Home/Stay Informed/All Diocesan Articles

All Diocesan Articles

 

 

 

We are Called to ‘Play’ Well Together

Posted on May 28, 2022 in: Vocations

We are Called to ‘Play’ Well Together

One thing I learned from my experience playing team sports in high school was that personal excellence translates to team excellence when individuals perform excellently together (as a team). It’s not enough for players to play well individually. They have to play well together to succeed. 

Last month, on May 8 (Good Shepherd Sunday), Pope Francis released a message for the 59th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. 

In his message, he encourages all of us “to give the very best of ourselves in this great divine plan!” He says: “When we speak of ‘vocation,’ it is about making God’s dream come true, the great vision of fraternity that Jesus cherished when he prayed to the Father “that they may all be one ( Jn17:21).” 
 
Have you ever thought of “vocation” in this sense? As doing our part to make God’s dream of fraternity come true? Have you ever thought of what it might mean for you to give the very best of yourself in the service of God and the Church in this way?

Pope Francis understands the Church as a family. When he speaks of the individual, he speaks of the individual as always part of the wider community of the human family. This is an important point for us to consider. While our vocational journeys are personal and unique, they can only be undertaken together with the brothers and sisters whom the Lord has given to us. 

Each of us, he says, is a creature willed and loved by God. Each of us has a unique and special place in the mind of God. Each of us is addressed by God personally by God’s “loving and creative gaze” in Jesus. Indeed, vocations are born from this gaze, from this personal encounter with the Lord Jesus. Still, he says: “we do not only receive a vocation individually; we are also called together.” 

The Holy Father likens each of us to a tile of a mosaic or a star in the firmament of the universe. Each is lovely in itself, but only when we are put together do we “form a picture” or “form constellations that can guide and light up the path of humanity.” In this sense, “vocation” refers to our common and shared participation in the life and mission of Christ to “reunite a fragmented humanity and to reconcile it with God. Together,” he says, “with all men and women of goodwill, we want to help build the human family, heal its wounds and guide it to a better future.”

As members of the Church, we are all called to bear witness to the truth of that “one great human family united in love.” This means that we are called to be protagonists together of the Church’s mission. He says, “We know the Church exists to evangelize, to go forth and to sow the seed of the Gospel in history. This mission can only be carried out if all areas of pastoral activity work together and, even more importantly, involve all the Lord’s disciples.” 

So what can we take away from Pope Francis’ message to us? I think back to his words from his 2013 TED talk when he reminded us “that we all need each other, none of us is an island, an autonomous and independent ‘I,’ separated from the other, and we can only build the future by standing together, including everyone.” 

Each of us is called to do our part in making God’s dream of fraternity come true. We do this by accepting the vocation that God entrusts to us. Whether it is as a priest, a religious, a married person or a single person, each of us, in every ecclesial vocation and ministry, is called “to serve goodness and to spread love with our works and words.” 

We do this in our own way, with our own gifts and talents, in our own respective roles and positions, together. Always together. This, I believe, is his message for us: It’s not enough for us to “play” well individually. We have to “play” well together. Always together.

Father Jonathan  Ficara
Director of Vocations

 


Most Viewed Articles of the Last 30 Days

Addiction to Adoration: One Man's Spiritual Journey
There is an old saying that could very well describe Brother John Blaschik’s journey to the Trappists: “Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.” Not too long before becoming a monk, he was on a very different path — a path to perdition. Blaschik is a monk of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (also known as the Trappists). He resides at Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He leads a life of relative simplicity, silence and separation from the dominant culture, following the Rule of St....

Read More

Reverend George J. Richards Jr. - Obituary
The Reverend George Richards Jr., JCL, of Middletown, passed away at St Joseph's Living Center in Windham, Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the age of 69. Born at the Naval Hospital in Groton, he was the beloved son of the late Margaret and George Richards Sr. Father George is a graduate of St. Michael's Parochial School, Pawcatuck. He graduated from Saint Bernard School, Montville, in 1972, and Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., in 1976. He earned his Licentiate in Canon Law (J.C.L.) degree from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 2000. ...

Read More

They Come to Serve: Diaconate Ordinations in June and July
Join us at The Cathedral of St. Patrick for two momentous celebrations of faith and service!  Mark your calendar for the Transitional Diaconate Ordination on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 10:30 am. Be inspired as three devoted men take a significant step towards their priesthood journey. Their unwavering commitment and spiritual preparation will be on display during this sacred ceremony. Then, save the date for the Permanent Diaconate Ordination on July 8, 2023, at 10:30 am. Witness the culmination of years of formation and discernment as five dedicated men, balanci...

Read More

Sr. Giselle Brouillard-Obituary

Posted on May 12, 2023 in: News, Vocations

382

Sr. Giselle Brouillard-Obituary
Sr. Giselle Brouillard November 20, 1932 – May 6, 2023 Sr. Giselle Brouillard, 90, a member of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, died on May 6, 2023 at St. Joseph Living Center in Windham, CT. Born Giselle Béatrice Brouillard in Waterbury, CT on November 20, 1932, the child of the late Antonio and Marie Jeanne (Descoteaux) Brouillard, she entered religious life in Putnam, CT in 1949 and made her religious profession on August 23, 1952 at the Motherhouse in St. Brieuc, France.  She was then known as Sr. Jeanne Antoine. She earned a B.A. in Education at...

Read More

Annual Catholic Appeal

ACA DONATE

English

 

Español

 

 
Signup for Weekly Newsletter


    Recently Added Galleries
    Click to view album: Rite of Election
    Click to view album: Mass of Ordination  for Fr. Jacob Ramos
    Click to view album: Mass of Ordination for Father Lawrence Barile
    Click to view album: Palm Sunday
    Latest Articles
    Diocese to Recognize Anniversary Couples
    Calendar of Events
    Deacon William McGann, III - 1944~2023
    St. Bernard, Mercy High Schools Hold Graduations
    Mercy Chamber Choir Wins Contest, Will Open for Foreigner During Their Farewell Tour
    We Can Help. Promise to Protect-Pledge to Heal
    Why is June the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
    Memorial Day Masses Honor Sacrifices of Service Members

    Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich
    201 Broadway
    Norwich, CT 06360-4328
    Phone: 860-887-9294