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April 28, 2023Abu Dhabi.
“I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full”. With these words, Jesus invites us to welcome his presence among us. He does not ask us to give up joy or happiness. On the contrary, Jesus came to bring life and life in abundance. In this way, we understand that every person's life is a gift from God. We receive life from God. We are called to life by God. Think what a great mystery this is: twenty years ago, thirty years ago, fifty or more years ago, we did not exist; we were only a thought of God. Today we are here and in the world for a free gift. In fact, no one can give life to himself or herself. Life is a vocation. It is a gift from God: a call to live and to love.
This Sunday we celebrate the 60th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. For this, I invite you to pray for all vocations. Above all, for the call for each one of us to be in existence so that we can know how to live life every day as a gift we receive from God, and we are called to live as a response to love. Please, never throw life away! We are all made for great things!
“We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary,” said Pope Benedict.
Vocation fills our life with meaning and gives sense to our existence. Pope Francis reminds us of some essential questions: “How can I serve people better and prove most helpful to our world and the Church? What is my real place in this world? What can I offer to society? For whom am I? Of course, you are for God. But he has decided that you should also be for others, and he has given you many qualities, inclinations, gifts, and charisms that are not for you but to share with those around you”.
Let us pray today, especially for young people who must make critical decisions for their future. God calls us to the fullness of love and happiness through marriage, as husband and wife, through consecrated life, as brothers and sisters, or by becoming priests. We pray for every young person that he may be able to choose the path that the Lord has prepared for them. We pray that everyone is faithful to their vocation to reach the fullness of life in Christ.
+ Paolo Martinelli OFM Cap.
Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia.