Germany: “Cast the Nets”, online prayer campaign for religious vocations

The 24-hour prayer campaign for vocations “Cast the Nets” was held for the first time last year. Thanks to the strong participation of both believers and religious orders, it will take place again this year during the 56th edition of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on 2-3 May. “Cast the Nets” is an initiative sponsored by the Centre for the Pastoral Care of Vocations of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK). Prayer has a special significance this year. As the head of the Centre for the Pastoral Care of Vocations, Fr. Michael Maas, explained, “we have always been asked to pray to the Lord to send labourers into his harvest. But with the coronavirus outbreak, everything is different. We cannot have public prayers in churches. Unlike 2019, it is going to be difficult to pray in the same place for 24 hours, with the exception of monasteries. But prayer will still take place”. It will be different, Fr. Maas stressed, as the response will come from “many places, houses and flats, where people will be praying for a certain time. The time will be divided among the faithful so as to cover 24 hours of continuous prayer”. The Internet will be instrumental in “Cast the Nets 2020”, which was conceived to facilitate prayer in churches, in the family or individually. “In the current crisis, the question of the meaning of life evokes that of one’s personal call as a Christian”, said Maas. It is possible to participate with one’s voice at the website www.wdna.de. The interactive map shows where people are praying at a particular time in Germany.
Massimo Lavena