“The harvest is good, but labourers are scarce. Beg the harvest master to send out labourers to gather his harvest.” (Mt 9, 37-38). This extract taken from the St Matthew’s Gospel accompanied the community of the Seminary during Vocations Week held in Qala, at the Parish of the Immaculate Conception and St Joseph.
Following last year’s similar experience at Għasri Parish, the community of the Seminary was invited to renew this experience from the 15th to the 22nd November. This year, the focus was on vocations, especially for priesthood and for a consecrated life.
The experience consisted mainly of moments of communal prayer and of home visits. It included also a daily Mass, said by one of the superiors of the Seminary, and moments of Adoration of the Holy Eucharist. In the meantime, the seminarians were engaged on home visits.
The week started on Friday 15th November, with Mass celebrated in the parish church by the Rev. Rector Fr Daniel Xerri. Fr Xerri was accompanied by the superiors of the Seminary and the Archpriest and priests serving at the same parish.
During the week, the seminarians had the opportunity of addressing a number of children and youths during meetings held for the occasion. These meetings focused on vocations. They were held in centres where religion lessons are delivered. The children were interested in learning about the meaning of ‘vocation’ and how a person can understand his or her call.
The home visits by the seminarians played an important part in this experience. Due to the great number of families living at Qala, these visits were paid mainly to families with adolescents and youths. Paying a visit to a household and receiving a welcome which helps you to start a conversation are in themselves a wonderful experience. During these home visits, the seminarians had the opportunity of getting to know the family and talking about vocations, particularly about their own call for priesthood. There were some youths who showed interest in the call for priesthood and the seminarians encouraged them to discern their call.
This pastoral experience was beneficial to both the community of the Seminary and the Qala Parish since, besides serving to promote vocations, it helped the community to become familiar with the realities of pastoral life and to come closer to the realities through which the Church is passing in our time.
