Discernment Rosary

Elizabeth cries out, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42). All generations will call the Virgin Mary blessed both because she was called by God to bring Jesus to earth and because she said yes. Immediately after receiving Jesus herself, Mary knew she must bring him to others. Elizabeth was very old and John the Baptist was very young (an unborn child), but both said yes to God in their turn. Every vocation is different. Every vocation is a mystery. At the sound of Mary’s voice, St. John the Baptist leapt for joy while still in his mother’s womb, answering God’s call for him early and enthusiastically! Everyone is filled with great joy during the Visitation.

You too will be called blessed in the Kingdom if you say yes to your vocation. If you are called to be a diocesan priest, you will spend your life bringing people the only hope that will ever fill the emptiness within them: Jesus. This will bring great joy to both you and them! Whether you are old or young, answer now! To be filled with Jesus as Mary was (and as you are), will always move us to bring him to others. Are you doing this now?

St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

The Blessed Mother and St. Joseph could have complained to God: “Is this how you treat your friends?” Nine months pregnant, in labor, after a long ride on a donkey, the time to give birth to the Son of God had arrived—and there was no private place provided. Mary and Joseph continued to trust and wait, though they also did their part. Jesus was born according to God’s perfect will, humbly, in a stable. The Savior has come. The salvation of the world is upon us. The angels are singing. The shepherds marvel. The Christ child sleeps. How can anyone doubt God’s love? “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

St. Joseph went about knocking on doors, asking for a room, praying, trying to trust. God can’t drive a parked car! God will never lead you where his grace cannot sustain you. He is faithful and he will provide. Difficulty is always a part of discerning one’s vocation. You have to keep trusting and waiting, even when life is hard and things are unclear, but you must also do your part. You must knock on doors, gather information, and keep moving. The time came for the child to be born… there was no more delaying. Has the time come for you to answer God’s call? Reflect in your heart.

Baby Jesus, please give me the grace. St. Joseph, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“Behold this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35). Simeon had been promised that he would not die until he had seen the Savior, and God kept that promise. Taking the Christ Child in his arms, he prophesied that not everyone would welcome Jesus and the Christian message. He also foretold that the Blessed Mother would suffer intently as the perfect disciple of her Son. Jesus is Lumen Gentium, the light of the nations, though some people will harden their hearts and choose to remain in their darkness. Yes, the presence of Jesus in the world reveals the “thoughts of men’s hearts.” Every person must choose to be with him or against him.

The Gospel must be preached so that people can come to know Jesus. Most of the world today has never heard the Gospel. How tragic that most people living today have never known the love and mercy of Jesus! Will they die without ever having seen him or known him? Who shall go to them? If you are called to be a priest, you will bring Jesus and his Gospel to the world. He is the answer to which every human heart is the question. Is Jesus revealing the thoughts of your heart regarding your vocation?

St. Simeon, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“After three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:46-47). Poor Mary and Joseph looked for Jesus in sorrow for three days, terrified that they might have lost him. Jesus said: “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (2:49) If only everyone were looking for Jesus as Mary and Joseph did, seeking him as if their very lives depended on finding him. Jesus is the key to eternal life! And he has chosen to bring his teaching and grace through the sacraments to all people through the Holy Catholic Church.

Listen to your heart. If you are called to be a diocesan priest, then your place is in the Father’s house and you must be there. Because a priest is present at Mass every Sunday, the people can come searching for Jesus and they find him, powerfully present in the Word and in the Eucharist. They find his mercy in Confession and they see his care and kindness in your priestly hands. When you read the words, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” does something resonate in your heart?

Blessed Mother, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified” (Matthew 27:26). Already Jesus is saving others through the shedding of his blood. Barabbas did not deserve to be saved, yet then again, neither do we. “The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Jesus poured out his blood for me. The blood of Jesus Christ is easily the most precious thing in the universe! It has the power to give everlasting life. Before it, the demons shriek and flee. “For one drop of his blood which for sinners was spilt, is sufficient to cleanse the whole world from its guilt.”

If you are called to be a priest, you will feed people with the very body and blood of Jesus. They cannot be fed except through the hands of a priest! If you become a priest, you will handle the most precious thing in the universe. The blood of Jesus has the power to give everlasting life. Kneel with Jesus at the scourging and ask him for the gift of generosity. Pray for the gift of mercy for Barabbas, for yourself, and for all others who do not deserve to be saved. “And the whole people said in reply: ‘May his blood be upon us and upon our children’” (Matthew 27:25). This ancient curse is now our prayer.

Holy Souls in Purgatory, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews.’ They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head.” (Matthew 27:29-30). One day, when Jesus comes again on the clouds of heaven, to judge the living and the dead, every knee will bend and every head will bow and every tongue will proclaim that he is Lord! That day will be a day unsurpassed in glory in the entire history of the world. Come Lord Jesus! But today is a different day. The same God of infinite glory has been beaten bloody, crowned with thorns, and spat upon. Jesus is a patient God. Look at his magnanimity, his greatness of soul. He endures all this, saying nothing. Though one glance would annihilate the entire Roman army, he will not use his infinite power to protect himself.

Jesus suffered humiliation and derision as he worked out his vocation to do the Father’s will, so you should expect nothing less. If you are called to become a priest, some will ridicule you and say that you are wasting your life. Even your family may deride you. Be like Jesus and show mercy to those who persecute you. Pray for them. Jesus died for them too, and he knows that your priesthood will affect them powerfully. “Father forgive them; they know not what they do” (Luke 23:43). Do not be afraid of those who scoff at your vocation. Jesus may not use his infinite power to protect himself, but he will use it to protect you! Trust him.

All holy priests in heaven, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him. They pressed into service a certain passer-by, Simon of Cyrene… to carry his cross” (Luke 23:26). St. Simon of Cyrene just happened to be passing by. Though in reality, it was all part of God’s plan. Simon was called by God to help Jesus in his moment of agony; to literally walk beside him and support him, because the cross was impossibly heavy in his weakened state.

The people of God carry very heavy crosses of all shapes and sizes. Carrying their crosses is their way to heaven, but sometimes they cry out and fall; the cross is just too heavy. A priest is a Simon of Cyrene for these people. He goes to them in the hospitals, the nursing homes, and the prisons to pray for them, to console them and to lighten their burdens. If you are called to be a priest, you will be a Simon of Cyrene for others. “Whatsoever you do for one of these least brothers of mine, you do for me” (Matthew 25:40). Perhaps you are just passing by, minding your own business, and are being pressed into service… God may be calling you to become a priest! If so, what a blessed man you are!

St. Simon of Cyrene, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“They brought him to the place of Golgotha (Place of the Skull). They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take” (Mark 15:22-24). St. John, the beloved disciple, was the only one who stayed with the Blessed Mother at the foot of the cross. All the other disciples fled. The Son of God spoke to him these wonderful words, in the very moment of the redemption of the world: “’Behold your mother.’ And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home.”

If you are called to become a priest, you will boldly proclaim the mystery of faith: “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.” Keeping our eyes fixed on the cross always provides the strength needed to do the will of God. The temptation is so strong to run away like the apostles, not to embrace it, not to accept the will of God. Any Christianity without the cross is a sterile heresy which saves no one! The holy priest, St. John, because he stayed close to Mary, stayed close to the cross also.

St. John, Apostle and Priest, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“Then he led the apostles out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them, he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:50-52). After his resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with the apostles, teaching and forming them to be heralds of the Gospel, preparing them for the day when they would be sent out. He promised to send the Holy Spirit to give them strength. After the forty days were over, the Lord ascended to heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of the Father, from which he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Jesus said, “When I am raised up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). Raised up on the cross, and then raised up into heaven, the Lord has begun this work of drawing people to himself, and he often does this through his priests. People see Jesus in their priests and are drawn to him! The people of God often can see that a priest is an alter christus even more so than the priest himself.

If you are called to be a priest, trust that Jesus will arrange for you to be properly formed and instructed before you are sent out to teach and preach to others. Trust in the grace he provides through the seminary. The Holy Spirit will come upon you at your ordination and you will be strengthened and empowered to do the work of a priest.

St. Peter, St. Paul and all the Apostles, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house…Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues” (Acts 2:1-4). Mary and the apostles received the Holy Spirit and they were clothed with power from on high. As the Holy Spirit descended, the Body of Christ, the Church, came to life and the first priests were sent to work! There were three thousand converts that first day (Acts 2:41).

If you are called to be a priest, the grace of Holy Orders will strengthen you to do whatever is needed to build the Kingdom. The choir will sing Veni Creator Spiritus as the bishop lays his hands on your head, and the Holy Spirit rushes down upon you with great power. God will enable you to do what a priest does, through his natural gifts to you, through your seminary training, and through the supernatural grace of Holy Orders. You will be amazed at God’s power working in you (the sacra potestas) as you begin to teach and preach and forgive the sins of others. Don’t trust in yourself! That is frightening. Trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier and the Advocate. Trust that the Holy Spirit of God will give you the grace to do whatever he asks you to do, and to do it well!

Holy Spirit, strengthen me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

At the end of her earthly life, the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken up body and soul into heaven, surrounded by the angels. This should not be surprising, since Jesus promised all of us that our earthly bodies will rise from their graves, glorified and beautiful, when he comes again! For Mary, this great miracle of resurrection has already happened, due to her sinless conception and life. The rest of us will have to die, be buried, and wait for the Lord to come. Our Blessed Mother prays for us throughout our lives, and at the moment of our death. She will continue to guide and protect us from her place in heaven until the day of Resurrection.

The Blessed Mother’s intercession is often a pivotal moment in many vocations to diocesan priesthood. God uses her powerfully in the process of discernment, and she will help you too! Ask her to pray for you right now. Ask her to pray that you will know whether or not God wants you to be a priest, and that if he does, you will have the grace to follow your vocation. She is in heaven in glory united in body and soul, as we will one day be. She has the ear of God. She is the Mother of Priests.

Our Lady of the Assumption, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

From all eternity, it was the plan of God that Mary be the Queen of heaven and earth. It was all part of her vocation. God called her to be the mother of Jesus. He permitted her to care for him and he desired that she be his first disciple—and the only perfect disciple. He willed that she faithfully stand beneath the cross and that her heart be pierced with a sword of sorrow. It was God’s plan that Mary be assumed body and soul into heaven and that she be crowned Mother and Queen. She did not ask for any of this! She simply loved God, prayed, and sought his will. God called her, and she humbly said yes.

God is also calling you. From all eternity, God has known to which vocation you would be called and he has created you with that in mind. Your vocation, like every vocation, will have both joys and sorrows. If you are called to become a priest, you might say, “I did not ask for this. God called me. He asked me.” Nonetheless, you must give an answer. Imitate the humility and docility of the Blessed Virgin Mary. God will reward all of those who generously say yes to his call with a crown in heaven.

Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven), pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). Jesus did his first miracle at a wedding feast, at the request of his mother. She said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Jesus changed the water into wine—a huge amount of wine—as an eschatological sign that the Kingdom of God is upon us. From that day, “his disciples began to believe in him.”

If you are called to become a priest, you will witness many marriages. You will have the privilege of catechizing young couples on God’s plan for marriage, sexuality, and family life. You will teach them how to grow in faith together. A wedding day is one of the greatest days in a young couple’s life, and a priest is a big part of it! You will also witness many miracles as a priest, as you see grace move in people’s lives. You will watch with amazement as God gently draws people to himself. But are you called to become a priest? Has your hour come to make a move? The Blessed Mother is looking at you, smiling gently and pointing to Jesus. She says: “Do whatever he tells you.”

Holy Mary, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: ‘This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15). It was immediately after Jesus began to proclaim the Kingdom that he called his first disciples: “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). They immediately left their nets and their father to follow him! The call of Jesus is powerful and it is urgent. This is the time of fulfillment. Repentance means changing your heart, or rather, giving God permission to change your heart.

If you are called to become a priest, you will be charged with the primum officium, the primary duty of a priest, to preach the Gospel. With God’s grace and your priestly formation, you will learn how to preach and teach about Jesus Christ and his holy Catholic Church. You will stand in the pulpit every Sunday and explain the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to many people. Jesus said, “He who obeys these things and teaches others to obey them will be called great in the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 5:19). The call of Jesus is powerful and it is urgent. Repent! Give God permission to change your heart to be truly open to his will. “In his will is your peace,” wrote Dante. “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom must be proclaimed!

Jesus, my great High Priest and Lord, help me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them… behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:1-2, 5) Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, we have been disfigured by original sin. Ever since Jesus came and obeyed God, we have been transfigured by grace. One day, we shall shine like the sun with Jesus in heavenly glory, and we should keep our eyes fixed on the prize. But in the meantime, as Moses and Elijah remind us, we must carry our cross up the hill of Calvary.

If you are called to become a priest, you will have the privilege of being with people at some of the most joyful times of their lives: the birth of a child, baptisms, weddings, and anniversaries. But you will also walk with them in the valleys of suffering, sickness and death. A priest is a constant reminder to God’s people that their treasure is in heaven. God’s grace will transfigure a dysfunctional and disfigured people into the image of his priestly Son. The Father is speaking to you now from the cloud, for he knows that you are discerning: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Moses and Elijah, pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

“Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, ‘This is my body which will be given for you. Do this in memory of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you’” (Luke 22:19-20). At the last supper before he died, Jesus ordained the apostles the very first priests. He commissioned them to offer the holy Mass and to feed his people with word and sacrament by saying, “Do this in memory of me.” Jesus also showed the depth of his love and humility by washing the feet of his disciples, modeling that a priest is called to serve others, not to be served by them. After washing their feet, he asked, “Do you understand what I have done for you?” St. Peter did not understand. He said: “You shall never wash my feet” (John 13:8).

If you are called to become a priest, you will offer the sacrifice of Jesus every day in holy Mass and you will feed people with his body and blood. It is a tremendous honor and privilege to stand in persona christi capitis at the altar of God. Even though priesthood is an honor and privilege, men are not called to priesthood for that reason. Jesus taught us to serve others, humbly and simply. A priest shows people God’s love for them by laying down his life to serve them, as Jesus did. Perhaps you have come to the realization that God is calling you to become a priest. If so, the Lord asks: “Do you understand what I have just done for you? Do you understand the honor that has been bestowed upon you?”

St. Peter, please pray for me that I may say yes to the will of God.

The purpose of a priest is to bring people to Jesus and Jesus to people.

O God, I want to want what you want.

Help me to want to be what you want me to be.

Here I am Lord; I come to do your will.

Jesus, I love you.