At the end of Divine Liturgy, the following is the Prayer for Vocations, for a new Priest for St. Goerge, that is read before the dismissal:
Choir: Blessed be the Name of the Lord…(2x)
O Lord, the High Priest of God’s People, You have shown us that it is Your Will that men be called to the priesthood of Your Holy Church.
From the ranks of fisherman, You called Andrew and Peter, James, and John, and made them, and their successors in every age, to the be “fishers of men.”
· We, Your people in this age, call upon Your great love to inspire dedicated men to be Your future priests.
· Touch their lives with Your Holy Spirit; give them the courage to answer Your call and the strength to work all the days of their life in Your service.
· As we call Your Name for more vocations, O great High Priest, send a priest after Your own heart to shepherd and lead Your flock here at the Saint George Orthodox Church.
For You are a loving God, and we praise Your Holy Name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Amen.
The life of the priesthood is an extension of Christ and His Ministry.
The fresco above (source unknown) shows Christ in the center offering Holy Communion (Himself), Above Him is the depiction of the Holy City (Jerusalem). Clockwise, we see images of a priest in some of his ministry: to the down-trodden, ministry to those in prison, teaching children, burying the dead, baptizing, marrying, confessing, feeding the hungry, encouraging the widowed, and anointing the sick.