Denver Catholic

23 DENVER CATHOLIC | APRIL 14-27, 2018 Bishop's Column Most Rev. Jorge Rodríguez To the youth: Christ needs you! O n April 22, the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Vocations is celebrated in the Church: prayer for the ordained min- istries (priesthood and diaconate), t he consecrated life in all its forms (masculine and feminine, contem- plative and apostolic), societies of apostolic life, for secular institutes and missionary life. This day is the public testimony of the community responding to the Lord's command: "So ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest" (Mt 9:38). In his message for this day, Pope Francis reminds us that no human being is the result of coincidence, or a series of events disconnected from each other; on the contrary, our life and our presence in this world responds to a divine vocation. The challenge is to listen and discern that voice in our heart which calls us from above to become instruments of God's love and salvation in the world, and thus fi nd our own happiness. We need young people, both men and women, who want to give their lives for Christ and for the Gospel! The Church, especially our Church in northern Colorado, needs men who would like to be priests and con- secrated women who wish to spend their lives bringing the love of God to the poor, the sick, children, schools, hospitals and to the work of evangeli- zation in parishes. In his message, the Pope describes three steps to vocation: listening, dis- cernment and going for it! God contin- ues to call many young people to the priesthood and consecrated life, but listening becomes more di³ cult for the youth today. They live in a world of noise, stimulated by the internet, cell phones, iPhones, iPads and other gad- gets, and are driven by a selfi sh culture consumed by self-interest. In this sort of society, it is very di³ cult for them to hear the voice of God, who always calls them in a silent and discreet way, without putting pressure on their free- dom. It comes as no surprise for that voice to be drowned in the thousands of noises that sometimes fi ll the minds and hearts of young people. The second step is the discern- ment process by which the person makes fundamental decisions (in dialogue with the Lord and listening to the voice of the Spirit) about the state of life that they wish to embrace. Here, the person is challenged, too. He or she is asked to choose a life of total love for God and generous dedi- cation to the service of the Gospel and the poor. It is important that young men or women can read the Word of God and in the depth of their own heart encounter that lifestyle which will make him live fulfi lled and happy: because it was for this purpose that God gave them their existence. It is urgent to listen, discern and go for it! That is what Pope Francis expresses : "The joy of the Gospel, which makes us open to encounter- ing God and our brothers and sisters, does not abide our slowness and our sloth. It will not fi ll our hearts if we keep standing by the window with the excuse of waiting for the right time, without accepting this very day the risk of making a decision. Vocation is today! The Christian mission is now!... Today the Lord continues to call others to follow him. We should not wait to be perfect in order to respond with our gen- erous "yes," nor be fearful of our lim- itations and sins, but instead open our hearts to the voice of the Lord. To listen to that voice, to discern our personal mission in the Church and the world, and at last to live it in the today that God gives us..." (Message of His Holi- ness Pope Francis for the 2018 World Day of Vocations, December 3, 2017.) Young men and women, God is the only one who knows why he has cre- ated you. He has made some of you to be priests; others to be religious and consecrated; and others for the life of marriage or the single life. But he has left you a clue written on your own heart. Now, God does not impose, but he invites; he does not yell, but sug- gests; he does not obligate, but wants your answer to be from your heart and for love. He has left in your hands the task of discerning and deciding. But he also gives you tools: his Word, the longings of your heart, and the Church that accompanies and sus- tains you in this process. As in other professions in life, one who is already living this type of life can share his experience and guide you. If you feel something in your heart, talk to a priest, talk to a religious person, talk to a consecrated woman. Dear fathers and mothers, the family that you raise is the good land where this seed was possibly depos- ited in the heart of one of your sons or daughters, and it could bear the fruit of a priest for a parish, a religious for a Catholic school, a missionary for the world, or a cloistered nun to pray for the salvation of the world. A vocation is everyone's task: God calls and plants the seed, the family nourishes it, the prayer of everyone in the Church sustains it, the example of the priest and the consecrated person illuminate it, and the young man or woman responds. JESUS WAS SPIRITUAL (BUT NOT RELIGIOUS) Nowadays, it's popular to be spiri- tual but not so much religious. Many Christians themselves don't a³ liate with a specifi c church. This view holds that Jesus never intended to establish an actual church, but instead wanted us to simply follow his teachings. I believe this position partially comes from a response to a "wound." People identify "religion" with the negative things they have heard or experienced: corruption, sexual abuse, greed... People have lost faith in religious institutions. Moreover, the constant push in society to put the "me" in the center of everything, defying all authority, also plays a role. When you include a good desire to know God in the equation, you end up with an individualistic Christianity. We end up making a god according to our image and opinions. This is nothing new. Christians have wanted to make their own god since the time of the apostles, from the so-called "super apostles" that Paul fought (2 Cor 11:5) to his Corinthian community that needed constant cor- rection. However, there was always an authority that guided early Christian communities and solved new issues in the light of the teachings of Christ (Acts 15:23-29). If there had not been an authority, there would have been no unity. And where there's unity and authority, there's a religion. Jesus established that authority in the apostles and gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, choosing him as the "rock" upon which he would build his "Church" and promising that the powers of Hell (heresy) would not overcome it (Mt 16:18-19). Saying that Jesus didn't want to establish a Church would be like saying that he intended people to follow and inter- pret him in their own way. The early Church knew this and fought against all distortion of Christ's image and teaching. His same Church continues to do so up to our day. PHOTO: FLICKR

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