The Catholic Church in the U.S. will be observing National Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 2-8 to encourage the faithful to discern their own vocations and foster the vocations of others.
“In this Jubilee Year of Hope, let us celebrate all who have responded to God’s call whether to serve as husbands, wives, parents, priests and others as ordained ministers, or consecrated persons,” said Bishop Earl Boyea, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, according to a press release on the organization’s website.
In his statement, Bishop Boyea quoted Pope Leo XIV’s comments on discernment during the Jubilee of Seminarians, in which the Holy Father encouraged silence and prayer, saying they are key ingredients to discernment.
“If you cultivate your heart through daily periods of silence, meditation, and prayer, you will learn the art of discernment,” Pope Leo said at the time of the jubilee. “This, too, is important: learning discernment. When we are young, we overflow with desires, dreams and ambitions. Our hearts can often be overwhelmed and bewildered. On the other hand, if we follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will surely learn to keep all those things in our heart and meditate on them.”
In recent years, U.S. dioceses have developed a number of initiatives to encourage vocations. Many have introduced a “Called By Name” program, in which the faithful are asked to submit the names of people they believe may have vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, or religious life. Those nominated are then invited to take part in discernment events.
Some dioceses, such as the Archdiocese of Denver, have seen success. As CatholicVote previously reported, the archdiocese had 23 young men entering seminary formation this year. This is nearly double last year’s record-breaking number of 13 first-year seminarians.
Bishop Boyea asked for the faithful both to pray for vocations and to encourage the vocations of others.
“With fervor, then, let us pray and renew our commitment to journey with and encourage young people as they discover the hope God has placed in their hearts through discerning how He has called them to be witnesses of the love ‘poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,’” he said, according to the USCCB.
The USCCB has information about vocational discernment available in English and Spanish.
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