ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Praised be Jesus Christ! What a great joy for me to be here with you this evening, here at Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Parish, here with our Eucharistic Lord Jesus Christ, gathered together in His name to pray especially for an increase in vocations to the Diocesan Priesthood! I thank your pastor, Monsignor Ricci, for hosting this Holy Hour. I am grateful for the presence of my brother priests, deacons, Matthew Brody, our seminarian from this parish, and all of you.

Yesterday, the Church celebrated with great joy the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It was there on the banks of the Jordan river that a beautiful revelation of God took place. It was there that we heard for the first time the Father’s voice from heaven, declaring Jesus to be His Beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased. The heavens were opened, on that day, and the Holy Spirit was made visible in the form of a dove. By these signs it was made clear to everyone that Jesus was more than an ordinary human being. He is indeed the Christ, the Son of God the Father. He is true God and true man! So great was this revelation of the Father that day at the river Jordan that we still marvel at what took place there! And yet, just as great, for you and me tonight, is the continuing mystery of the Baptism we share in Jesus.

Dear friends: it is the gift of our Baptism that launches us deeply into the mystery of God’s call, the mystery of our vocation, indeed the mystery of our Christian lives. Through our Baptism we share in a divine calling to be children of God, sons and daughters of the Father, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. This is our call in life. It is our fundamental vocation, our identity in Christ.

It is in the context of Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan that the Church in the United States celebrates this week, Vocation Awareness Week. It is a week in which we are called to be aware of the Father’s Voice, of His call in our lives, a week in which we are invited to hear not only the Father’s word spoken to Jesus, but Jesus’ word spoken to us. Jesus’ word provides direction, guidance and formation to those who have lost their way, and to all who are constantly seeking the way of the Lord.

Dear friends: Jesus is inviting all of us here tonight to trust in His mercy and love, to trust in God’s love for us, to trust that God has a plan for us, and that this plan will bring us great joy and fulfillment and deep personal satisfaction.

Saying “yes” to the invitation of Jesus is our Christian vocation, which begins at Baptism. In Baptism, we say “yes” to God. In Baptism, we made a decision to renounce sin and to accept Jesus Christ as Lord. And in accepting Jesus Christ, we receive from Him our particular and individual vocation in this life: perhaps the vocation to Christian married love, to the priesthood, to the consecrated religious life, or to the single life of dedicated service.

Tonight in our Archdiocese, there are courageous young men who are discovering their personal calling by Christ to be His priests. How fortunate you are here, to have one such man, from your parish who has experienced Christ’s call and who has shown the courage and humility to trust Him fully. Certainly, Jesus is calling more young men to be His priests: to be happy, joyful, obedient and trusting priests in His Church. Jesus invites all of us to pause and listen as He says to us in the Gospel: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” This involves families, taking every opportunity available to hear God’s word in prayer and in family life. This involves parishes, becoming true “schools of prayer” where Jesus’ voice is heard and followed with confidence. This involves all of us coming together to be with Christ Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration and to speak with Him about the need of His Church for more priests. Everyone needs the priest: the laity, the religious, the married, the single, parents and children, the young and the old. Without the priest there is no ocean of mercy, which is the Sacrament of Confession; without the priest there is no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist there is no Church.

As we continue in this New Year which has just begun, let us praise God for the gift of our Baptism. And let us pray and give God freedom to complete the good work that he has begun in each of us. Let us, with open hearts and minds, listen carefully to His call. Let us ask our Lord Jesus Christ to draw many more young men to the friendship of His Sacred Heart and lead them to the priesthood in the service of His people. Amen.