Called 'to set out into the deep' Vatican 's Cardinal S tafford , Archbishop Prenderg ast Discuss the role of lai ty
Cardinal Stafford at St. Ignatius: "Every person has been called to be holy . . . . Nothing can justify a retreat from this truth. "
A rchbishop
Prenderg ast: ' The laity s most important task is "the transformation of our society "
by Patrick Joyce W hile their vocation resists easy def in ition , lay p eople p lay a vit al role in the Church , giving witness — even to death — of t he Chr ist i an hope f or salva ti on , Cardinal J. Francis Stafford told a conference on the Vocat ion and Format ion of the La ity at St . Igna ti us Church in San Franc isco . Lay peop le mos t of ten g ive that wit ness in t he everyday l if e of
work and home , but in the pas t cen tury lay peop le around the world have shown the "most dramat ic and unf orget t able f orm of this wit ness " - martyrdom, Card inal St aff ord , pres ident of t he Vatican 's Counc il f or the Laity, told participants in the April 28 conf erence. "Two t h irds of all the martyrs in t he Chr ist ian era d ied in the 2 0th cent ury . From Mex ico to Alban ia, Korea to Ukra ine , in the Spanish Civil War — tens of thousands of
Cathol ic men and women witnessed with the ir lives to the truth that political power is not all that there is The mar tyred demonstra ted that human beings are not what totalitarian regimes said they were — mere machines to be man ipula ted ." Pope John Paul II wrote of the Jubilee Year 2000 as a "remembrance of t he pas t and a
prop hecy of t he f ut ure ," Card inal Staff ord sa id .
Look ing back over his own l if eti me , the 80year-old pope recalled the world wars and genoc ides of the 20th century and said "it s atrocities cannot remain simply a memory ." "In the Jubilee year, t he p ope asked us to focus on the Christian martyrs of the 20th century," Card inal Staff ord said , and when pa rti ci-
pants i n World Youth Day "made the evening pil gr i mage to t he Colosseum , t he ir remembrance of the martyrs transf igured many of us .
We understood that our ancestors put out into the deep in a deadl y fog . To forget that is to forge t who man i s and who we ourselves are."
May 6: Bay to pray for vocations b y Father Craig Forner In Pope John Paul II's September 14th letter on Vocations, he calls "all life a vocation '' . Each person has a distinct place in God 's plan for salvation and every life has an inherent purpose. Vocation is described as "a-relationship with God and every human being, in the freedom of love." Consider vocation in this light and strive to renew our love for God daily and remain open to His call. This instills in our children and ourselves a distinct sense of purpose, of mission and a response to God, and if we are open to Him, it becomes evident what God wants from us. When we view our lives in relation to our Lord's divine plan of salvation, we begin to see the value of each individual life in the church. We know the call to the priesthood and consecrated life is a special gift from God. For this reason we should invite our children to consider a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life, from an early age. Pope John Paul II, also makes it clear that vocations to other states of life: to marriage or the single life fit into God's plan of salvation, and have a distinct role in giving God what is rightfully His; namely our personal love and talents in building His church on earth. Our daily renewal of love of God will instillconfidence mat our future decisions live in harmony with His purpose. .The Pope has asked each of us to pray for vocations on May 6th . This petition highlights "the need for more ordained priests to guarantee the sacramental presence of Christ in the Church." Prayers are needed to open people's hearts to the interior call of Christ. May our prayers join those of John Paul H askingGod to " send out more laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38). Resources to nurture vocations: Fr. Craig Forner, Archdiocese of San Francisco Vocations Office 415-614-5683. A free weekly newsletter on email: "Ayw.shoreiinesfo legioi iaires.com
More vocations coverage on Pages 6 and 7
In that deadly f og mi ll ions d ied in the pas t century . The scandal of Chr ist i an involvement in t hose "horrors of the 2 0t h cen t ury, " Card inal Staff ord said , is root ed in a collapse of Christian identity among the laity. • "The d ign ity of the la ity ar ises f rom two
cen ters of the ir l if e - the church and the world . The la ity real ize i n t hemselves the prese nce of the world in the Church and the Church in the world . . . the lay person is both in the heart of the world and t he cent er of t he Church. . . . They are sentinels on watch f or both , the world and the church ." STAFFORD/PRENDERGAST, page 5
Cancer survivor Rose Ottolini uses her God-given quilt-making talent to cheer up y oung victims of the disease.
Story and pictures ~ Pages 10 and 11 »