2014-03-03 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday asked the faithful to pray for vocations, so that God may send priests and nuns whose hearts are for Him only; free from the idolatry of vanity, of power and of wealth.Speaking during morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis took his cue from the Gospel reading of day which tells of a rich man who ran up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and asked him what he should do to inherit eternal life. This man – the Pope said – really wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. "He was a good man, a man who had observed the commandments from his youth, but this was not enough for him, he wanted more. The Holy Spirit was pushing him further". Jesus looked at him, loved him and said to him: 'Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor; then come, follow me'. At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions:
"His heart was restless, because the Holy Spirit was pushing him to get closer to Jesus and to follow him. But his heart was full and he lacked the courage to empty it. He made his choice: money. His heart was full of money…. But he was not a thief, or a criminal: no, no, no! He was a good man: he had never stolen! He had never cheated anyone: his money had been earned honestly. But his heart was imprisoned, it was attached to money and he lacked the freedom to choose. Money chose for him".
How many young people – Pope Francis continued – feel this call to get close to Jesus within their hearts, and they are enthusiastic about it. "They are not ashamed to kneel before Him" and to "publically show their faith in Jesus Christ" and "they want to follow Him, but when their hearts are full of something else and they lack the courage to empty their hearts, they turn back and their joy becomes sadness". There are many young people today – Pope Francis said – who have a vocation, but sometimes there is something that stops them:
"We must pray so that the hearts of these young people may be emptied, emptied of other interests and other sentiments, so that they may become free. This is the prayer for vocations. 'Lord, send us nuns and send us priests, defend them from idolatry, the idolatry of vanity, the idolatry of pride, the idolatry of power, the idolatry of money'. This prayer of ours is to prepare these hearts so that they are able to follow Jesus closely".
The man described in the Gospel reading – the Pope said – is "such a good man and then he is so sad". Today there are many young people like him. This is why we must pray intensely to God:
"Lord, help these young people so that they may be free, not slaves, so that their hearts be for You only; so that the call of the Lord can be heard and can bear fruit. This is the prayer for vocations. We must pray a lot. But we must be careful: there are vocations. We must help them to grow, so that the Lord can enter into those hearts and give this indescribable and glorious joy that belongs to every person who follows Jesus closely".