40 HOURS OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS IN AUSTRALIA

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
8 Oct 2013

Chapel at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd where the weekend of prayer will be held

More than 500 are expected to participate in this year's 40 Hours for Vocations at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Homebush this weekend.

Now in its third year of what has become a much-anticipated annual tradition, the prayer-filled weekend involves 40 Hours of Adoration to pray for all men and women discerning vocations to marriage, the priesthood or religious life.

Beginning on Friday, 11 October with Evening Prayer in the Seminary Chapel, 40 Hours for Vocations continues throughout the night and the following day and continues until Sunday, 13 October with Benediction and Morning Prayer followed by Mass, and concludes at 11 am.

"More than 100 signed up in our first year but many times that number came to pray for a few hours or to spend longer in our chapel in reflection and prayer. Last year we had an even larger turnout with several men and women, including the mother of one of our seminarians staying all night in prayer in the chapel," says Father Anthony Percy, Rector at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd.

He says many of those who participated last year attended Benediction in the Chapel then returned the next day to spend another hour or two in prayer.

Each evening the Holy Father spends an hour in Adoration

"Others arrived early on Saturday for morning prayer and returned later in the day with a brother or sister. Still others brought their children and spent several hours in prayer," he says delighted that whole families attended last year and in one case, three generations of the same family.

With more and more people participating in the 40 Hours for Vocations prayer weekend each year, he believes the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Seminary have tapped into a definite need.

An initiative of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell in collaboration with Fr Percy and the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, the weekend offers people silence and solitude to spend one hour or more in reflection and prayer.

"In both the previous years we not only had those contemplating marriage as well as many men and women considering the possibility of a religious or a priestly vocation, we had hundreds who simply wanted to deepen their faith and through prayer become closer to God," he says.

The program for the 40 Hours for Vocations includes Mass, confession, Eucharistic Adoration, and readings by seminarians studying at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd.

Blessed John Paul II encouraged all Christians in adoration of the Eucharist

Among the readings will be meditations on vocations and the scriptures and writings of John Paul II. The beloved pontiff, who will be canonised along with John XXXIII on 27 April next year, often spoke of the great need for Eucharistic Adoration in today's world, describing Adoration as a sacrament of love and a personal invitation from Jesus.

The date chosen for the Seminary's 40 Hours of Vocation was to be as near as possible to the saint-in-waiting's Feast Day on 22 October.
Pope Francis recently spoke about Adoration and prayer in the interview he gave with La Civilta Cattolica and other major journals of the Society of Jesus.

"What I really prefer is adoration in the evening, even when I get distracted and think of other things, or even fall asleep praying. In the evening then, between seven and eight o'clock, I stay in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour in Adoration. But I pray mentally even when I am waiting at the dentist or at other times of the day," he said.

"Prayer for me is always a prayer full of memory, of recollection, even the memory of my own history or what the Lord has done in his church or in a particular parish. For me it is the memory of which St. Ignatius speaks in the First Week of the Exercises in the encounter with the merciful Christ crucified. And I ask myself: What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What should I do for Christ?

"It is the memory of which Ignatius speaks in the 'Contemplation for Experiencing Divine Love,' when he asks us to recall the gifts we have received. But above all, I also know that the Lord remembers me. I can forget about him, but I know that he never, ever forgets me."

In the same interview, Fr Percy says, the Holy Father spoke of God's presence in all our lives, no matter who we are and even perhaps when we are unaware.

Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Homebush

"God is in every person's life. God is in everyone's life, even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by views, drugs or anything else. God is in this person's life," he said and urged us all to try to seek God in every human life, even if this life is "full of thorns and weeds."

"There is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust in God," he said.

This weekend's 40 Hours for Vocations is a chance to become closer to God, a chance to reflect in silence and renew your faith and to pray for the men and women discerning vocations.

"It is also a wonderful way for us to bring the community into the Seminary to share our lives and have a greater understanding of the formation of our future priests," Fr Percy says.

40 Hours for Vocations begins in the Chapel at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Homebush at 5 pm on Friday, 11 October and continues until 11am Sunday, 13 October. People are welcome to participate in this weekend of prayer for an hour, two hours or for however long they wish.

For more information contact Elizabeth Arblaster at the Archdiocese of Sydney's Vocations Centre atElizabeth.arblaster@sydneycatholic.org 

SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY