Scotland Launches National Good Shepherd Vocations Novena

(Vatican Radio) The national vocations commission in Scotland has launched a new novena as the Church prepares for Good Shepherd Sunday.

Priests for Scotland in association with the Pontifical Scots College in Rome have asked Catholics throughout the country to join with the bishops, clergy and seminarians as they pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood in all dioceses of Scotland.

Vatican Radio’s Ryan Black spoke with the President of Priests for Scotland, Bishop John Keenan.

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The President of the commission, Bishop John Keenan of the Diocese of Paisley, explained that Good Shepherd Sunday provides all members of the Church with an opportunity to reflect on the gift and the mystery of the priesthood.

The commission has decided to retrieve the medieval tradition of praying a novena, in which the faithful are asked to pray a specific series of prayers over nine consecutive days. The commission has written particular prayers for each of the nine days, related to the eight Sees and to the prayer for vocations in general around Scotland.

To promote the campaign, the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has asked the community of the Pontifical Scots College in Rome to publicize the prayers. Each day, a video of a seminarian or member of staff from each diocese reading the prayers will be posted on the College Facebook page.

Bishop Keenan believes that it is important to reflect on the gift of the priesthood. He believes that people are seeking the fatherly guidance of priests, who will guide and shepherd them to “the green pastures of the sacraments.”

The Church in Scotland has been rocked by scandal in recent years. This has had an impact on vocations and the participation of the lay faithful in the liturgy. Bishop Keenan believes that the situation is changing. “There have been dark days in the Church; the scandals are well-rehearsed, but there is a sense that this chapter is closing. There is a rebirth in a love for the Church in young people, which expresses itself in a desire for vocations. There is a desire to live their lives not on the basis of careers, but on vocations, not just to marriage and family life, but also to religious life and the priesthood.”

To provide focus for the prayers, the commission has focused on the word, ‘shepherds’. It believes that every letter of the word provides an insight into the nature of the priesthood. The faithful will be asked to reflect on the fact that their shepherds are called to Serve, Heal, Evangelize, Pray, Hope, Educate, Reconcile, Dedicate themselves, and Search.

The faithful are asked to enter into the novena, which is called ‘Following the Shepherd’, on Saturday 9th April. They should then continue with the series of prayers for nine days, ending on Good Shepherd Sunday.