All are welcome to join us for a Bishop Baraga Deanery Vocations Apostolate.

  The Bishop Baraga Apostolate is a new initiative of the Brainerd Deanery which seeks to support vocations within our Deanery by praying for vocations daily, learning more about how we can invite others to a vocation, and helps support our priests in concrete ways.

  Following Mass we will gather for a potluck in the social hall. Meat will be provided so you are asked to bring a salad or dessert to share. This is a great opportunity to invite others to come and learn about the Apostolate in the spirit of fellowship and is open to everyone! We hope this to be an annual event where members of the Apostolate, and others that would like to learn about it, will come together for prayer and fellowship. We hope to see you there!

Bishop Baraga [bear' ga] Vocations Apostolate  of the Brainerd Deanery

 Mission Statement
  Learn, Pray, Support:  Meeting the needs of our Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Religious. As Catholics in the Brainerd Deanery we meet the needs of our deanery priests, deacons, seminarians, and religious through learning about their current needs, praying for them daily, and supporting them through collaborative efforts.

 What is an Apostolate?
   Apostolate comes from the word Apostle, which means “to be sent.”  An Apostolate is a mission or purpose in life. Encouraging and supporting vocations is an apostolate for all Catholics.

Membership
   The faithful of the Brainerd Deanery are encouraged to become members of the Bishop Baraga Vocations Apostolate.

   What does membership in the Apostolate entail?  Most importantly prayer for our priests, seminarians, deacons and religious.They need to know that we care about their vocation and health as they minister to the faithful. Secondly, we need to have funds to enhance their spiritual life.  Why do we need funds to strengthen our Apostolate?  Some simple examples would be:

• send birthday cards and gifts to our priests, deacons, seminarians, and religious
• provide spiritual direction for our priests (ie. have a spiritual director visit our deanery on an ongoing basis)
• provide seminarians with cassock and 4-volume breviary
• hold an annual appreciation dinner
• adopt a seminarian program
• Recommended reading: “A Priest for the 3rd Millennial” & “To Save a Thousand Souls”.

   We recommend that members of Bishop Baraga Vocations Apostolate contribute $30 each year to provide our necessary funds. Not everyone may be able to contribute this amount; some are able to contribute more. We encourage everyone, whether they can contribute or not, to please pray for success in our endeavors.

The Power of Prayer
   In the little village of Lu, in northern Italy some of the mothers prayed a particular prayer imploring for vocations to the priesthood. Through the trusting of these mothers and the openness of the other parents, an atmosphere of deep joy and Christian piety developed in the families, making it much easier for the children to recognize their vocations. From the tiny village of Lu came 323 vocations: 152 priests and 171 nuns. 

   If a small village can get 323 vocations, what can an entire Diocese do???

 ** Guidelines for Praying for Vocations **

 Every Day:   Pray the two Daily Prayers for Vocations (back cover).
 Every Month: Make a personal Holy Hour for Vocations, using some of the prayers from this booklet.

                   AND/OR    Attend the formal Holy Hour for Vocations at Church.