Profession Cross

May 7

Under “Promoting Vocations” in the newest set of the Oblate constitutions (that is waiting for approval from Rome), it states: “In every community, prayers are offered for vocations on the first Thursday of the month.” In some communities, it’s a daily prayer in the form of a petition added to the Universal Prayer/Prayer of the Faithful at Mass and/or to the Intercessions for Morning and Evening Prayer. The late Fr. Bill Keech, OSFS, was known for always adding a prayer for vocations during the Salesianum Oblate community prayer times. The phrasing of his prayer is still lodged in my memory because I heard him say it so often. He prayed, “For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, especially to the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, we pray to the Lord.”

Whether it be daily or monthly, I think it’s important to pray for vocations - for all vocations - because we all need help discerning in what way we are being called to give our lives in service to God. Part of our work as Oblates is to help people respond to St. Francis de Sales’ statement that “We all have a vocation. We must believe that God has called us to fulfill a special mission that no one else can accomplish.” We are called to help people discern their “special mission that no one else can accomplish.”

Those who are being called to religious life and/or the priesthood may need a little extra help and encouragement because it is a counter-cultural way of life. People will easily avoid talking about it or dismiss it for that reason. The more we can talk about it and become comfortable talking about it as an option to which God calls people, the better for everyone involved.

I was raised Catholic, but there is a way of praying for vocations to religious life and the priesthood that I only heard of for the first time in September of 2023. I was presiding at Mass at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Wilmington, DE and they asked me to do something before the final blessing that was unfamiliar to me. They asked me to present a small statue of Mary to one of the women in the community, and when I looked at them with confusion, they explained that the person who receives the statue takes it home and focuses on praying for vocations to religious life and the priesthood for the week. This practice was new to me, but I soon discovered that it is more common than I realized.

Within a year and a half after this experience, some Oblates came up with a uniquely Oblate way of participating in this tradition. Instead of using a statue of Mary that gets passed from family to family, they decided to focus on something tangible from within our community - our Profession Cross. The goal is to pray for the next man who will wear an Oblate Profession Cross. Wooden boxes were designed to pass from family to family. They contain the following: a Profession Cross, weekly prayer book (with a prayer for each day of the week), and a discernment prayer card. I was moved by this idea (it gave me goosebumps) because of how it captured the part of Fr. Bill Keech’s frequent prayer for vocations where he said, “…especially to the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.” About 10 of these boxes are being used in a variety of Oblate apostolates.

Whether you have access to one of these boxes or not, we invite you to pray with us for vocations to religious life and the priesthood - and especially for the next man to wear the Profession Cross of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.