In 2021 National Vocations Awareness Week runs from the 1st to the 8th of August. As we are still in the year of Amoris Laetitia that was declared by Pope Francis, this year we will focus on the vocation of the family.

All of us have a vocation from God to holiness, to deny ourselves and to love others sacrificially. For most of us, the main opportunity that we will have to do this is in our families. Not just for parents either, but for all family relationships whether as a son or daughter, a sibling, an aunt or uncle, or a cousin. God has entrusted us all with the people in our family, for us to love, support and care for. It’s important that we pray and reflect on how we can better live out God’s call in our life within our family.

Below are three specific ways that you can reflect on your vocation in your family.

Rosary for the Vocation of the Family

Pray together this Rosary for the Vocation of the Family. This rosary uses the joyful mysteries, which focus on the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph. The rosary is a wonderful prayer to pray together as a family, and children can be encouraged to participate or even lead once they are familiar with it. If you’re not very familiar with praying the rosary you can find out more about it here. If praying a whole rosary is not something that your family is used to then try praying just one decade together. If you pray through a different decade each time you could pray through the whole rosary over 5 nights or even 5 weeks.

Amoris Laetitia Videos

During this year of Amoris Laetitia, the Vatican Dicastery for Laity and Family Life are producing 10 videos. These videos feature Pope Francis, quotes from Amoris Laetitia, and interviews with families from around the world. There are also accompanying pastoral guides which feature quotes, reflections and prayers that you can go through together as a family. So far 5 videos have been released which you can find at the website of the Dicastery for Laity and Family Life. In particular it would be good to watch the third video which is on the Vocation of the Family.

Read Amoris Laetitia

Amoris Laetitia is an apostolic exhortation on love in the family. Pope Francis wants it to be widely read and has addressed it to all the lay faithful. You may have heard it being discussed or even argued about, but why not read it for yourself? We are blessed in our time to have easy access to Church documents and you can find the complete text of Amoris Laetitia online at the Vatican website or you can purchase a copy for yourself inexpensively.

The mystery of the Christian family can be fully understood only in the light of the Father’s infinite love revealed in Christ, who gave himself up for our sake and who continues to dwell in our midst. I now wish to turn my gaze to the living Christ, who is at the heart of so many love stories, and to invoke the fire of the Spirit upon all the world’s families.

– Amoris Laetitia 59