Within the universal call to sanctity, Christ chooses "in every generation, someone to take care of their people; in particular, He calls to priesthood men who play a fatherly role, whose source is God’s fatherhood”. These are the words of Benedict XVI in His Message for the 43rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations that will be celebrated on May 7th, about "Vocation in the mystery of the Church”. A mission, that of the priest, that the Pope calls "irreplaceable”, and besides which "the call to a consecrated life" also "has a place of honour within the Church". "Following the example of Mary of Bethany explains Benedict XVI many men and women devote themselves to totally and exclusively following Christ", as they do not consider the "many services that they still carry out in the area of human formation and in the care of the poor, in teaching or in assisting the sick" as "the ultimate goal of their lives". Now "that the harvest is abundant" and "the labour is scarce", states the Pope, quoting the Gospel, "we deeply feel a need to pray for vocations to priesthood and to consecrated life. It’s not surprising he concludes that, where people pray fervently, vocations are plentiful”.
