A Catholic diocese in Taiwan is urging young people to rediscover vocation beyond priesthood and religious life, promoting faith, family, and service as paths of Christian witness amid growing secularization and digital distractions.
The Taichung Diocese in central Taiwan gathered priests, religious sisters, families, and lay faithful in April for an International Vocations Day celebration at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Tianzhong under the theme “A Vocation for You, Walking Together in Pastoral Care.”
Fr. Liu Hongfu, chairperson of the diocese’s Vocations and Youth Commission, said vocation “is not only expressed in priestly and religious life, but is also manifested in marriage and family life,” where people can “live out love and responsibility in ordinary life and become witnesses.”
The gathering reflected broader efforts within the Church in Taiwan to accompany young people through discernment, prayer, and family-centered formation as society becomes increasingly shaped by secular culture and digital distractions.
Fr. Nguyen Bao Lu, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Tianzhong and a member of the Little Brothers of Jesus, said God “does not call people because of intelligence or outward appearance,” but seeks people with discernment, willingness to serve, loving hearts, and lives rooted in the Gospel.
Parents of Fr. Liu Xing’en also shared how faith shaped their family life and eventually led their eldest son to the priesthood.
The priest’s father warned that modern society is “filled with temptations” and said excessive dependence on technology and worldly distractions could distance young people from God.
“Only through prayer, repentance, and the sacraments can hearts reopen to the Lord and lives be transformed,” he said.
During the thanksgiving Mass, Bishop Su of Taichung said vocation is “a gift blossoming within the heart,” driven by “an attraction of love rather than external pressure.”
“Every person has a vocation,” he said. “Whether in marriage, family life, priesthood, religious life, or social service, all are ways of responding to and witnessing God’s love.”
