The month of April ends, as always, on the 30th. But this year... it is Good Shepherd Sunday! Fourth Sunday of Easter.
The universal Church dedicates this day to pray for vocations, we ask the Lord to take care of his flock, the Christians, putting in the hearts of young people the desire to consecrate themselves to Him, and to give their lives to the service of others.
May we all remember to ask that among young people be born the desire to evangelize, to bring Christ to all peoples. May we, with our prayer and sacrifices, move the heart of Jesus so that he may place the seed of the missionary vocation in many young people. May we be able, a few years from now, to give the baton of the missions to many young people who will help those who have already given their all to rest. May we be able to lower the average age of our Spanish missionaries who are today preaching the Gospel in the five continents (which, by the way, is 75 years old).
But let us also remember to ask that, in the places where our missionaries are evangelizing, native vocations from those peoples may arise. One of the most important gifts that God gives to the work of the missionaries is that their witness may provoke the call of some young people to consecrate themselves as priests or religious men and women. Native vocations are the best legacy that missionaries can leave in the mission.
Many young people take the step, but they have difficulties to go ahead with their vocation: cultural and incomprehension, economic... It is necessary that they count on the prayer of the whole Church, and on our financial support. April 30 can be a day when we remember them, their vocation, their formation, their perseverance.
Get on the road, don't wait any longer, is the slogan we have chosen for this day... let's support it!
