With Sunday, April 25th being the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis issued a message on the Feast of Saint Joseph, March 19th, that is entitled "Saint Joseph: The Dream of Vocation".
He says: "God looks upon the heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7), and in Saint Joseph he recognized the heart of a father, able to give and generate life in the midst of daily routines. Vocations have the same goal: to beget and renew lives every day."
He then suggests three words that are found in the life of Joseph that speak of each individual vocation. The first is dream. Everyone dreams of finding fulfillment in life. "We rightly nurture great hopes, lofty aspirations that ephemeral goals - like success, money and entertainment - cannot satisfy." Joseph received four dreams recorded in the gospels. They were calls from God that required Joseph to change his plans and take a risk. He did so with complete trust, because of his deep faith.
Pope Francis mentions a second word marking Joseph's vocation: service. He lived entirely for others and never for himself. Not only Mary and Jesus, his family, but the whole Church which is the family of his family. His service and sacrifices were possible because "they were sustained by a greater love". They became for him "a rule for daily life".
And thirdly Joseph was and is a "protector" - of Jesus and of his Church, and a protector of vocations. His willingness to serve leads to his desire to protect. Speaking of priestly vocations, Pope Francis says: "What a beautiful example of Christian life we give when we refuse to pursue our ambitions or indulge in our illusions, but instead care for what the Lord has entrusted to us through the Church! God then pours out his Spirit and creativity upon us; he works wonders in us, as did in Joseph."
These three words and their development in the words of Pope Francis speak to my heart. May Saint Joseph, protector of vocations, accompany us with his fatherly heart. Pray for vocations ... and pray to Saint Joseph.
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