11 Sunday in Ordinary Time

PROMOTING VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD

THE HARVEST IS ABUNDANT BUT THE LABORERS ARE FEW.

Perhaps the number of laborers in the Lord's harvest will never be enough. Still the need is great and every effort should be made to work for vocations to the apostolic life.

Some have observed that perhaps this entails some out-of-the-box thinking. If there are few entering the priesthood, why not look to lay people who are willing to share their time, talent and treasure in the apostolate? This is an authentic option because responsibility for the growth of the Kingdom belongs to the Church and the Church is not only priests but lay people, as well. Nevertheless, the ministerial priesthood is indispensable for the life of the God's people. And so work for vocations to the priesthood should continue in earnest.

The obstacles to vocation promotion are many. Parents often stand in the way of their children who have made up their mind to say "Yes" to the Lord. Extended adolescence have made it difficult for young people to make a commitment. The many options facing them have aggravated the situation. Some have expressed the feeling that they are not good enough or not intelligent enough to enter the seminary.

Those who work directly for vocation promotion also have their own "demons" to grapple with--the demons of frustration and discouragement. After so much effort, only a few enter the seminary. At times, none at all. The temptation is to throw in the towel and say: "What's the use!"

In reality vocation promoters do not really plant the seed of vocation. It is God. That is perhaps why Jesus tells us to pray to God for vocations. The task of vocation promoters is to help young people become aware of the seed and help them to take steps to nurture that seed.

What can be the involvement of lay people in vocation promotion? They can encourage young people to say "Yes" to God's call. They can also provide financial support to pay for the studies and board and lodging of the seminarian. Finally, because families are the seed bed of vocations, they can provide a healthy family environment and a lived experience of Christian life in which the seed of vocation can grow and flourish.

Someone said that a vocation is a daily answer of yes to a daily call from God. This means that taking care of one's vocation doesn't stop when one is ordained a priest. It continues until death. For the gift of the priesthood can be lost. For the priest this entails prudence and a fervent spiritual life. For the lay people it means appreciation for their priest, being forgiving of his defects and assurance of their support.

St. John Bosco said with great conviction: "The greatest gift that God can give to a family is a son priest." If this is so, then having a priest in the family is a sign of God's special affection for that family.