God still calls young people even today, sometimes in ways we can’t imagine.
“For vocations to the priesthood and religious life” is the theme of the Pope’s prayer intention for the month of February 2025. This topic leads him to speak about young people, and the need to accompany them with their dreams and concerns. At the same time, he talks about a crucial moment in his own life.
TEXT OF POPE FRANCIS’ MESSAGE
When I was 17 years old, I was a student and was working. I had my own plans. I wasn’t thinking at all of being a priest. But one day, I went into the church…and God was there, waiting for me!
God still calls young people even today, sometimes in ways we can’t imagine. Sometimes we don’t hear because we’re too busy with our own things, our own plans, even with our own things in the Church.
But the Holy Spirit also speaks to us through dreams, and speaks to us through the concerns young people feel in their hearts. If we accompany their journeys, we’ll see how God is doing new things with them. And we’ll be able to welcome His call in ways that better serve the Church and the world today.
Let’s trust young people! And, above all, let’s trust God for He calls everyone!
Let us pray that the ecclesial community might welcome the desires and doubts of those young people who feel called to live Jesus’s mission in life: either through the priestly life, or religious life.