MEMBAKUT – Pauline Sister Laura Anggie returned to St. Patrick here to share her vocation story on Vocation Sunday, 22 April 2018. A year ago she was there to give a talk on media awareness.
Father Ronnie Luni presided over the Mass. Immediately after Mass he invited the three sharers to tell their stories. The sharers were Sr. Laura from the Daughters of St. Paul Kota Kinabalu; Sr. Regina Tao from Betania Community Keningau, and Cylvie Andrew from Holy Trinity Missionaries Keningau.
One amusing feature was the dressing up of the children in the different habits of the religious institutes in the state such as the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP), the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (FSIC), the Putri Karmel (PKarm), Carmelitae Sancti Elias Brothers, and the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor (OFMCap). There was even one dressed as a bishop!
The purpose of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations is to publicly fulfill the Lord's instruction to, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). As a climax to a prayer that is continually offered throughout the Church, it affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the ordained ministries (priesthood and diaconate), to the Religious life in all its forms (male and female, contemplative and apostolic), to societies of apostolic life, to secular institutes in their diversity of services and membership, and to the missionary life, in the particular sense of mission "ad gentes." – www.usccb.org
This year marks the 55th Anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.