"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."
- Jeremiah 29:11
Greetings!
It's graduation season. It is a time when our children, grand-children, nieces, nephews, godchildren and friends are closing one chapter of their lives and opening a new one. This season offers much excitement and anticipation about the future and all of the opportunities that lie ahead.
It can also be a time of fear and doubt about the next step. There are so many questions they are certain to be asking. Will I go to college? Will I get married? What career field is best for me? Will there be a job available for me? What is my purpose in life?
Ultimately, what matters most is God's plan for their lives.
We see in the above passage, Jeremiah 29:11, that God has plans for all of us. He desires our welfare and not our harm. He desires for us to have a future filled with hope.
Discovering and living out this plan requires prayer and docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, many of our young people are not open to hearing the voice of God or discerning His plan for their lives -- the plan that will bring them fulfillment in this life, and eternity with Him in the next.
This is why it is so critical for us to pray for our graduating children and young adults. Perhaps it is our prayer that will lead them to the vocation God intends for their ultimate happiness. Or maybe our prayers will help to avert their wandering off onto distant paths away from God's plan.
It is for these reasons that Women of Grace® is offering a special novena of masses for graduates. This special novena will be offered by Reverend Father Michael Oringa, of the Archdiocese of Gulu, Northern Uganda, beginning on May 24th and ending on June 2nd, the Solemnity of Ascension of the Lord.