April 22, 2018 - "Pastoral Plan - Marriage"

Cardinal Wuerl promulgated a Pastoral Plan to implement Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (AL), on Sunday March 4, 2018.  The fourth section of the Pastoral Plan stresses the importance of parish life.
 
Today I want to present some thoughts for accompanying young adults that are presented in this section of the Pastoral Plan.
 
Marriage preparation does not begin when a person meets their future spouse or are engaged.  “Marriage preparation begins at birth,” Pope Francis notes, and continues through each stage of our lives (AL, 208).  The best way to discern or prepare for a vocation is to live one’s faith wholeheartedly and generously.
 
For young adults, that can mean cultivating the habits and qualities they want to have in the future, and they want their future spouse to have:  like a habit of daily prayer, commitment to the poor, investment in authentic friendships and freedom from addictions.
 
Other ways that Catholic young adults can deepen their faith, draw closer to Christ, and find a spiritual home in the Church include:
 
· Discerning the gifts that God has given them and putting them into practice in their daily lives;
· Making the commitment to join a parish community;
· Donating and volunteering regularly at the parish;
· Finding a small community near them to belong to you:  family, young adult community, small group, lay movement, etc.;
· Asking someone they admire to be a mentor—personally, spiritually, or professionally;
· Mentoring someone:  a young person in their parish, a younger sibling or family friend, a roommate or co-worker, etc.;
· Committing themselves to regular service to the poor, vulnerable, and forgotten;
· Learning more about their faith through ongoing spiritual reading, retreats, adult faith formation programs, and other opportunities;
· If they feel called to marriage, reading more about the Sacrament of Marriage or befriending a married couple to learn from; and
· Honoring their father and mother and other family members by working to grow closer to them and demonstrating their love and care for them, even if they live far away.
Finally, today is the Fifty-fifth World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Pope Francis has delivered a message to mark this occasion.  I want to present several excerpts from his message to conclude this column:
 
Even amid these troubled times, the mystery of the Incarnation reminds us that God continually comes to encounter us.  He is God-with-us, who walks along the often dusty paths of our lives. 

He knows our anxious longing for love and he calls us to joy.  In the diversity and uniqueness of each and every vocation, personal and ecclesial, there is a need to listen, discern, and live this word that calls to us from on high and, while enabling us to develop our talents, makes us instruments of salvation in the world and guides us to full happiness.
 
Today the Lord continues to call others to follow him.  We should not wait to be perfect in order to respond with our generous “yes,” nor be fearful of our limitations and sins, but instead open our hearts to the voice of the Lord.  To listen to that voice, to discern our personal mission in the Church and the world, and at last to live it in the today that God give us.
 
May Mary Most Holy, who as a young woman living in obscurity heard, accepted, and experienced the Word of God made flesh, protect us and accompany us always in our journey.
 
Here is a link for those who would like to read the Holy Father’s Message for the 2018 World Day of Vocations in its entirety: https://tinyurl.com/y7qjl6f5.   .
 
Until next week,
Fr. John