Pope Francis begins his message by recalling a letter he wrote last year in which he chose four key words \u2013 pain, gratitude, encouragement, <\/i>and praise<\/i> \u2013 as a way of \u201cthanking priests and supporting their ministry\u201d.<\/p>\n
Today, he says, those same words can \u201cbe addressed to the whole people of God\u201d, alongside a passage from Matthew\u2019s Gospel that recounts the \u201cremarkable experience of Jesus and Peter during a stormy night on the Sea of Galilee\u201d (cf. Mt<\/i> 14:22-33). Pope Francis says, \u201cAfter the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus told his disciples to get into the boat and precede Him to the other shore, while hHe took leave of the people\u201d. He explains: \u201cThe image of the disciples crossing the lake can evoke our own life\u2019s journey\u201d:<\/p>\n
The boat of our lives slowly advances, restlessly looking for a safe haven and prepared to face the perils and promises of the sea, yet at the same time trusting that the helmsman will ultimately keep us on the right course.\u00a0 At times, though, the boat can drift off course, misled by mirages, not the lighthouse that leads it home, and be tossed by the tempests of difficulty, doubt and fear.<\/i><\/p>\n
The Pope concludes by asking the Church, \u201con this day in particular, but also in the ordinary pastoral life of our communities\u201d to \u201ccontinue to promote vocations\u201d.<\/p>\n
He says, \u201cmay she touch the hearts of the faithful and enable each of them to discover with gratitude God\u2019s call in their lives, to find courage to say \u2018yes\u2019 to God, to overcome all weariness through faith in Christ, and to make of their lives a song of praise for God, for their brothers and sisters, and for the whole world\u201d.<\/p>\n