The Fourth Sunday of Easter which is called Good Shepherd Sunday is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The present day situation with the shortage of priests is certainly alarming and disconcerting factor in our parish life. Although lay people in laudable numbers are engaged in pastoral work and Church administration which helps tremendously, still the fact remains there are not enough priests, and the number of those who are still able to work in 10 years are very small. What can we do?

1. PRAYER. Our daily prayers should contain a prayer for vocations. Once a year on this day is not enough. We have to pray diligently to God every day.

2 CREATE A FAMILY CLIMATE in which vocations can grow. Vatican II: “The whole Christian community shares the responsibility for fostering vocations. The first step is to live in a full Christian manner. Families with a lively spirit of faith, love and reverence contribute greatly to this work.: St. Vincent Pallotti proclaims: “God gave me holy parents.”

3. CONTRIBUTE in any way possible to the support of vocations. The success of the Sports team depends greatly on scouts to spot players which are good prospects for development. We invite all of you to become Scouts for Vocations. We need your help. If we want priests in the future they cannot be imported they have to be home grown.

May God bless your efforts to support your shepherds