The harvest is plentiful
Jesus said it truthfully: there is much work to do and few hands willing to do it.
Souls — that is the harvest — await shepherds to accompany them, to heal them, to lead them toward God.
But if priests are lacking, there are no ones to carry the Gospel, to celebrate the sacraments, to announce Christ’s forgiveness and mercy.
It is not only a numerical shortage: it is an urgency at the heart of the Church.
There is hunger for God, thirst for meaning, need for shepherds.
And Christ himself told us how to respond: by asking.
A call to pray
Jesus did not say “organize more” or “seek better methods.” He said:
"> “Pray to the Lord of the harvest.”
Priestly vocation does not arise from a strategy, but from prayer.
God continues to call, but waits for his people to intercede.
When the Church prays, the Holy Spirit acts; when a family prays, a heart can hear the call.
Therefore, every Christian has a real responsibility:
to ask the Lord of the harvest to send holy, generous, joyful laborers.
Pray with perseverance
It is not enough to ask once. Jesus spoke of praying without ceasing.
Priestly vocations are born in a Church that prays with persistence and trust.
Pray each day, pray as a family, pray the Rosary asking for priests and for those who could be one.
Each Hail Mary is a seed.
And how many priests, when recounting their story, confess it:
"> “My grandmother prayed the Rosary for vocations.”
“A group in my parish prayed each week for new priests.”
“Someone, in silence, was praying for me.”
Nothing is lost. Every prayer moves the heart of God.
The generosity of interceding
Asking for vocations is an act of faith, but also of generosity.
It means recognizing that the Church does not belong to us: it belongs to Christ.
And He wants his harvest to have laborers, his people to have shepherds.
Dedicating time, prayer, sacrifice, even offering a Rosary or a communion for vocations, is part of our mission as laity, families, and communities.
There is no prayer more fruitful than one that asks for those who will one day bring God’s grace to so many souls.
A Church that prays united
Vocation is born in a community that prays, that walks united, that lives the synodality of being responsible for everyone.
It is not enough to wait for “others” to pray.
Everyone counts. Each one can be an instrument so that a young person hears the voice of Christ calling:
"> “Come, follow me.”
Ask with faith
The harvest is plentiful. Souls are waiting.
And the Lord has given us the way: ask, trust, insist.
Ask each day to the Lord of the harvest.
Do it with faith, with constancy, with love for the Church.
Because God listens. And when the Church prays, He answers.