After the lively and
fruitful experience
of the Synod devoted
to young people last
October, we recent-
ly celebrated the Thirty-fourth
World Youth Day in Panama City.
These two great events allowed the
Church to be attentive both to the
voice of the Spirit and to the life of
young men and women, their ques-
tions and concerns, their problems
and their hopes.
Building on what I shared with
the young people in Panama, I
would like to reflect, on this World
Day of Prayer for Vocations, on
how the Lord’s call makes us bear-
ers of a promise and, at the same
time, asks of us the courage to take
a risk, with him and for him. I will
do this by reflecting briefly with
you on these two aspects – promise
and risk – as they appear in the
Gospel account of the calling of the
first disciples by the sea of Galilee
(Mk 1:16-20).
Two pairs of brothers – Simon
and Andrew, and James and John
– are going about their daily tasks
as fishermen. In this demanding
work, they had learned the laws
of nature, yet at times, when the
winds were adverse and waves
shook their boats, they had to defy
the elements. On some days, the
catch of fish amply repaid their
efforts, but on others, an entire
night’s work was not sufficient
to fill their nets, and they had to
return to shore weary and disap-
pointed.
Much of life is like that. Each of
us tries to realize his or her deepest
desires; we engage in activities that
we hope will prove enriching, and
we put out on a “sea” of possibilities
in the hope of steering the right
course, one that will satisfy our
thirst for happiness. Sometimes we
enjoy a good catch, while at others,
we need courage to keep our boat
from being tossed by the waves, or
we are frustrated at seeing our nets
come up empty.
As with every call, the Gospel
speaks of an encounter. Jesus walks
by, sees those fishermen, and walks
up to them… The same thing
happened when we met the person
we wanted to marry, or when we
first felt the attraction of a life of
consecration: we were surprised by
an encounter, and at that moment
we glimpsed the promise of a joy
capable of bringing fulfilment to
our lives. That day, by the sea of
Galilee, Jesus drew near to those
fishermen, breaking through the
“paralysis of routine” (Homily for
the XXII World Day for Consecrat-
ed Life, 2 February 2018). And he
immediately made them a promise:
“I will make you fishers of men”
(Mk1:17).
The Lord’s call is not an intrusion
of God in our freedom; it is not a
“cage” or a burden to be borne. On
the contrary, it is the loving initi-
ative whereby God encounters us
and invites us to be part of a great
undertaking. He opens before our
eyes the horizon of a greater sea
and an abundant catch.
God in fact desires that our lives
not become banal and predictable,
imprisoned by daily routine, or
unresponsive before decisions that
could give it meaning. The Lord
does not want us to live from day
to day, thinking that nothing is
worth fighting for, slowly losing
our desire to set out on new and
exciting paths. If at times he makes
us experience a “miraculous catch”,
it is because he wants us to discover
that each of us is called – in a vari-
ety of ways – to something grand,
and that our lives should not grow
entangled in the nets of an ennui
that dulls the heart. Every vocation
is a summons not to stand on the
shore, nets in hand, but to follow
Jesus on the path he has marked
out for us, for our own happiness
and for the good of those around
us.
Embracing this promise nat-
urally demands the courage to
risk making a decision. The first
disciples, called by Jesus to be part
of something greater, “immedi-
ately left their nets and followed
him” (Mk 1:18). Responding to
the Lord’s call involves putting
ourselves on the line and facing
a great challenge. It means being
ready to leave behind whatever
would keep us tied to our little
boat and prevent us from making
a definitive choice. We are called
to be bold and decisive in seeking
God’s plan for our lives. Gazing
out at the vast “ocean” of vocation,
we cannot remain content to repair
our nets on the boat that gives us
security, but must trust instead in
the Lord’s promise.
I think primarily of the call to
the Christian life which all of us
received at Baptism. It teaches us
that our life is not a fluke but rather
a gift: that of being God’s beloved
children, gathered in the great
family of the Church. It is precisely
in the ecclesial community that the
Christian life is born and develops,
especially through the liturgy. The
liturgy introduces us to God’s word
and the grace of the sacraments;
from an early age, we are taught the
art of prayer and fraternal shar-
ing. In the end, the Church is our
mother because she brings us to
new life and leads us to Christ. So
we must love her, even when we see
her face marred by human frailty
and sin, and we must help to make
her ever more beautiful and radi-
ant, so that she can bear witness to
God’s love in the world.
The Christian life thus finds
expression in those decisions that,
while giving a precise direction
to our personal journey, also
contribute to the growth of God’s
kingdom in our world. I think of
the decision to marry in Christ and
to form a family, as well as all those
other vocations associated with
work and professional life, with
the commitment to charity and
solidarity, with social and politi-
cal responsibilities, and so forth.
These vocations make us bearers
of a promise of goodness, love and
justice, not only for ourselves but
also for our societies and cultures,
which need courageous Christians
and authentic witnesses of the
kingdom of God.
In encountering the Lord, some
may feel the attraction of a call to
the consecrated life or to the or-
dained priesthood. It is a discovery
that can excite and at the same time
frighten us, since we feel called
to become “fishers of men” in the
barque of the Church by giving
totally of ourselves in commitment
to faithful service of the Gospel
and our brothers and sisters. Such
a decision carries the risk of leaving
everything behind to follow the
Lord, to devote ourselves complete-
ly to him, and to share in his work.
Many kinds of interior resistance
can stand in the way of making
this decision, especially in highly
secularized contexts where there no
longer seems to be a place for God
and for the Gospel. Places where it
is easy to grow discouraged and fall
into the “weariness of hope” (Hom-
ily at Mass with Priests, Consecrat-
ed Persons and Lay Movements,
Panama, 26 January 2019).
And yet, there can be no great-
er joy than to risk one’s life for
the Lord! I would like to say this
especially to you, the young. Do
not be deaf to the Lord’s call. If
he calls you to follow this path, do
not pull your oars into the boat,
but trust him. Do not yield to fear,
which paralyzes us before the great
heights to which the Lord points
us. Always remember that to those
who leave their nets and boat
behind, and follow him, the Lord
promises the joy of a new life that
can fill our hearts and enliven our
journey.
Dear friends, it is not always easy
to discern our vocation and to steer
our life in the right direction. For
this reason, there needs to be a
renewed commitment on the part
of the whole Church – priests,
religious, pastoral workers and ed-
ucators – to provide young people
in particular with opportunities for
listening and discernment. There
is a need for a youth ministry
and a vocational promotion that
can open the way to discovering
God’s plan, above all through
prayer, meditation on God’s word,
eucharistic adoration and spiritual
accompaniment.
As was made clear several times
during the World Youth Day in
Panama, we should always look
to Mary. Also in the story of this
young woman, vocation was both
a promise and a risk. Her mission
was not easy, yet she did not allow
fear to prevail. “It was the ‘yes’ of
someone prepared to be commit-
ted, someone willing to take a risk,
ready to stake everything she had,
with no more security than the
certainty of knowing that she was
the bearer of a promise. I ask each
one of you: Do you see yourselves
as bearers of a promise? What
promise do I bear within my heart
to take forward? Mary’s would
undoubtedly be a difficult mission,
but the challenges that lay ahead
were no reason to say ‘no’. Things
would get complicated, of course,
but not in the same way as happens
when cowardice paralyzes us be-
cause things are not clear or sure in
advance” (Vigil with Young People,
Panama, 26 January 2019).
On this World Day of Prayer for
Vocations, let us join in prayer and
ask the Lord to help us discover his
plan of love for our lives, and to
grant us the courage to walk in the
path that, from the beginning, he
