![\"CFR](\"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/CFR%20Sisters%20First%20Vows.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA fundamental
\nelement, one which can be seen in every vocation to the priesthood and the
\nconsecrated life, is friendship with Christ<\/b>. Jesus lived in constant union with
\nthe Father and this is what made the disciples eager to have the same
\nexperience; from him they learned to live in communion and unceasing dialogue
\nwith God. If the priest is a “man of God”, one who belongs to God and helps others
\nto know and love him, he cannot fail to cultivate a deep intimacy with God<\/b>,
\nabiding in his love and making space to hear his Word. Prayer is the first form
\nof witness which awakens vocations. Like the Apostle Andrew, who tells his
\nbrother that he has come to know the Master, so too anyone who wants to be a
\ndisciple and witness of Christ must have “seen” him personally, come to know
\nhim, and learned to love him and to abide with him.<\/p>\n
Another aspect of the
\nconsecration belonging to the priesthood and the religious life is the complete
\ngift of oneself to God<\/b>. The Apostle John writes: “By this we know love, that he
\nlaid down his life for us; and therefore we ought to lay down our lives for the
\nbrethren” (1 Jn 3:16). With these words, he invites the disciples to enter into
\nthe very mind of Jesus who in his entire life did the will of the Father, even
\nto the ultimate gift of himself on the Cross<\/b>. Here, the mercy of God is shown
\nin all its <\/p>\n
fullness; a merciful love that has overcome the darkness of evil, A third aspect<\/span> which necessarily characterizes the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In his 2010 message for World Day of Vocations, celebrated today on Good Shepherd Sunday, Pope Benedict names three elements for someone willing to follow a call to priesthood and\/or religious life: friendship with Jesus, total self-gift to God and a life of communion with all people. All of this situated in the sacrifice of … Continue reading World Day of Vocations 2010<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1818,1945,1707,2405],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25518"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nsin and death. The figure of Jesus who at the Last Supper, rises from the
\ntable, lays aside his garments, takes a towel, girds himself with it and stoops
\nto wash the feet of the Apostles, expresses the sense of service and gift
\nmanifested in his entire existence, in obedience to the will of the Father (cf.
\nJn 13:3-15). In following Jesus, everyone called to a life of special
\nconsecration must do his utmost to testify that he has given himself completely
\nto God. This is the source of his ability to give himself in turn to those whom
\nProvidence entrusts to him in his pastoral ministry with complete, constant and
\nfaithful devotion, and with the joy of becoming a companion on the journey to
\nso many brothers and sisters, enabling them too to become open to meeting Christ,
\nso that his Word may become a light to their footsteps<\/b>. The story of every
\nvocation is almost always intertwined with the testimony of a priest who
\njoyfully lives the gift of himself to his brothers and sisters for the sake of
\nthe Kingdom of God. This is because the presence and words of a priest have the
\nability to raise questions and to lead even to definitive decisions (cf. John
\nPaul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo
\nVobis<\/span><\/a>, 39).<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\npriest and the consecrated person is a life of communion. Jesus showed that the
\nmark of those who wish to be his disciples is profound communion in love<\/b>: “By
\nthis all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
\nanother” (Jn 13:35). In a particular way the priest must be a man of communion,
\nopen to all, capable of gathering into one the pilgrim flock which the goodness
\nof the Lord has entrusted to him<\/b>, helping to overcome divisions, to heal rifts,
\nto settle conflicts and misunderstandings, and to forgive offences. In July 2005,
\nspeaking to the clergy of Aosta<\/span><\/a>, I noted that if young people see
\npriests who appear distant and sad, they will hardly feel encouraged to follow
\ntheir example. They will remain hesitant if they are led to think that this is
\nthe life of a priest. Instead, they need to see the example of a communion of
\nlife which can reveal to them the beauty of being a priest. Only then will a
\nyoung man say, “Yes, this could be my future; I can live like this” (Insegnamenti
\nI, [2005], 354). The Second
\nVatican Council<\/span><\/a>, in speaking of the witness that awakens vocations,
\nemphasizes the example of charity and of fraternal cooperation which priests
\nmust offer (cf. Decree Optatam
\nTotius<\/span><\/a>, 2).