Dear friends in Christ,

When Bishop De Angelis of Peterborough asked me a few months ago to look after the new Office for Vocations, Youth and Evangelization in the Diocese, I was naively thrilled; thrilled about being asked and about being given this opportunity, yet naïve about how daunting a task was ahead of me. Daunting indeed it was and still is. Yet, over the last six months I have also had occasion to see the potential there is out there, very often hidden deep within people, but nonetheless real and abundant, for people want to find answers to the many questions they have and seek to find happiness and meaning in this world and beyond.

Vocations, evangelization and youth are three words that, if they are understood at all, evoke enthusiasm in some, yet concern in others. Here is already the beginning of the daunting task ahead: to make sure people understand what these three areas are all about. If there is anything people agree on, it is that the areas of vocations, evangelization and youth are critical for the life of the Church. The future of the Church and local Catholic communities depend on them.

Vocation in its most general understanding is about the very personal and most intimate call of God to each and every human soul; a call aimed at guiding each person to find the place of greatest happiness and holiness in this life and beyond. This call, therefore, extends to every facet of life from particular choices for career, values and belief to the more basic decisions such as marriage, the single life or a religious state. The mandate of this Office is to focus, albeit not exclusively, on religious vocations. We need priests, permanent deacons, missionaries, sisters and brothers, nuns and monks of all descriptions. The Church needs vocations and there are vocations aplenty. Despite cultural challenges and personal inadequacies God still calls people today to any and all of the above. His call is there. What seems to have become more difficult, however, is to hear the call. The challenge of this Office is to try to inform people about the reality of God's call; encourage people to pray for priestly and religious vocations; make people feel comfortable to talk about them; address the many concerns there might be; and invite individuals to find out and discern their personal vocation.

Evangelization is about spreading the message of the Gospel in any way possible. Whatever we do or say as believers, motivated and informed by the truth of our faith, is part of spreading the Gospel and bearing witness to it. Of course, the more we know about our faith and the more we are open to the action of the living God in our lives, the more we will be able and willing to make him known to others. While the ways to spread the faith are endless, his Office is focusing on three areas in particular. The first one is to encourage people in the parishes across the Diocese to discover and appreciate the richness of our faith and the beauty of the Church, and to invite them to be ever more deeply and personally involved in the life of their local Catholic communities. The second focus of the Evangelization Office is to give to lay leaders of our parish groups and ministries an opportunity to grow in the knowledge of their faith and to increase their understanding of the Church's teachings and practices. Last, but not least, this Office is trying to reach the large number of our Catholic people who, for whatever reason, have become estranged from the faith and from the Church, and to allow them to address their grievances and concerns and invite them home.

Youth is the third focus of this new Diocesan Office which is no less crucial and no less challenging than the other two. Indeed, the future of the Church lies with our young people. The Holy Father has been reiterating this truth in so many ways, not least of all by inviting them to an encounter with him and with the Universal Church at World Youth Days since 1984. These events, as unique and exceptional as they are, show how much our youth and young adults can be part of the life of the Church and how much the Church wants them to be part and parcel of her mission. The focus of this new Office for Youth is to reach our young people in various ways with this very message. By offering assistance and ideas for local parish youth groups; by putting on retreats, conferences and faith based presentations in parishes and schools; by promoting participation in World Youth Days and sponsoring our own Diocesan Youth Days; by supporting any initiatives, local, diocesan or global, which seeks to help our youth and young adults know God, discover their faith and find a home in the Church. Their energy and enthusiasm, their talents and gifts, their idealism and hope are the forces Christ will use to build up his kingdom on earth.

To accomplish any of these goals this Office needs, first and foremost, the grace of God and the prayers of his holy people. Beyond this, your contribution, your ideas, your support and your cooperation would be most valuable and appreciated. Each and everyone has something important to offer, no matter how small or insignificant it might appear, and there is absolutely no telling what can be accomplished, since with God all things are possible.

For now, I will continue my pilgrimage of sorts through the Diocese visiting each parish to talk to the good people in the pews, in the schools and in the streets about vocations, evangelization and youth, and about what this might mean for them, for their lives, for society and for the Church. And I do so maybe less naively, but still thrilled to be able do it.

In Christ,

Father Norbert.