Introduction
- ALL
- In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
- READER
- As the clay in the hand of the potter, so you are mine. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born, I dedicated you. I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.
- ALL
- God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me, which he has not committed to another. I am a link in a chain, I have a mission.
Day 1
- READER
- I thought of you from all eternity; I called you by name and chose to save you, sanctify you, glorify you eternally because of the great love with which I've always loved you.
- ALL
- St. Leonard, make us aware of how God loves us infinitely and calls us to a specific mission on earth. May we realize God's project of love for us; may we in turn love him back with all we have.
Day 2
- READER
- Today the lay person can and must be an apostle no less than the priest or the missionary, and in some environment more than the priest. We must strive to form lay people who are Christ's leaven in their own workplace.
- ALL
- St. Leonard, inspire among the laity a sense of the sacredness and worth of their vocation. Make them feel the power of their call to holiness. May they bring their gifts to the Church community, and take their place as authentic ministers of God.
Day 3
- READER
- My father was a banker and a practicing Catholic; a man of wisdom and honesty. My mother was a pious woman, an example to all, very close to her children: she was an angel.
- ALL
- St. Leonard, bless all parents. Aid them in carrying out their call to fatherhood and motherhood with dedication, prudence and wisdom. May they raise their children in the awareness that God, in his infinite love, calls each one to a mission of service in his Church.
Day 4
- READER
- As a child my dream was to become, someday, a military officer. In high school I seriously considered a career in politics. In college I was leaning toward a degree in mathematics and physics, for I perceived that the era of engineering was approaching. Yet, God called me to be a priest!
- ALL
- St. Leonard, enlighten the young people who are discerning their vocation. Guide them in the acceptance of who they are and in the discovery of God's project for them. May they respond with generosity to the Lord's call to holiness and grow as active members of the Church.
Day 5
- READER
- He has chosen me! He has called me, he has even forced me to accept the honor, the glory, the unspeakable happiness of being his minister. Never had I thought and never would I have imagined of becoming, someday, a religious. Yet, God made this happen, and I am, thanks to his goodness, a religious, bound three times to God!
- ALL
- St. Leonard, teach us to appreciate and esteem our vocation as a most precious gift from a most loving God. Grant us perseverance and fidelity as we journey on the path God has mapped out for us. May we experience the intimate joy of trusting God with our whole life and walking humbly in his presence.
Day 6
- READER
- Priest! What are you? You are not you, because you are God. You are not of yourself, for you are servant of all. You are not to yourself, for you are to live only for God. You are not for yourself, for you are mediator for God. You are not from yourself, for you come from nothing. What are you, then? Nothing and everything. Priest! After God, God on earth!
- ALL
- St. Leonard, revive in our hearts the reverence and gratitude for the priesthood of Christ. Sustain the pope, the bishops, the priests, the deacons in honoring their call with lives of holiness and service. May the whole Christian family treasure and promote the role of ordained ministry in the Church.
Day 7
- READER
- We are God's farmers, we work in the service of the Lord, of the Church and of society… We sow new activities with abundance according to the signs of the times and the new needs of the people. For the fruit of the harvest we trust in God's Providence, in good enterprise, and in the future.
- ALL
- St. Leonard, accept our gratitude for the religious congregation you have founded. Renew its members in their commitment and service to the young people of the world. May the Congregation of St. Joseph grow strong by the holiness of its members and by their faithfulness to the mission you have entrusted to them.
Day 8
- READER
- My dearest co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord, let us encourage one another to work hard and, above all, to work well. Let us not have to bear the doubt that some young person, redeemed by the Blood of Christ, might have been lost, in part, because of our indifference, laziness, or selfishness.
- ALL
- St. Leonard, protect all those who are part of the extended Josephan family: volunteers, apostolic families, friends, benefactors, alumni. Give them your spirit of dedication and your sense of urgency for the growth of the kingdom. May they continue to bring Christ in all areas of today's society.
Day 9
- READER
- I realize how God, more and more often, chooses his very own ministers, his priests, teachers, pastors and leaders of the Church, not from among the rich and noble, but from the ranks of the humble, the simple, and even from among my poor orphans.
- ALL
- St. Leonard, open the hearts of the youths entrusted to your congregation to the fullness of the Christian faith. Strengthen them in their love for Christ, support them in their loyalty to the Church. May they be a constant source of new members for your religious congregation.