The Ingredient for Priestly Vocations

The ingredient for priestly vocations | Rev. Jacek Stefanski | Homiletic & Pastoral Review | May 2009

In order to fulfill their ideals and challenges, young people are in desperate need of priestly inspiration.

It is truly uplifting to read about the great number of people who are received into full communion in the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in so many parishes across the United States. This gives the Church a reason to rejoice and fills her with hope, for the Lord is thereby giving us another sign, that he does not abandon his Church. Moreover, it is a beautiful indication that Christ’s command to the apostles—“Go and teach all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”—is carried out even in places where prosperity and a misunderstood notion of freedom often divert man’s thoughts from his eternal destiny.

At the same time, we see a strange inconsistency. On the one hand, there is a steady increase in the number of Catholics, and on the other hand, there is closing and clustering of parishes and Catholic schools in many dioceses across the United States. Catholic churches are being sold—sometimes to Protestants, sometimes to developers who need more land for new malls or homes. And this is not only sad, but tragic, bearing in mind the numerous faith-filled, hard working immigrants who, while often experiencing economic hardships, came to the United States with the right priorities. For them, the need to build a beautiful house for the Lord came first; financial success and even a good job came second. Actually, looking at those churches, one can see that they were built to stay, as an edifice of glory and praise to our Heavenly Father. Moreover, many of those churches had schools built right next to them, since the immigrants could not imagine that their children would be educated in any other place, but right there, next to God’s house, where they would be instructed in virtue and love for God and neighbor.

Obviously, not all of those churches and schools were established by immigrants. Churches and schools which have been built more recently are also being eliminated, or clustered. Logically, though, one would think that since the number of Catholics is growing, it would be necessary to accommodate them all. In addition, a larger number of Catholics—especially the thousands who are received into the Catholic Church at the yearly Easter Vigil—should be an indication of more fertile soil for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. One would think that there should be more authentically Catholic homes, where the young are encouraged to think about a calling to serve the Lord in the priesthood or the religious life. Besides, since the number of Catholics is growing, Mass attendance should be on the rise, as well as the number of people who go to confession, for there is no spiritual growth without a constant conversion from sin. One may think that all this should be the case. But it isn’t.

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Comments

[Joe]

In a word, Hooray!

"... what’s needed badly is inspiration, inspiration and more inspiration: more priests who are dressed as priests; more priests who talk to the Lord on their knees; more priests who consecrate themselves daily to our Blessed Lady; more priests with “spines,” who are not afraid to be politically incorrect; more priests who are willing to talk about sin and grace and point the way to heaven and salvation—in season and out of season."