ADORATION FOR RELIGIOUS VOCATION We take a moment of silence to reflect on the
(Jan. 26, 2024) blessings and wonders God has provided us in our
vocational journey.
Introduction: (2-3 minutes) We
sing________________________________.
“Come, follow me.” (Mark 1:17) It is a simple yet absolute
call. Prayer for Forgiveness:
The call to follow Jesus is the call to discipleship. It means As we acknowledge God's infinite love and goodness in our
that we put Jesus first, that we give him our complete daily journey, let us pause to recall our shortcomings. With
obedience, and trust and offer our whole being to Him. Just humility and contrite hearts, we beg for His mercy and
as the disciples left everything to follow Jesus Christ, we forgiveness.
rejuvenate our entire life around Jesus. He is our Master; he
is our Lord; and he calls us to follow him. This is Jesus’ Psalms and Canticle
universal call of Jesus for all people. In whatever state of life, Invocation to the Holy Spirit
He calls each one of us to follow Him faithfully and joyfully. (Holy Spirit Come Confirm Us # 203)
Perhaps, in our call to religious life, Jesus demands greater
love, obedience, commitment, and perseverance. This is a REFLECTION:
call to follow Christ with one’s whole heart, to love him more “Come, follow me”. (Mk. 1:17) How are we responding
than anyone or anything else. Therefore, someone who is to Jesus’ call to follow Him?
called to religious life will find deep down in his heart a desire In the gospel, the disciples show two important attitudes in
to grow as much as possible in love for Jesus. responding to Jesus’ invitation to come and follow Him. First,
Am I growing in love for Jesus more than anything else at this the disciples immediately obeyed Jesus’ call. “At once they
present moment? How well are we in following Jesus’ call to left their nets and father; and followed Jesus.” Perhaps, they
religious life? promptly heed the invitation of Jesus. They were open and
In this adoration, we pray that as consecrated persons, the receptive to the Words of Jesus. They listened attentively to
fire within our hearts keeps burning for the love of our Lord the message of Jesus. Because deep within their hearts they
Jesus Christ so that this will rekindle in us the joy to proclaim knew Jesus was calling them to a new way of life, mission,
the good news and renew our commitment to become His and purpose.
authentic witnesses to all peoples. Perhaps, this is how we should respond to Jesus. But the truth
"We fervently pray for the gift of good and holy vocations for is we don’t always do this. Oftentimes, we say our “Yes”
our Congregation. May the young women of today, recognize today to follow Jesus, then tomorrow when things get difficult
the burning and stirring within their hearts as a knocking and rough, we forget our commitment. Our obedience to the
from God who wants to enter into their lives and love them call of Jesus must be prompt and consistent. It is not a one-
unconditionally. time “Yes “instead it is our constant “yes “to respond to
Let us welcome our Lord Jesus Christ, who accepts and loves God’s Call; to love, to forgive, to listen, to be merciful, to be
us unconditionally with the compassionate, and to joyfully proclaim the good news of
hymn________________________________. salvation to all,
Secondly, the disciples left everything else behind. Not only
O Sacrament Most Holy (3x) did the disciples immediately respond in obedience to Jesus’
call but they left everything behind to follow Him. They left
Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving: and offered everything their possessions, occupation, and
even their families.
Indeed, we can say that we physically left the material
possessions of this world and we also left our families to
follow Jesus’ call to religious life. However, following Jesus is
a whole series of leaving things behind.
When we first begin to follow Jesus, we leave our old way of
life behind, but as we continue to follow, we will have to
leave other things behind along the way.
What might God be asking you to leave behind?
Today, what is hindering in the way of your following Jesus
completely?
Silence
Let us sing_______________
Magnificat
Prayer for Vocations
Renewed of Vows
Divine Praises
Final Prayer
Lord, we pray that we may hear your call and respond to it
with the same eagerness and readiness as the disciples did.
We pray that we may be willing to leave behind anything that
hinders us from following you. May we be open to your
guidance and direction today, and every day.
Lord, we know that following you is not always easy. There
will be challenges and obstacles along the way. But we also
know that you are faithful and that you will be with us every
step of the way. Help us to trust in you and to rely on your
strength when we are weak. May we never forget that you
are our source of hope and courage. Teach us to entrust our
life to your loving hands and ask that you guide us according
to your will. May your kingdom come and your will be done in
our life, as it is in heaven. We ask this through Christ our
Lord, Amen.
