The Office of Priestly Vocations, by virtue of this pastoral plan, endeavors to remind the people of God of the ‘new life’ they have received through the sacrament of Baptism. By virtue of water and the Holy Spirit at Baptism, we have become His sons and daughters and thus called to live a life of holiness. As a baptized member of the family of God, we are all imbued with a vocation, a calling.
In a particular way, this Plan will focus on providing the education, direction, and inspiration necessary to assist our priests, lay ministers, and all people of God to become ‘vocation directors’. This will afford everyone to be reminded of the important role they play in the life of the Church, and give our still discerning young people the best possible opportunity to consider, ‘Could God be calling me to live out my life as a child of God, my holiness, as a priest or consecrated religious?’
The Office of Priestly Vocations hopes to accomplish this task in three specific ways:
Education — sharing the research and statistics presently at our disposal
Direction — providing priests, parish staff, and laity with the ‘tools’
Inspiration — reminding via theological reflection why this should be a priority
The goal of the Office of Priestly Vocations is for this Pastoral Plan to be studied and implemented at every parish and school throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit. A true increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life in the Archdiocese of Detroit will only occur when all the people of God realize their vital role of both modeling their Catholic faith and then inviting young people to follow. While the focus is on the specific vocations of priesthood and religious life, all can benefit from a deeper reflection on vocations. How else will our youth be able to hear the call of the Lord or the challenge of our Blessed Mother, ‘to do whatever He tells you!" (John 2:5).