An article in USA Today can serve as a reminder of the importance of encouraging a culture of vocation. (See: Study: Nearly half of new priests were discouraged against seminary)A survey produced for the US bishops by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University found that almost 45% of Catholic priests planning to be ordained this year said that they had been discouraged from considering the priesthood.
Of those, nearly 6 in 10 said a parent or family member was the source of the discouragement. Fifty-one percent said a friend or classmate had counseled them against the priesthood, and 15% said a priest or other clergy had. The percentages add up to more than 100 because respondents could select more than one category.This does not surprise me and I expect the percentages would be larger in England.
In my diocese, Fr Stephen Langridge, Southwark Vocations Director has been working hard to encourage a "culture of vocation" in which a vocation to the sacred priesthood is seen as something possible and desirable within families and parishes. (Above is his excellent vocations poster from a few years ago.)
This is important because it is easy to become discouraged if our own local vocations work does not result immediately in young men signing up for the seminary. We should not underestimate the importance of speaking about vocations regularly, inviting seminarians to events, letting people know about things that happen at the Seminary (as St John's Seminary at Wonersh has done recently by sending parishes a free colour magazine with articles about the students and their formation.) All of these initiatives help to "normalise" the idea of a priestly vocation - or perhaps it might be better to say that they help to rescue the idea of a priestly vocation from the atmosphere of secular ridicule.
17 comments:
Our Assistant Priest (curate) would often have as one of his Sunday 'jokes' a slighting remark about anyone thinking of entering the seminary. This was said from the ambo (pulpit.)
In all friendliness, were I director of vocations for anywhere but my own little family, I would show up in pulpit after pulpit of the entire diocese and with every rhetorical device known to man endeavor to pry the mass media out of the Catholic home.
To my mind, the steps indicated in this post do not even begin to create a culture of vocation, because the Catholic home is in full submission to its polar opposite, the culture of distraction. For that reason, annihilating the culture of distraction in the Catholic home is the very same thing as creating a culture of vocation. It creates the possibility of the children hearing any Divine call whatever.
For there to be priests, and religious, and happily married young couples, there first have to be courageous Catholic fathers who create prayerful, peaceful, joyful homes in which the Holy Spirit can speak to the hearts of his children, calling them to the priesthood, religious life or married life.
But for that to happen, there need to be courageous Catholic priests and bishops who simply and forcefully state the obvious, that we are allowing our Catholic homes and hearts to be saturated with the culture of distraction.
In other words, it is up to Catholic parents, especially fathers, to create a culture of vocation. In fact, it is a very substantial aspect of his own vocation...
My dream is that a talk along these lines be routinely given at every baptism. If even 5% of Catholic parents took it to heart, it would annihilate the so- called "vocations crisis," which is in fact a parenting crisis.
Fr. Tim,
The vocation-destroying attitude of all too many Catholic parents was summed up in a joke made in a sermon given by the vocations director in my own diocese: the typical "Catholic parent's prayer for vocations":
"Dear Lord, please send us lots of new priests and nuns. But just leave my kids out of it. Amen."
I think it's important to foster a "culture of vocation" period, and embed the priestly vocation into that.
In my experience, the main "problem" people have isn't so much about what their friend or family member is planning to do (although they are concerned about that, of course), but why.
As I'm entering a convent in five months, this topic comes up regularly. People often react "Oh, I'd love to do that, too," after which they wax lyrical about beekeeping, meditation and beer. At the same level, they (hesitantly) support couples who are marrying while still at university, talking about "young love" and the romance of living without money.
But if you point out that the reason my friends are marrying is because they both feel God has led them to it, or that I'm entering the convent because I feel it is my calling, or that another friend will be ordained in June but not because he wants to "help people" - flat-out disbelief, ridicule, or deafening silence.
And in that silence the people of my generation are supposed to miraculously find out that listening to God's voice is the road to happiness? It's not often that a saint's life description speaks to you more than a very physically present parish priest saying We Don't Do That Anymore.
I think that if we manage to tell all the people making life choices now that there's a way to get it right, a hard but satisfying way, the priestly vocations will follow.
The 'Culture of Vocation' should be absolutely central to the Catholic 'ethos' of every Catholic school in teh Country!
So much lip-service is paid to this term 'Catholic ethos', but what does it mean in reality? That the Head and one or two teachers and some of the families go to Mass on a Sunday? Sadly that's about as far as it goes in many cases.
I vaguely remember 'Vocations Days' when I was at grammar school, when missionary Priests would visit for the whole day and talk to us spell-bound boys about their work in far off lands. Of course it helped that quite a number of the teaching staff and the head were actually Priests themselves! Sadly it all seemed to come undone after V11 and the school just got absorbed into the comprehensive system and with that the Catholic 'ethos' just went downhill fast.
Yes, Families first that's where the vocations are sparked but the schools MUST play their part! Ideas?
Some pastoral activity these days in promoting a "culture of vocation" treats of all states of life as being vocational states of life. I think this has a positive aspect - seeing marriage as much as a vocational choice as is the priesthood or religious life, ie, as a calling from the Lord to be followed faithfully, seems a positive pastoral approach (whether this actually happens in these programmes I do not know, and I suspect that the idea of a vocational discernment is only rarely an aspect of marriage preparation).
But it is not unusual for the single life to be presented as a vocational state in the Church as well. I think this has a theological as well as a practical/pastoral difficulty - it involves no particular vocational commitment (vows/promises) as do marriage, priesthood or religious life. A vocational commitment might occur through participation in the life of a new movement or ecclesial community - but that then provides the vocational aspect, not the single state per se. In general, the single life is an openness towards vocation.
And whilst it is right to recognise that we all have a vocation from the Lord, there still seems to be a need to recognise, in a theologically and pastorally correct way and not through simply "putting them on a pedestal", that the priestly and religious vocation is a "higher" vocation in terms of office in the Church (totally equal, though, in terms of the effort for holiness on the part of those who are priests or religious).
After more than 10 years in the Anglican ministry (and education at a protestant seminary that is well-respected even among Catholics), I came into the Catholic Church a few years ago. I approached the diocesan authorities about ordination to the Catholic priesthood -- but I didn't even get in the door. The reason? I was 51 and they don't take men over 50. Their bleating about vocations has rung a bit hollow for me since.
How proud I would be if one of my children was to be called to the religious life. So many parents now discourage their children because of some strange view that they would not continue the family name or be robbed of grandchildren, I even know of a family that sent their son abroad to put him off the idea of becoming a priest.
Our children need to see more priests and nuns in the community. I have often heard children ask if a priests life is lonely? We need to invite our Priests into the home, for one we will all learn so much, for another they become part of our family.
It is so rare to see a Nun in habit, how can we encourage our girls to join convents when there are no signs of them.
We need to pray desperately for vocations.
I think it's amazing how most people nowadays, speaking more outside the Catholic circle, think that nobody really becomes a priest or a religious nowadays. I know at my diocesan cathedral in Brentwood at the Chrism Mass this year, when the Franciscans and Norbertines arrived in their religious attire (they were parked in the council carpark just round the corner) most people on the streets stopped and were stunned almost as if people don't become priests or religious nowadays. It's important to have that visible reminder so that the young lad walking down the street can ponder further a vocation if it had flagged up before hand in his mind. I know seeing priests with their collars or religious in habits flags up for me the idea vocation over and over again.
If you only have one child your not going to want him to become a priest, I know its wrong but I have found it to be the reality. The root of the vocations problem is the contraceptive mentality that has been allowed to take root within Catholicism and no one is doing anything to expunge it.
It must be tackled and it must be tackled aggressively, its not good enough to act like its not there it must be cured.
Fr. Tim,
Just picking up on Stpetric's comment, I used to live in a parish where the assistant priest was an ex-Anglican vicar. He was was also a [perfectly normal] batchelor and completely sound doctrinally, so you would think this would have expedited his integration into the Catholic priesthood. However, although he never said anything about it, reading between the lines, the local bishop had made him jump through an excessive number of hoops before allowing him to become a Catholic priest.
Unfortunately, the bishop concerned rather admires the Anglican model and is quietly in favour of the ordination of women. So there was no red carpet welcome for any ex-Anglican clergy who converted post-1992, who were seen not as refugees but as deserters.
There are many causes of the priest shortage, but we have to be honest and admit that one of the causes is the fact that there are senior prelates who don't actively promote the male celebate priesthood because they don't really like it, and are attracted instead to protestant ecclesiastical structures.
Some very thoughtful comments here.
Especially Lee Gilbert, great words of advice. The Father's role in the family has been all but obliterated by the feminist movement, could write a book on that one! We need a massive revival of what it means to be A Family! Not what the PC loony governments want you to believe but what God has Ordained in the Natural Biological Order. Lee check out James B Stenson (Parent Leadership.com), though I'm sure you are already aware of this man, and his fantastic talks on Fathers in the family, follow this link:
http://www.parentleadership.com/protect.html
VeniteAdoremus - May God Bless you and reward you abundantly in your Religious vocation.
I once had the priviledge of picking-up one Franciscan Friar of the Renewal from our local train station to bring him to our Parish (Blackfen!!! - WoooHooo!!) for a talk he was giving (in aid of SPUC!!).
Wow! I couldn't mistake him when he came out of the station building - full habit and that beard! He told me about the simple 'witness' that wearing the habit creates wherever he or his fellow Brothers go - and much of their work is in the inner city here in London - especially among the young. What a terrific Apostolate! And his cheery, jovial demeanour was infectious, but deadly serious when it came to Faith matters - great example! God Bless them.
I agree with Elizabeth - more evidence of Catholic Religious in the community would make a huge difference. It's commonplace in Rome and in Krakow in Poland when we visited last, Priests and Nuns where very evident on the streets.
Please Pray for our Priests and Religious and lets encourage OUR children to work for the Lord.
The problem with the vocations crisis is not necessarily solely due to the parents unwillingness. If a child wants to become a priest, then he will no matter what the parents say (St. Aloysius Gonzaga is a good example).
The problem more primarily due to what the brilliant Fr. James McLucas referred to as "The Emasculation of the Priesthood". Since the close of the council, the role of the priesthood has become blurred. This is amply seen in the liturgical reforms, where certain actions that were previously reserved for the ordained are now common place amongst the laity. Thus, the priesthood is now no longer seen as the "highest calling" as it used to be. Instead, a visit to a mass in some suburban parishes, would give the idea that the priest is no more than some "liturgy technician" or "communal presider". Who the hell wants to devote 6-7 years of their life for that?
Again, the people in the Holy See need to pause and reflect on whether the last 40 years have been good for the priesthood. If not, why have they not been good?
I agree with lee Gilbert that vocations promotion begins at home and the culture that comes in via the media (even the internet) is indifferent if not hostile to that culture. When I was born my mother shocked the other mothers in her ward by hoping I would be a priest. Well she got her wish - but I made sure it was my choice! I too think the father has a big role. My mother prayed she'd marry a Catholic man who'd rear their family Catholic and she got that wish too (though my brother and sister don't practice). Home is where the vocations get sown and nurtured but they can also be killed or saved by those outside. One of our friars would drop to the hint to likely candidates with the suggestion "We have sandals to fit those feet". It worked too. Pray, encourage and give good example. As a priest, I also ask that people follow Fr. Finnegan's example and encourage others to thank their priests and not criticize them; pray for us instead.
Ottaviani - yes I saw that excellent article and I agree very much with what Fr McLucas said.
The opposition of family and friends is another factor, though.
St Petric & Francis - that is exactly my experience. Many priests and bishops are not committed to a male, celibate, Catholic priesthood. Modern theology reflects that ambivalence.
Father- inspired by your post, I put up a few thoughts about a 'culture of vocations' on my blog- too much to repeat here, but essentially that I think such a culture begins at home.
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