my goods, my possessions; / in my boat you find…… no power, no wealth………….
Will you accept then…………my nets and labor?  (Refrain)

Lord,…….take my hands and direct them / Help me spend myself in seeking the lost,…….
returning love for……………..the love you gave me. (Refrain)

Lord,……….as I drift on the water, / . be the resting place……. of my restful heart,……..
my life’s companion,……….. my friend and refuge…………. (Refrain)

(The priest, deacon, or acolyte begins with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and introduces the period of adoration.)

Meditation period

Guide: The current crisis in which the world is facing has brought about the closing of many institutions, among which is the Church, to avoid the contagious slaughter of people because of Covid-19. Still, the fact that the building is closed does not mean that the church is closing off its horizons of love and evangelization, and so pastors, and religious women and men are continuing to proclaim—by means of concrete acts of charity, the internet, and other new platforms—the living word, full of hope and God’s divine power.

Let us pray today for all the vocations that serve the Church, in the Church, and for the Church, so that the Lord will continue to bless their lives and raise up, thanks to the witness of those women and men, new vocations ready to serve and love, all in the same manner.

(In a period of silence, those present are asked to beg God to bless and increase vocations for the Church. This period can be accompanied by instrumental music.)

Time to listen to the word of God

A reading of the Holy Gospel according to Mark (16:9-15)

9 When he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. 13 They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.

14 [But] later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. 15 He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

Period of reflection on the Word of God

Mark’s Gospel places us in the context of the apparitions of Jesus to his disciples. After appearing to the women, to the disciples at Emmaus, and finally to the eleven, Jesus entrusts them with a particular, important and unique mission: “to go all over the world and proclaim the Gospel.”

With this sentence the content of the mission is revealed: Christ. But in turn, it manifests itself to those proclaiming the good news: the disciples. Therefore, the disciples—male and female—become those who continue Christ’s mission on earth.

Today these disciples are in particular those who have received God’s call to consecrate themselves fully to him. Theirs is the task of bringing the message of life to all the earth. This consists in the fact that the Missioner, the consecrated person, priest or religious, has no further limits on their missions and their labors for Jesus Christ of the whole earth.

In the middle of Covid-19 this message continues to arrive through the numerous consecrated men and priests who, respecting the provisions of the state, continue to approach and witness to Christ in general. Today for these consecrated persons there are no limits and not even a single place, the whole world is an object of love. They have the task of reproducing the vocation of Jesus live.

(Moment of personal reflection in the light of the word of God)

Period of reflection on the magisterium

“Gratefully aware that the Father has so loved the world as to send his son to save it (Jn 3:16), we wish to continue his mission, since this is the reason for the Church and defines is identity more deeply” (DA 373)

How can I contribute to the continuation of the mission of Jesus on earth?

(A moment of silence)

“I hope that the Church will continue in this way of service of vocations, opening the gaps in the hearts of the faithful, so that each one might discover with gratitude the call of God in their own live, to find the courage to say ‘yes,’ to overcome fatigue with faith in Christ, and, finally, to offer their own lives as a song of praise to God, to their brothers and sisters, and to the whole world.” (Message of Pope France for the 57^th day of prayer for vocations, 8 March 2020)

Is my apostolate the seed of future vocations?

(Moment of silence)

“If each of us, through the mercy of Jesus, invites a young person to enter the Congregation, accompanying him with prayer and personal example, and supporting him directly or indirectly in the various stages of formation, our Little Company will grow in holiness and in its membership. This is possible, because nothing is impossible for Jesus.” 

(Letter of Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, C.M. – World day of vocations, 2020)

Do I spend time listing to and accompanying young people on their vocational search?

(Moment of silence)

Time to make our petitions to God

⇒As Christ, who gathered around himself his disciples to join with them in his evangelical preaching, may he also raise up in our days servants of his Gospel. We pray to the Lord.
⇒ That the Lord may enlighten the minds of young Christians and instill strength in them, so that many might dedicate themselves to the ministry and to consecrate their own lives to make him present among the faithful. We pray to the Lord.
⇒ That the Church may also take up with love the responsibility the duty of continuing the call of Jesus himself. We pray to the Lord.
⇒  That those who have attended to the call of the Lord for consecration in religious life or priestly ministry may not be discouraged by the temptations that can arise because of their weakness or the circumstances that surround them. We pray to the Lord.
⇒  That the witness of thousands of consecrated persons today in this time of pandemic may become the seed of vocations in the Church. We pray to the Lord.

(Other prayers may be added)

Closing benediction

The minister incenses the Blessed Sacrament while kneeling.
℣. You have given them bread from heaven, Alleluia.
℟. Having within it all delight, Alleluia.
Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist
as the memorial of your suffering and death.
May our worship of this sacrament
of your body and blood help us to experience
the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom,
where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God,
forever and ever. (Amen.)

Blessing with Blessed Sacrament

Divine Praises:

Blessed be God.
Blessed be his Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be his most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be his most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse
Blessed be God in his Angels and in his Saints.

(Song)

Vocation prayer of Saint Vincent de Paul:

To conclude, let us recite the prayer for vocations of Saint Vincent de Paul:

Lord, send Your Church good workers into your harvest,
but they should be really good ones;
send good Missioners, men such as they should be,
to work hard in Your vineyard;
persons, my God, truly detached from themselves,
their own ease and worldly goods;
they can be a smaller number, provided they’re good.
Lord, grant Your Church this grace, Amen.