Each Sunday in Advent, and throughout the Christmas season, Priests for Scotland is publishing via our Facebook page little vocations “prompts” to help those who might be thinking about a priestly vocation to use this sacred time to consider the possibility guided by the weekly Scriptures.

 

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Advent is a season in the Church’s life which of its nature looks to the future – yes, to the coming of Christ as a child at Christmas, but also beyond that to his coming in glory at the end of time.  What better time is there in the Church’s liturgical calendar to think about our own futures too, about what God is asking of us, about how we might respond, and about the direction of our lives in light of our faith.

Could that future involve a life of priestly service for you, a member of your family, or someone you know?

In the middle weeks of Advent we encounter the person of John the Baptist.  He was called “from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15) to be a herald of Christ, to call people to repent and return to God’s ways.  He was called to be a prophet, to be a messenger, to be a witness to God’s action in the sight of the people.  In the middle weeks of Advent we hear him fulfilling that vocation, as he “prepares a way for the Lord”, as he becomes the voice “crying in the wilderness” (Matthew 3:3).

And so, our little “prompts” invite those who think God might just be calling them to be priests in Scotland today – to be messengers of the Gospel, heralds of Christ, witnesses to God’s merciful and saving action in the world – to ask God to guide them to know his will, to hear his voice, and, perhaps, to look to their future as priests to serve God’s people.

Pray for all who are thinking they might be so called…