Praying for vocations

At the campus of the Oblate University in Texas, US, there is a sculpture of the Last Supper. It is an unusual sculpture as the disciples are missing. There is Jesus and twelve empty seats around the table.

Maybe one of those seats is reserved of you. Be brave to join the Lord.

Firstly the sculpture reminds us that we need a new generation of disciples who will join Jesus on his mission like the Twelve did two thousand years ago.

Secondly the sculpture is not fenced off from the public; anyone can come and sit at the table with Jesus. I find it very moving as it sends a message that Jesus calls people to follow him in the midst of their ordinary activities, like going to University and having a lunch break.

This week, which follows the Good Shepherd Sunday we had a couple of days ago, is the week of prayer for vocations in the Church. As we pray for vocations let’s remember that we are praying for people who commit themselves (heart, mind and soul) to Jesus Christ, the people who fall in love with Jesus so much that Jesus’ desires and dreams can become theirs.

In our Oblate tradition, after the morning meditation we pray a prayer which can be more than the final act of meditation, it can be a great prayer for vocation:

O Jesus, living in Mary,

Come and live in your servants:

In the spirit of your holiness,

In the fullness of your power,

In the reality of your virtues,

In the perfection of your ways,

In the communion of your mysteries;

Have dominion over every adverse power,

in your own spirit, to the glory of God the Father.

Amen.