AMERICA/COSTA RICA - Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life: “We ask the Lord of Grace for perseverance, fidelity, and sanctification in our Priestly Ministry and in the Consecrated Life.”

San Jose (Agenzia Fides) – In this Year for Priests, on Thursday, October 8, the Archdiocese of San Jose will hold a Day of Prayer for members of consecrated life. A statement issued by the Commission for Vocational Ministry for Consecrated Life and sent to Agenzia Fides announced the event. The celebrations will begin at 3pm in the San Jose Cathedral with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, which will be followed by a Holy Mass presided by Archbishop Hugo Barrantes.
In a statement sent to all the priests, the Vicar for the Clergy, Fr. Eliecer Figueroa, acknowledged the “great gift of an entire 'Year for Priests'” given by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in which “we are encouraged to reflect intensely on our priestly identity and, above all, pray for ourselves and ask for the prayer that is needed for us, from the People of God.” The Vicar hopes that “this important moment of ecclesial communion will be lived in prayer to Jesus, the Good Shepherd,” and asking “the Lord of Grace for perseverance, fidelity, and sanctification in our Priestly Ministry and in the Consecrated Life.” “Likewise, we pray for our Christian families, that the Lord will bring forth from them many vocations to the priesthood, religious life, missionary vocation, and lay vocation, which are so needed,” Fr. Figueroa concluded. (GT) (Agenzia Fides 1/10/2009)