Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale318

wounded, and to bring strength to those who are languishing.25 And this, as I

have said, calls for new ways of thinking based on a sound diagnosis of

today's challenges and a commitment to unity in the service of the Church's

mission to the present generation.

3. The Holy Father is asked to comment on the decline in vocations despite the

growing numbers of the Catholic population, and on the reasons for hope offered

by the personal qualities and the thirst for holiness which characterize the candi-

dates who do come forward.

Let us be quite frank: the ability to cultivate vocations to the priesthood

and the religious life is a sure sign of the health of a local Church. There is no

room for complacency in this regard. God continues to call young people; it is

up to all of us to encourage a generous and free response to that call. On the

other hand, none of us can take this grace for granted.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send

workers. He even admits that the workers are few in comparison with the

abundance of the harvest.26 Strange to say, I often think that prayer - the

unum necessarium - is the one aspect of vocations work which we tend to

forget or to undervalue!

Nor am I speaking only of prayer for vocations. Prayer itself, born in

Catholic families, nurtured by programs of Christian formation, strengthened

by the grace of the sacraments, is the first means by which we come to know

the Lord's will for our lives. To the extent that we teach young people to

pray, and to pray well, we will be cooperating with God's call. Programs,

plans and projects have their place; but the discernment of a vocation is

above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and his disciples.

Young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do

with God's call.

It has been noted that there is a growing thirst for holiness in many young

people today, and that, although fewer in number, those who come forward

show great idealism and much promise. It is important to listen to them, to

understand their experiences, and to encourage them to help their peers to

see the need for committed priests and religious, as well as the beauty of a life

of sacrificial service to the Lord and his Church. To my mind, much is

25 Cf. Ez 34:16. 26 Cf. Mt 9:37-38.