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October 20, 2023Vocatio Dei (The Call of God)
I am so happy to be back on Tybee Island after being away for nearly ten days. The Vocation Day at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and the priest retreat for Cincinnati both went very well, but the October chill in Ohio reminded me why I love living in southeast Georgia at the beach! A big thank you to Fr. Jerry Ragan and Fr. John Lyons for covering the masses while I was away.
This Sunday is known as Called by Name Sunday, primarily because of the first reading from Isaiah 45: “I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the Lord and there is no other.” Called by Name Sunday reminds us that the Lord knows us through and through. He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He knows our gifts and our weaknesses. And knowing all of these things, the Lord still loves us and calls each of us to use our gifts in a certain way to build the Kingdom of God. The word vocare in Latin, from which we get our English word vocation, means “to call.”
As the Vicar for Priestly Life and Vocations, this is a message which I find myself thinking about and talking about a lot, especially with young people who are seeking the plan of God for their lives. I spend quite a bit of time in appointments (face to face or on the phone) with young people who are trying to discern what God wants them to do.
Last weekend, Fr. Jerry read a letter from Bp. Parkes which was read and/or published in every bulletin of every parish in the Diocese of Savannah. The letter described our Called by Name program, in which we are asking you, the good people of this diocese, to write down the names of young men and women, high school aged or above, in whom you see faith and leadership potential for the Catholic diocese of Savannah. You will see the envelopes in the pews with more information about this. I emphasize that we want the names of men and women, which illustrates that this is more than just a way to find more priests for our diocese. Certainly, to identify young men called to priesthood is a primary objective, but if every young person sincerely prayed and sought to know the will of God, our Church would look very different indeed. We want to help all of these young people find their vocation and become leaders of the Church!
Please pray during Mass today and ask the Lord what names He wants you to write down. The Holy Spirit may use your “nomination” powerfully to provide great, future saints for the Church of Savannah.
Fr. Brett Brannen
Pastor
