Por el P. Damien Ho, SDB, Equipo Vocacional de la Inspectoría (San Francisco, California)

Querida Familia Salesiana:

At the heart of Easter is a call and the empty tomb opens a path. The risen Christ meets his disciples and sends them out: “Go and tell… go and make disciples… go into the world.” The resurrection sets life in motion. 

To encounter the Risen Lord is to realize that our lives are given, shaped, and sent. Hans Urs von Balthasar writes, “The Christian is one who has a mission.” He is making the point that faith is never something we hold onto for ourselves. It always carries a direction. It draws a person outward, into a life that is received from God and given back in love. Mission is not an extra part of Christian life; it is what gives it form!

Vocation begins in the gaze of Christ, who knows us and calls us forward each and every day. Pope Francis reminds us, “Every vocation is born of that gaze of love.” Easter reveals that gaze in its fullness. The Lord who passed through death now stands before us and calls each one of us by name.

We spend our days with young people who are asking important questions about their lives. Questions about direction, purpose, and what is worth giving themselves to. Easter gives language to those questions as it opens the possibility that their lives are far from random, but entrusted.

At the same time, many young adults are finding their way back to the Church. Some return on their own, others with their young families, often carrying an openness and a readiness to begin again. We see this across our parishes and young adult groups. The young Church is alive, with a real desire for faith and for opportunities to serve. This is something we are called to nurture through good accompaniment, a welcoming spirit, and a genuine invitation. This is an incredible gift from our Risen Lord! A simple invitation into conversation, into community, or into a place of service can become the beginning of something much more. 

Often, it begins in ordinary conversation.

Speak about how the Lord has led you. Share the moments that shaped your path and the people who walked with you. When vocation is shared in a genuine and human way, it becomes something the young can begin to recognize in their own lives. These moments come up more often than we think. Whether that be around a meal, in a classroom, after Mass, in the youth groups, or especially in a conversation that lingers a little longer than expected. A word, an encouragement, or even a simple question can stay with someone and take root!

Vocation animation grows through presence and trust. It asks whether we are willing to name what we see in the lives of the young people we encounter. Easter assures us that Christ is alive and is still calling.

As Salesians, Don Bosco never began with programs or strategies. He began with presence. He stayed close to the young people, listened to them, and helped them recognize the good already alive in their hearts. He guided the young people toward the life God was inviting them to live. This spirit continues in us. 

May we stay close to the young, attentive to their lives, and ready to enter into conversation with them. In this Easter season, may we take the opportunity to invite and to accompany the young to recognize the call that is already there. And as we do, may we also find our own vocation renewed, remembering once again the One who calls us and continues to lead us forward.