Article 4
VOCATIONS TO PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE INTHE ARCHDIOCESE:
THE TEMPO IS PICKING UP
From Your Shepherd and Teacher
Elden Francis Curtiss
November 15, 1996
The increase of 16 new seminarians for the archdiocese this fall is one of the signs that something positive is happening in vocation ministry in northeastern Nebraska. In addition, this edition of The Catholic Voice reports increasing numbers of postulants and candidates for religious communities which serve in the archdiocese.
Father Mark Filips, our Vocation Director, reports increased interest in vocations everywhere in the archdiocese, especially in our Catholic high schools. He thinks we may have as many as twenty new seminarians for the fall of '97. At this rate it will not be long until we have 50 seminarians preparing for priestly ministry in the archdiocese.
Spiritual hunger in our youth
We are experiencing a renewed interest on the part of our youth in spirituality, in a search for greater purpose and meaning to their lives, and in a deepening dissatisfaction with the secularism and materialism of our culture. There is a hunger in young people for prayer and contemplation and shared religious experience of the Lord and his Spirit. This is leading more and more of them to consider spending their lives in loving service to people in the name of Jesus.
There is a growing appreciation for priestly and religious ministries in the Church, and for the communities of faith which will sustain them on their journey through life. Young people are learning the importance of support groups who share their values and ideals. Our archdiocesan priests offer much support and encouragement to young men considering the priesthood. The prayer life and ministry and strong community ties of religious serving the archdiocese encourages young men and women to consider religious life.
Prayer for vocations
All of this new spiritual awakening in our young people is being undergirded by an increasing emphasis on prayer for vocations. We have many people in our parishes spending hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We have over 600 individual and couples in the St. Charles Society who pray daily for vocations to priesthood and religious life. The two Serra Clubs in Omaha keep our people focused on the absolute need to pray for vocations. Our Catholic schools are emphasizing vocation themes in eucharistic liturgies and other prayer experiences. Many of our parishes include prayer for vocations in the petitions at weekend liturgies. We are convinced that the Lord of the harvest will raise up adequate numbers of laborers when many people of faith beseech Him to do so.
I have asked parishes throughout the archdiocese to establish vocation committees or vocation leaders who will keep the focus of parishioners and council members and religious education teachers on the vocation ministry of the archdiocese. Where this is being done, we have noticed an increase in inquiries about priesthood and religious life. Someone in the parish in addition to the pastor and someone in the school in addition to the principal has to be responsible for keeping a prayer emphasis on vocations, and for channeling vocation materials to prospective candidates.
Priests and religious support vocations
One of the strengths of this archdiocese is the strong support of priests and religious and other vowed people for vocations. Father Filips has asked our priests to identify and nurture one prospective candidate for priesthood in the archdiocese -- this gives us the potential for 200 or more viable candidates. I am asking the religious of the archdiocese to do the same for their institutes. I continue to ask our Serrans to invite personally young people they meet to consider priesthood and religious life. We have learned from experience that most people have to be personally invited to prayerfully consider a vocation before the process of discernment can begin.
There is evidence, on the basis of a recent national study, that many Catholic parents do not give positive support to vocations for their children. There are various reasons alleged for this lack of support, from the small size of families today to the concern parents have for the material well-being of their children and grandchildren. We priests and religious have to convince reluctant parents that our vocations have brought immense satisfaction and joy to our lives. A lifetime in service to people who need us is a fulfilling and enriching experience. Most of us would not trade our lives of ministry for anything else on this earth. We have to demonstrate to parents everywhere in this archdiocese that supporting vocations to priesthood and religious life in their children is the greatest gift they can give them.
Essential role of priests and religious in the Church
The question I must ask all the people of the archdiocese is this: How important are priests and religious to you personally and to your lives of faith? It must be a priority for us that we have priests and religious who are willing to give their lives in loving service for others. We need men of faith who continue the apostolic ministry of presiding at the eucharist, who share the gifts of the Spirit with us, who forgive our sins in the name of Jesus. We cannot achieve salvation in the long run without priests. And we need religious women and men who live fully the evangelical counsels, whose lives of holiness continue the prophetic office of Jesus in reaching out to the poor and marginalized in our communities.
If you agree that we need priests and religious in adequate numbers to serve the people of God, and to constantly reach out to those who are alienated from Him, then vocation ministry will be a priority in this archdiocese. You will pray and work for vocations in every way you can. And then we will have all the priests and religious we need in this archdiocese in the future, and some left over to share with the larger Church.
