TRAVELING CHALICE

Our Traveling Chalice Program began Saturday, December 29, at the Vigil Mass of the Feast of the Holy Family. Post-COVID on June 19, 2022, the program was revised and renewed on the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). The chalice is consecrated (reserved for sacred use) to hold the Precious Blood of Jesus. Please do not drink out of it at home. We suggest that you place it in some prominent place in the house, for example, in the center of your dining room table. The ministry volunteers keep the chalice in their homes for a week and pray daily for vocations.

To be clear, we are not praying to the chalice.

This chalice is offered to help serve as a visible reminder of your commitment to pray together as a family for vocations during the week and a reminder that the Mass does not end with the closing prayer. Instead, we take home with us from the Mass the joy, the gratitude, and the mission to share the love of Christ with others in our families and our workplaces.

The volunteer returns the traveling chalice at the following weekend's Mass and presents it to the greeter in the narthex.

We rotate the presentation to a different Mass each weekend as we go through the year. The order of the weekly presentations will follow the Mass times as listed in the bulletin (for example, week 1 - Saturday 5:30 PM Mass, week 2 - Sunday 7:30 AM Mass, week 3 - Sunday 10:30 AM Mass, etc.) Traveling Chalice ministers will be scheduled through the parish Ministry Scheduler Pro (MSP). MSP will email the ministers a reminder the week the volunteer will be receiving the Traveling Chalices at Mass. If you are interested in hosting the chalice for a week, please contact the office at 850-897-7797 or [email protected]. or complete the form on the left side of this web page.

PRAYERS FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

For Those Who Have Been Called:

Almighty and eternal God, in your unfailing love you provide ministers for your Church. We pray for those whom you call to serve our parish as priests. Inspire in th em a generous response. Grant them courage and vision to serve your people. May their lives and service call your people to respond to the presence of your Spirit among us that, faithful to the Gospel and hope of Jesus Christ, we may: announce glad tidings to the poor proclaim liberty to captives, set prisoners free and renew the face of the earth. Amen

For Those Who are Discerning:

Gracious God, You have called me to life and gifted me in many ways. Through Baptism You have sent me to continue the mission of Jesus by sharing my love with others. Strengthen me to respond to Your call each day. Help me to become all You desire of me. Inspire me to make a difference in others' lives. Lead me to choose the way of life You have planned for me. Open the hearts of all to listen to Your call. Fill all with Your Holy Spirit that we may have listening hearts and the courage to respond to You. Enkindle in my heart and the hearts of others the desire to make the world a better place by serving as a lay minister, sister, priest, brother, or deacon. Amen.

For Openness to Vocations

Gracious and loving God, help the men and women of our parish to hear the call to serve in the Diocese Pensacola-Tallahassee. Our needs are great, and our people thirst for your presence. Open the hearts of many, raise up faithful servants of the Gospel, dedicated, holy priests, sisters, brothers, and deacons, who will spend themselves for your people and their needs. Bless those who are serving now with courage and perseverance. Grant that many will be inspired by their example and faith. Amen.

WHAT IS A VOCATION?

A vocation is a calling from God. It is our own unique way of responding to God’s invitation to happiness. God wants us to be happy and fulfilled and at peace.

There are four possible vocations:

1. Married Life
2. Single Life
3. Religious Life
4. Ordained Life

PRAYERS FOR VOCATIONS

Day #1
Almighty and eternal God, in your unfailing love you provide ministers for your Church. We pray for those whom you call to serve the Church of Pensacola-Tallahassee as priests. Inspire in them a generous response. Grant them courage and vision to serve your people May their lives and service call your people to respond to the presence of your Spirit among us that, faithful to the Gospel and hope of Jesus the Christ, we may: announce glad tidings to the poor proclaim liberty to captives, set prisoners free and renew the face of the earth.

Day #2
O God, Father of all Mercies, Provider of a bountiful Harvest, send Your Graces upon those You have called to gather the fruits of Your labor; preserve and strengthen them in their lifelong service of you. Open the hearts of Your children that they may discern Your Holy Will; inspire in them a love and desire to surrender themselves to serving others in the name of Your son, Jesus Christ. Teach all Your faithful to follow their respective paths in life guided by Your Divine Word and Truth. Through the intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, all the Angels, and Saints, humbly hear our prayers and grant Your Church's needs, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Day #3
Loving and Generous God, it is You who call us by name and ask us to follow You. Help us to grow in the Love and Service of our Church as we experience it today. Give us the energy and courage of Your Spirit to shape its future. Grant us faith-filled leaders who will embrace Christ's Mission of love and justice. Bless the Church of Pensacola-Tallahassee by raising up dedicated and generous leaders from our families and friends who will serve Your people as Sisters, Priests, Brothers, Deacons, and Lay Ministers. Inspire us to know You better and open our hearts to hear Your call. We ask this through our Lord. Amen.

Day #4
Loving God, you call all who believe in you to grow perfect in love by following in the footsteps of Christ your Son. Call from among us more men and women who will serve you as religious. By their way of life, may they provide a convincing sign of your Kingdom for the Church and the whole world. Gracious and loving God, help the men and women of our parish to hear the call to serve. Bless those who are serving now with courage and perseverance. Grant that many will be inspired by their example and faith. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Day #5
He said to them "Come and See." They came and saw where he was staying (John 1:39). God of all nations, we are most grateful for the first Catholic missionaries and explorers who came to Florida. As strangers in a strange land they brought with them countless skills, talents, and traditions, but their greatest treasure was their faith. May the good News of Jesus Christ, which molded and shaped their lives, continue to mold, and shape our lives today. Bless our diocese with men and women who will follow in their footsteps to serve the Church as religious brothers, sisters, priests, and deacons. Lord Jesus Christ, help to hear your call to "Come and See."

Day #6
Hail Mary, full of grace; all generations call you blessed. Hail Mother of God; when asked by the angel to bear the Son of the Most High, filled with faith, you responded: "Let it be done unto me." Holy Mother of Jesus, at the wedding feast at Cana, you prompted your Son to perform his first sign. Be with us as we discern our life's work and guide us in the way we are called to following the footsteps of your Son. Holy Mother of the Savior, at the foot of the cross you mourned the death of your only Son. Bless and embrace the loving parents of all priests, deacons, brothers, and sisters. Holy Mother of the Good Shepherd, turn your motherly care to this nation. Intercede for us to the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers to the harvest in this land dedicated to your honor. Queen of Peace, Mirror of Justice, Health of the Sick, inspire vocations in our time. Let the word of your Son be made flesh anew in the lives of persons anxious to proclaim the good news of everlasting life. Amen.

Day #7
Gracious God, You have called me to life and gifted me in many ways. Through Baptism You have sent me to continue the mission of Jesus by sharing my love with others. Strengthen me to respond to Your call each day. Help me to become all You desire of me. Inspire me to make a difference in others' lives. Lead me to choose the way of life You have planned for me. Open the hearts of all to listen to Your call. Fill all with Your Holy Spirit that we may have listening hearts and the courage to respond to You. Enkindle in my heart and the hearts of others the desire to make the world a better place by serving as Lay Minister, Sister, Priest, Brother or Deacon. Amen.