Here’s how.

“Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Jesus tells us to specifically ask God to call forth people for ministry in our church.  Here are some suggestions.

Intentional Community Prayer for Vocations

1. At weekend masses and even daily masses include a petition for vocations. Example: “That God raise up from this parish holy men and women to serve the church in religious vocations. Let us pray to the Lord.”
2. During special vocation events, place the vocation prayer card in pews to remain there for the entire month (for example, January – National Vocation Awareness Week); at each Mass, have the entire congregation pray the vocation prayer at the conclusion of the prayers of the faithful.
3. Encourage parish devotional prayer that advances personal holiness. Include youth in devotional prayer practices. Some examples:
   

• Eucharistic adoration. Quiet, contemplative prayer encourages people to listen to God’s voice in their lives. Eucharistic adoration also encourages a focus on the necessity of the sacramental life of the church. Do this monthly in your parish, if possible. Encourage parishioners to keep a constant prayer vigil before the Blessed Sacrament for the various needs of the parish, including prayers for vocations.
• Rosary. This scriptural, contemplative prayer from the “school of Mary” encourages meditation on our salvation in and through Jesus Christ. Include this brief prayer after each decade:

• Lectio Divina: This ancient prayer form helps participants to pray the scriptures more profoundly and to hear the voice of the Lord in their lives through the reading of scripture. To learn more, go to this website: www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html.
• Liturgy of the Hours: This is the scriptural prayer of the church consisting praying all 150 Psalms in a four-week cycle. Host this prayer form communally in your parish. Priests and Religious all pray this scriptural prayer of the church. To learn more go to this website: http://www.liturgyhours.org/.

Intentional Household Prayer for Vocations

• The Chalice Program:  Serra Club International offers this program to encourage prayer for vocations.  Each week at Mass, a chalice and a prayer book is presented to a household of the parish to be taken home. The prayer book has a prayer and scripture reading for each day and works well for personal or communal prayer.
• Meal Prayer  Households can use the following prayer to bless the family and encourage vocations: