4th Sunday of Easter. (Vocations Sunday)

We begin today by praying for all the priests in our own diocese, that God will fill them with joy and enthusiasm for their ministry. We pray in a particular way for those who struggle to cope with the realities of life in the Church at this moment in its history. We ask God to stir in them a profound sense of hope for the future, a hope which others will see in them and which will help them in their turn to be men and women of faith at this sometimes difficult time……………………….….Lord hear us

As the number of priests in our diocese continues to fall, more and more parishes are being left without a resident priest. Here in Kilmarnock, it is only a matter of time – and possibly a very short time - before we, too, will have to come to terms with this reality. And so we pray that, as this happens, we will respond to the challenge and finally begin to implement the Second Vatican Council’s vison of a Church filled with mature, committed and active lay men and women………………...Lord hear us

We pray, too, on this World Day of Prayer for Vocations to the Priesthood that God will raise up among us men, young and not so young, who will give serious consideration to the possibility of entering a seminary and perhaps becoming priests in a few years time. We pray, too, for those who have already done this and are currently in the process of training and formation, that God will give them the grace they need to discern his will for them………………….………………....Lord hear us

Over the years, many good priests have, for all kinds of reasons, chosen to leave the priesthood. And so we pray for them today, that, whatever path they have chosen to follow, it will lead them to God. We pray in a very special way, however, for those who, in the process of leaving were often deeply hurt and have, as a consequence, lost contact with the people they served, sometimes for many years….…Lord hear us

There are many questions surrounding the way the Church thinks of priesthood today. Many people argue for a married priesthood. Others campaign for the ordination of women. And so we ask God to give the whole Church at this moment in its long history the wisdom it needs to develop an understanding of priesthood fit for the age in which we live…………………………………………………………..Lord hear us

Every single one of us, of course, shares in the priesthood of Jesus through baptism. We are a priestly people, called to reach out to the world. And so we pray for the wisdom and openness we need to understand this and the courage to implement it for the sake of the men and women of our time, leaving behind the internal politics and petty disputes, so often rooted in jealousy, which we heard about in the first reading and which bedevil the Church in every age………………………………Lord hear us

Now let us be silent for a few moments……………………….
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