One of the two fundamental themes of this Synod is helping young people find their vocation.
POPE FRANCIS
'Let us not be afraid of life commitments, commitments that take up and concern our entire life. In this way our life will be fruitful.'
FR. GIUSEPPE DI VIRGILIO
Synod Expert
'Vocation is the authentic response of every man, woman and young person to the call that God places in his or her heart.'
Theologian Giuseppe di Virgilio participates in the synod as an expert on vocation and the Bible. He says that there the stories of vocation are like an exodus, making people abandon what they have in exchange for something more precious.
FR. GIUSEPPE DI VIRGILIO
Synod Expert
'In the Old and New Testaments, there is a long series of vocation stories that show how young, old, married, famous or rich people... respond to God's call in an extraordinary way.'
MARÍA DEL PILAR RÍO
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
'Because we are all God´s creations, we all have a vocation; It is a vocation that is shaped throughout the course of our lives.'
Maria del Pilar Rio is a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and is an expert on lay theology and the vocation to lay celibacy.
MARÍA DEL PILAR RÍO
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
'What does lay celibacy mean? That God calls some people to live out celibacy in the midst of the world. Yet, it is not only living in the midst of the world, but also transforming their existence to a specific call and mission from God.'
'The person who lives lay celibacy out is in profound union with Christ; He is called in some way to identify himself with the years of Jesus' life that He spent entirely dedicated to His Father, living in Nazareth, working as a carpenter, with His neighbors and friends... That is our model.”
One example of a vocation to lay celibacy is that lived out by some men and women in Opus Dei.
MARÍA DEL PILAR RÍO
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
'I have met many people, men and women who, through their professional life, have made this dedication to God with an indivisible heart, as a service to the Church, to God, to people.” 'I think that lay celibacy is a marvelous testimony in this world of ours that often lives in darkness. It is a marvelous testimony of God's love, of a response to God's love that is gratuitous, disinterested. It is a love of God that enlarges the heart in such a way that everyone fits.'
In short, she explains that lay celibacy involves renouncing marriage and a family. Yet it does not involve renouncing love, nor a spiritual paternity or maternity.
