Pray For Lay Vocations, Too

by Letters Editor · Published May 9, 2022 · Updated May 9, 2022

By Margaret Hicks, Nelson Mandela Bay – It saddens me that whenever we pray for vocations, we ask for vocations to the priestly and religious life only. Shouldn’t we also pray for lay Catholics to be more involved in existing Church activities, and to establish and build new avenues of mission and service?

In my opinion, the great success and tremendous vibrancy of Pentecostal and Evangelical churches rest on three pillars:

They are effective at preparing the groundwork for personal conversion/experience of the Spirit;
They have a very strong focus on Scripture;
Crucially, they involve lay members in missionary activity and provide training in this area.

Engaging with mission keeps members involved and prevents Churches from being self-contained.

We live in a new reality where Christianity, and Catholicism in particular, are despised, vilified and persecuted, even in the West. It is high time that catechetics emphasised spreading the faith, assisting organisations that help support persecuted Christians worldwide and engaging with secular media to counteract negative perceptions of our faith.

Another reality is our country’s shocking unemployment level. Isn’t it time for the Church to be more involved in job creation and assistance to job seekers of all races?

Lastly, we have a huge number of healthy, mobile, time-rich over-60s whose skills and talents are not being tapped. Who will spearhead cataloguing and tapping into the manifold talents of this group?