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A reflection by Fr. Oscar Pezzarini, General Commissioner of the Work of Don Orione

Father Oscar Pezzarini

"Serving requires us all to think of others and to open us to needs"

On the Good Shepherd celebration Father Oscar told us to have full knowledge that everything  -  gifts, skills, material and intellectual goods, faith -  is given to us by God. He added that therefore these things must be put to the service of others. "Vocation is God's choice, that is, finding greatness in the human being through service", he reflected.

Buenos Aires, Sunday, May 11, 2003.-Father Oscar Pezzarini, the General Commissioner of the Work of Don Orione, in charge of the weekly comment in "La Manga", Fr. Julio Grassi's radio program (Radio Rivadavia -AM 630 kHz- Sundays from 2 to 5 a.m.), assured tonight on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations that "being a servant makes us think of others, open up to the needs of others and know how to share what we are and what we have".

"Jesus introduces Himself through a comparison which was very common in His days, that is, the example of the shepherds watching their flocks. He compares Himself with this shepherd. He tells people 'I am the Good Shepherd', that is, the one who takes care of those who believe in Him", explained the General Commissioner of the Work of Don Orione.

"Fourty years ago, during the papacy of Paul VI, the fourth Easter Sunday was instituted as a world day of prayer for priestly, religious, or service vocations such as those of laymen and laywomen inside the Church."

"For all times there will be those who walk along with the flock towards the goal of this life which is reaching God. Each year the Pope sends a letter to all men and to the whole Church in which he asks us to reflect on vocation."

The motto chosen by John Paul II for 2003 is "Vocation to Service". There he defines the servant from the Bible's viewpoint where he or she is called by God in order to comply with a particular action of salvation.

"Being a servant makes us think of others, open up to the needs of others and know how to share what we are and what we have. This way we will fully understand that everything  - gifts, skills, material and intellectual goods, faith -  was given to us by God. Therefore we are required to put it to the service of others."

"We all have a vocation, a calling to fulfill a certain mission in life. All that we have, all that we are and what we received is the way man measures his own dignity, given to us by God who made us to His own image and likeness."

"Vocation is God's choice, that is, finding greatness in the human being through service."

The Pope talks to young people, whom he invites to be able to listen to God's voice which calls them to community service in different environments and expressions, such as priests, monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, or the practice of charity.

"The human being's temptation is always the hunt for power. However, we must not forget that he who has authority or power is called to be the one who most serves, thereby turning into the greatest. Many things in our world would be much better if we all tried to live authority as a service for who are most in need", said Father Oscar Pezzarini on the closing.

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