Does your parish encourage or pray for vocations?

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Does your parish encourage or pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life? Aside for praying at every Mass, I sadly find little support or encouragement for vocations in my parish.
 
Aside from praying for vocations at Mass, there’s not much more that my Parish does. During this (Rosary) month, I’ve noticed that during group prayer, it is often one of the intentions. Also, the 2nd Tuesday of every month we have Eucharistic Adoration for vocations. Other than that, I haven’t seen anything else here that actively encourages vocations.
 
Everybody, pray for our priests on Oct 31 and Nov 1.
We pray for vocations at Mass every day (our priest never takes a day off), rosary for vocations daily, newly established adoration schedule will be for vocations, we have presentation for youth and young adults by the Serra Club and seminary rector promoting and education on vocations each year, hosted for all youth of surrounding parishes and campuses. So far one young man has 2 years to go to ordination, 2 permanent deacons, 2 more in formation, one young man discerning, about 8 answered “altar call” last year going through the initial process of investigation & application.

Also the young seminarians from our new seminary are invited to all youth and young adult events, and their friendship and fellowship with the kids is making an impact. also helps them to feel more at home since most are from Mexico or other Latin American countries.
 
Our parish priest urges us to pray for vocations and our 2 seminarians. He also encourages us to donate any change and spare cash to one of the seminarians. This man was at risk of dropping out due to lack of tuition - so the parish is trying to help him out with donations.

I am happy to donate what I can to help train a future priest.
 
My parish is a pretty modern parish and some of the music and design of the parish would make some people in this thread vomit. Although it is modern, it does do it’s share of praying for the vocations via the reading of the petitions, and Father does his share of tapping people on the shoulder.

In fact he talked to my 23 year old brother about attending a “try it on” weekend at Sacred Heart in Detroit. My first reactiion was that of amazement…“YOU WANT HIM TO BE A PRIEST???” Of course, God may have some stuff in store for my bro that I don’t know about.

As far as people in the parish go, I don’t know if they would be likely to tap their kids on the shoulder. But at least the priest (who at one time was very successful in the business world) is trying to recruit people.
 
Tuesdays we have exposition and pray a litany for vocations each hour. Not much vocation talk from the pulpit. We have 2 great seminarians, one of whom is very active with our young people. There is talk of getting a vocations committee together to promote vocations, but I’m not sure what’s up with that. —KCT
 
i go to a very unusual church (st mary’s in college station, tx), and we very highly encourage vocations. we have retreats and visiting representatives from various orders that come and speak several times a year. we have a ‘busy students retreat’ where members of many orders lead students on retreats. we even have a franciscan priest that says mass and hears confessions at our church every monday!

in fact, due to the heavy emphasis on vocations at my parish, my brother is now a jesuit, and i’m entering the jesuit novitiate (God willing) next august! 🙂
 
Yes,prayer for vocations is often mentioned at Mass as well as in homilies. We also have only male alter servers, 120 of them. Several young men go off to seminary every year.
 
At the end of each Sunday Mass, the priest and congregation pray three Hail Mary’s for vocations prior to the prayer to St. Michael.
 
Yes,prayer for vocations is often mentioned at Mass as well as in homilies. We also have only male alter servers, 120 of them. Several young men go off to seminary every year.
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Wow,120 male altar servers! That is quite some parish you have, I wish many more were that way. At my parish I cannot recall the last male altar server I have seen in the sanctuary at Mass, mind if you loan us a few.😉
 
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Catholic29:
Wow,120 male altar servers! That is quite some parish you have, I wish many more were that way. At my parish I cannot recall the last male altar server I have seen in the sanctuary at Mass, mind if you loan us a few.😉
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We only found this parish recently (within the last year). It is just beautiful. Sometimes there are up to twelve alter servers at a mass. When they proceed in holding tall shiny brass candle holders lit with clear glass oil burning candles, in the traditional black and white garments it’s just awesome.

Some of the alter servers are a highschool age and they (1) sit on either side of of the priest. They youngest ones who look like they could be in kindergarten wear just plain white robes. Our parish uses the paten under the chin for communion so the younger ones have this job. Our priest (in his mid 30’s) told us he approaches every boy in the parish when he thinks he’s of age and invites them to be alter servers. Wish I could mail ya some, it truly is a blessing.
 
Yes we pray for vocations for religious and the priesthood at every mass. I often kid the pastor that maybe he should be clearer about the definition of priesthood so that the faithful know they are praying for deacons as well.

God Bless
 
I would like to propose an idea. In a conversation with my late brother Mike (died last year from cancer @ 44 yrs. old) we talked about how we pray. I had been talking to him about how I pray a variation of the rosery. I call it an intercessery rosery. I ask the Holy Spirit and Mary to inspire me to pray specific intentions for each Hail Mary prayer. Instead of praying “Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us sinners” I pray a specific intention as the Spirit leads. It does take a lot longer:) I had also talked to him about how in our mens group we pray for vocations and for our priests.

Mike combined the 2 ideas and asked his bishop for permission to print cards for distribution at each parish which added a ‘shepherds decade’ to the rosery. This decade would be prayed for the priests and decons and any persons studying for the religious life at the end of a regular rosery. Of course it might contain more than ten prayers depending on how many people were involved. Alas, Mike died before this idea was put into full practice. He invisioned asking the Knights Of Columbus chapters to take up this cause.
 
We are currently in the process of praying for vocations.
In our Byzantine Catholic area, we have very few priests but our churches are smaller in size. Still there is an uncomfortable situation because most of our priests are above 40 years old.
 
In our parish the first Sunday of the month is set aside for Adoration for Vocations from 1-7. there are special prayers said once each hour by those present for vocations. The time ends with Evening Prayer and Benediction. Currently from our parish we have 1 young man about to be ordained, 3 in formation, 1 in a college program eventually leading to seminary, 5 or 6 young women in religious life and 2 discerning a vocation to religious life.
:gopray2:
 
Have been thinking alot about “Vocation” lately since on the road to becoming Catholic. I think being a wife and mom is my 1st vocation, but that spreading God’s Love out in the world is second.

Do you all think this? Our role as mom or dad should be first that is?
 
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Have been thinking alot about “Vocation” lately since on the road to becoming Catholic. I think being a wife and mom is my 1st vocation, but that spreading God’s Love out in the world is second.

Do you all think this? Our role as mom or dad should be first that is?
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I think so. Parenthood is a ministry in its own right–you are collaborating with God in bringing new souls into the world and bringing them up in the Faith.
 
We pary for vocations, and have recently had installed a staue of the Cure of Ars, St. John Vianney. We are urged to light candles and pray the prayer for vocations installed in front of the statue. That visible sight of St. John posed with his hands clasped in prayer is a poweful reminder whenever I enter the church that I should join in prayers for vocations. Our parish bulletin has frequent inserts asking men whether they have considered the priesthood, and providing concrete steps to follow to explore any inclinations in that regard.

Our parish is fifty years old this year. In all that time there were no vocations. I think it is not a coincidence that this year we have three young men preparing for the priesthood, supported by the prayers of the parish.
 
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