This weekend the diocese asks us to pray for vocations to the priesthood. It’s called, Priesthood Sunday. As you are all well aware, we are approaching a crisis in staffing parishes. In the years since World War II there has been a substantial reduction in the number of priests per capita in the Catholic Church, a phenomenon considered by many to constitute a “shortage” in the number of priests. From 1980 to 2012, the ratio of Catholics per priest increased globally, with the number of Catholics per priest going from 1,895 to 3,126. This number continues to grow as few young men enter the seminary. Let’s listen to the words of the late Pope Francis on priesthood; “A priest needs to have a heart sufficiently “enlarged” to expand and embrace the pain of the people entrusted to his care while, at the same time, like a sentinel, being able to proclaim the dawning of God’s grace revealed in that very pain. Embracing, accepting and showing his own impoverishment in closeness to the Lord is the best means to learn gradually how to embrace the neediness and pain that he encounters daily in his ministry, and thus to be conformed ever more closely to the heart of Christ. That, in turn, will prepare the priest for another kind of closeness: closeness to the people of God. In closeness to God, the priest grows in closeness to his people; and conversely, in closeness to his people, he experiences closeness to his Lord.” It will take a nurturing and encouraging family to foster priestly vocations. While the call ultimately comes from God, that call is often murky and distorted when parents sometimes insist their children take to certain careers they feel will be the most financially lucrative for their children. Money however will never buy happiness or a piece of mind. If someone is truly called then no matter where they hide, God will be there calling them to Himself for this most special mission of discipleship in ordained ministry. So I pray that each family pray for vocations, encourage vocations, and foster an open environment of open dialogue where religious vocations can be talked about and encouraged. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25) Fr. Roach
