Vatican City, Dec 4, 2017 / 11:59 am
Do not wait to begin living out your vocation, Pope Francis said on Monday, encouraging people to stop making excuses for not answering God's call to share in his mission in a particular way.
"The joy of the Gospel, which makes us open to encountering God and our brothers and sisters, does not abide our slowness and our sloth," the Pope said in a message released Dec. 4.
"It will not fill our hearts if we keep standing by the window with the excuse of waiting for the right time, without accepting this very day the risk of making a decision. Vocation is today! The Christian mission is now!"
Pope Francis' message was sent ahead of the 55th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will take place on April 22, 2018, the fourth Sunday of Easter, with the theme of: "Listening, discerning, and living the call of the Lord."