Leave your country and go to the land I shall show you. (Gen. 12:1-8) 

Yahweh said to Abram: "Leave your country, I your family and your father's house, for the land I shall show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing. I will bless those who bless you: I will curse those who slight you. All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you."  

So Abram went as Yahweh told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had amassed and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set off for the land of Canaan, and arrived there.  

Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem's holy place, the Oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "It is to your descendants that I will give this land." So Abram built there an altar for Yahweh who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the mountainous district east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and invoked the name of Yahweh.  

 

Whom shall I send? Who will go for me? (Is. 6:1-8) 

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord Yahweh seated on a high throne; his train filled the sanctuary, above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings: two to cover its face, two to cover its feet and two for flying. And they cried out one to another in this way, "Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth. His glory fills the whole earth."  

The foundations of the threshold shook with the voice of the one who cried out, and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said: "What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have looked at the King, Yahweh Sabaoth."  

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in his hand a live coal which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. With this he touched my mouth and said: "See now, this has touched your lips, your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: "Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?" I answered, "Here I am, send me."  

 

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. (Jer. 1: 4-9)  

The word of Yahweh was addressed to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb; I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations." I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh; look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!" But Yahweh replied, "Do not say, 'I am a child' ."  

"Go now to those to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you - it is Yahweh who speaks!" Then Yahweh put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me: "There! I am put- ting my words into your mouth."  

 

I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me. (Lk. 1: 26-38)  

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, "Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you." She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, "Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end."  

Mary said to the angel, "But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?" "The Holy Spirit will come upon you," the angel answered, "and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow." And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for "nothing is impossible to God." "I am the handmaid of the Lord," said Mary, "let what you have said be done to me."  

 

Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. (Mt. 4: 18-23)  

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going from there, he saw another pair of brothers, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.  

 

Rabbi, where do you live? Come and see. (Jn. 1: 35-43)  

On the following day, as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, "Look, there is the lamb of God." Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, "What do you want?" They answered, "Rabbi" - which means Teacher - "where do you live?" "Come and see," he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.  

One of these two, who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said, was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early the next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, "We have found the Messiah " - which means the Christ - and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, "You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas " - meaning Rock.  

 

Lord, what do you want me to do? (Acts 22: 3-10)  

"I am a Jew," Paul said, "and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here, in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you are today. I even persecuted this way to the death, and sent women as well as men to prison in chains as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify, since they even sent me with letters to their brothers in Damascus. When I set off, it was with the intention of bringing prisoners back from there to Jerusalem for punishment."  

"I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus, when about midday a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" I answered, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said to me, "I am Jesus, the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me." The people with me saw the light but did not hear his voice as he spoke to me. I said, "What am I to do, Lord?" The Lord answered, "Stand up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do."  

 

Christ wants to rely on you. 

This text and the two that follow are taken from Pope John Paul II: speech of January 6, 1979; Letter to the youth of the world, 1985, nos. 8 and 9. 

I speak especially to you, young people. Or rather, I would like to speak with you, with each one of you. You are very dear to me and I have great confidence in you. I have called you the hope of the Church and my hope. Let us recall a few things together. The beautiful answers given to the Lord who had called are preserved in the treasure of the Gospel... From the time of the first announcement of the Gospel until our days, a great number of men and women have given their personal, free and conscious answer to Christ's call. They have chosen the priesthood, religious life, or missionary life as the objective ideal of their existence. They have served the People of God and humanity with faith, wisdom, courage and love. Your hour has come. It is your turn to answer. Are you afraid?  

Let us reflect together in the light of faith. Our life is a gift from God. We must do something good. There are many ways to spend your life at the service of human and Christian ideals. If I speak to you today of total consecration to God in the priesthood, religious life and missionary life, it is because Christ calls many of you to this extraordinary adventure. He needs you, He wants to rely on you, your intelligence, your energies, your faith, your love, your holiness. If Christ calls you to the priesthood it is because He wants to exercise his priesthood, by means of your priestly consecration and mission. He wants to speak to people with your voice, consecrate the Eucharist and forgive sins through you, and love with your heart. He wants to help others with your hands, and to save with your toil. Think about it well. The answer which many of you could give is directed personally to Christ, who calls you to these great things.  

You will find difficulties. Do you think I do not know them? I tell you that love can conquer any difficulty. The true answer to each vocation is a work of love. The answer to the priestly, religious, or missionary vocation can only arise from a deep love for Christ. He himself offers you this force of love, as a gift in addition to the gift of your call which makes your answer possible. Have confidence in the One who has the power to make us thrive more abundantly than we asked for or thought (Eph. 3:20). And, if you can, give your life joyfully, without fear, to Him who has already given his life for you.  

If you hear the call in your heart, do not silence it.  

It is for this reason that I wish to say this to all of you young people, in this important phase of the development of your personality as a man or a woman: if such a call comes into your heart, do not silence it. Let it develop into the maturity of a vocation! Respond to it through prayer and fidelity to the commandments! For "the harvest is plentiful," and there is an enormous need for many to be reached by Christ's call, "Follow me." There is an enormous need for priests according to the heart of God - and the Church and the world of today have an enormous need for the witness of a life given without reserve to God: the witness of that nuptial love of Christ himself, which, in a particular way, will make the Kingdom of God present among people and bring it nearer to the world.  

Permit me, then, to complete still further the words of Christ, the Lord, about the harvest being plentiful. Yes, this harvest of the Gospel is plentiful, this harvest of salvation! "But the laborers are few!"... "Pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to his harvest," continues Christ. And these words, especially in our times, become a program of prayer and action for more priestly and religious vocations. With this program, the Church addresses herself to you, to youth. And you too: pray! And if the fruit of this prayer of the Church comes to life in the depths of your heart, listen to the Master as he says: "Follow me. "  

 

What is the will of God for me?  

A human being is a creature, and at the same time, an adopted child of God in Christ: he is a child of God. Hence during youth a person poses the question, "What must I do?" not only to him- self and to other people from whom he can expect an answer, especially his parents and teachers, but he puts it also to God, as his Creator and Father. He puts it in the context of this particular interior sphere, in which he has learned to be in a close relationship with God, above all in prayer. He therefore asks God: "What must I do?" What is your plan for my life? Your creative, fatherly plan? What is your will? I wish to do it.  

 

A priest is another Christ. 

This text and the following texts are from Fr. Marcial Maciel, L.C. 

Priests are Christ's hands, his feet, his eyes, his mind and his heart; they are the channels and the means through which he is going to give himself to humanity. Through his priests, he will show people how much he loves them and how much he wants to be loved by them. Through them, he will make known his mercies. Through them, he will sow the peace that the angels announced from the day of his birth, when they sang above his cradle promising this peace to men of good will. Through them, he will make brother of all nations, all races, and all social classes, wiping out all envy and hatred, uniting all people in a single heart and a single spirit in his divine Heart.  

 

Christ passes along the shore of your life.  

Today, Christ passes along the shore of your young life. Heed his call and follow him with decision as those disciples did the day the Master said to them, "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Christ needs each one of you, as He needed Peter, James and John. "You are the hands, the feet, the eyes, the mind, the Heart of Jesus Christ; you are the channels by which He will give himself to mankind." What an honor Christ is giving you. How sweet and overwhelming is the weight He places today on your young shoulders; it is the unfathomable weight of the Redemption, which bears in it the personal and eternal happiness of each person.  

 

What answer will you give?  

God, in calling you, places a mission before you. Perhaps we have grown used to hearing this, and perhaps we repeat it without penetrating the deep love and eternal ramifications implied in it. Who is God? Who am I? And as a bridge between us, between him and us, we have his word. On this occasion it is not the commanding word that created everything, "Let there be...", but a humble, evocative, inviting word, full of love: "If you want...". Yet, let us not be naive: this voice for all its humility and respect is still the expression of something God wants. 

That is how God's call comes to be subject to your will. God has expressed his will - how are you going to answer Him? It is almost overwhelming to have to reduce the problem to something so simple, but it is the only way to see things clearly. There are times in our lives when our passions, selfish- ness or sensuality blinds us and we wish that the problem was more complex, with more elements to It, a loophole to hold back our freedom and not commit It... But God's voice is a sword which penetrates and lays us bare: "If you want...".  

 

 

Jesus Christ calls whomever he wants.  

Your vocation has nothing to do with your defects, imperfections or failings. Christ does not call saints, the pure and unfailingly perfect. As we see in the Gospel, he calls whomever he pleases, among whom we find some better and some worse, but all are full of weakness and defects. A vocation is an unearned gift and not an award for merits done. Do not fall back on your faults and imperfections to doubt God's call. Remember that God has loved you exceedingly, not because of your qualities, but out of his total, free goodness.  

 

Mystery of power in trembling hands.  

I love you Lord, for the great gift of the Priesthood,  

this mystery of power that you have placed 

in my trembling hands.  

The gift of your forgiveness 

which lets the ocean of your grace 

into the ocean of our misery.  

I tremble before the greatness of this mystery,  

for I carry your treasure in a vessel of clay.  

 

I love you Lord,  

for you have chosen me from among everyone  

to reap and bind  

this yellow harvest.  

For you have chosen me with a three-fold love,  

like Peter's,  

to lead your human flock up your high paths.  

 

I know, Lord,  

that you have set me up as a footbridge between 

yourself and your people,  

that I will be a sign of contradiction,  

and perhaps they will crucify me,  

as they did your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ.  

I am your messenger, a man made of light,  

coming from the light,  

and sent to this world that lies in the grip  

of an endless night.  

 

I shall make your commands prevail,  

and even if hatred should flare up against me,  

what does it matter, Lord,  

if above all I have you, and you alone suffice?