Under the title “Be firm and rise, for He calls you”, a meeting for vocations was held at the Our Lady of Peace Center in Amman on Friday February 18. The meeting was organized by the Beit Jala Latin Patriarchal Seminary with the aim of encouraging young people who might be considering priestly vocations to be enrolled in the seminary in the coming years.

The meeting, which was moderated by Fr. Khalid Gammo, in the presence of a number of priests, included a review of the views of  several religious' figures on their priestly vocations which was followed by a celebration of a Holy Mass. Later, Latin  Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan Fr. Jamal Khader gave a lecture focusing on discovering vocations and overcoming hesitation. A recreational activity was held in the afternoon which was followed by priests relating their life experiences.

A religious vocation is a special grace that God gives to certain persons, calling them to a life of the evangelical counsels. It is a matter of reflecting on God’s call and considering how one is being led to answer that call.

A recent relevant event was related on two brothers  who were ordained Catholic priests on the same day. They said, ‘God chose to call us’. They are  Fr. Connor and Fr. Peyton Plessala.

The brothers were both ordained to the priesthood May 30, 2020 at Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile.

"For whatever reason, God chose to call us and He did. And we were just fortunate enough to have had the foundations from both our parents and our education to hear it and then to say yes," Peyton said. He added that he was most excited to begin helping out with Catholic schools and education, and also to begin hearing confessions.

It is to be admitted that priests are an instrument used by God for the salvation of souls since no matter how people make successes and achievements in mundane life, they still miss an important part of their lives, namely the spiritual aspect which represents a divine power that guides them in their lives.

At all moments of life people seek pious people who are glorified through their august deeds in the service of the Lord. They are namely “the priests” who are the instrument used by the Almighty God  to lead people towards the gates of the Kingdom of God.

In his Angelus prayer, on July 26, 2009, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, “Priests become instruments of salvation for many, for all!"

Furthermore, on February 6, 2016, Pope Francis addressed the priests on the occasion of the Jubilee for Priests saying, “The priest is the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner.”

On the other hand, while addressing the International Theological Symposium on the Priesthood on February 17, 2022 Pope Francis said, "Priests are called above all to closeness with God, which helps them draw all the strength needed for his ministry. By drawing close to Lord Jesus, priests experience with Him both joys and sorrows, precisely because they rely on His strength, and not their own. This closeness must be nourished by prayer, and by silent contemplation of God. At the same time, it leads priests to draw close to their people; which in turn brings the priest closer to God."

The priests’ dignity is not limited to the Mass alone for they also shares another divine prerogative when they pardon sin through the sacrament of Penance. Only souls in the state of grace can enter paradise; therefore, God has entrusted the very keys of Heaven to his priests.

 This view is corroborated in the Holy Bible in this verse:  “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”( John 15:16)

Priests are highly venerated in all societies for the divine services they provide to people and satisfy their spiritual needed, we pray for them saying:  "Lord Jesus Christ, give to your Church today many more priests after your own heart. May they be worthy representatives of Christ the Good Shepherd. May they wholeheartedly devote themselves to prayer and penance; be examples of humility and poverty; shining models of holiness; tireless and powerful preachers of the Word of God; zealous dispensers of your grace in the sacraments. May their loving devotion to your Son Jesus in the Eucharist and to Mary his Mother be the twin fountains of fruitfulness for their ministry. Amen.