This past summer in
Krakow, Poland, Pope Francis gave a powerful challenge to the young church. “Dear
young people, we didn’t come into this world to ‘vegetate’, to take it easy, to
make our lives a comfortable sofa to fall asleep on,” he said. “No, we came for
another reason: to leave a mark. It is very sad to pass through life without leaving
a mark.”
Our Diocesan Vocation
Office launched a new event in November of 2016 titled #leaveamark16. The event
kicked off National Vocation Week in the Diocese of Scranton. As young people
live out their baptismal call to holiness, they are encouraged to ask
themselves the question, “How am I leaving a mark?” At the reception, we got
many wonderful responses about how members of the young church are currently
leaving a mark and also how they planned to leave a mark after the event on
November 6.
As we begin a New Year,
many individuals come up with resolutions, usually trying to better their lives. We encourage both young and a little bit
older to think once again about that message from Pope Francis. In 2017, how
can you leave a mark? How can you be a protagonist of history? How can you
teach the world that it is easier to build bridges than walls? God wants you to
dream and realize that with you, the world can be different.
Look what individuals
have been doing since the start of the year:
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| World Youth Day pilgrims gathered for a day of service at the Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen in Scranton |
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| Members of the Quo Vadis program gathered at Gate of Heaven Parish for faith sharing, sports, and prayer |
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Seminarians Mark Watrucki and Andrew McCarroll
traveled to Texas to join 13,000 other
college students
for Seek 2017 sponsored by FOCUS
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Whether it is in your day to day life or as you are exploring bold choices to commit yourself to the vocation of priesthood, religious life, marriage, and/or lay ecclesial ministry, we want to know what you are doing to 'leave a mark' in the world.
Let’s fill social media
once again with positive messages, pictures, and videos of the young church making a
difference for good in the world. Be sure to use the hash tag #leaveamark17 when posting on Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram.
We hope 2017 will be a
year of many blessings for you, your family members and friends.
May God Bless You,
The Diocesan Vocation
Team