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I think each parish should have a plaque prominently displayed listing the men who've gone into the priesthood, and those men and women who've gone into the monastic life. If the plaque is empty, every member of the parish should be ashamed. At least, if the parish has been around for years.

I heard of a good practice in Arlington: each parish had a man chosen to be the "vocation director" of the parish. His job (and he would usually be a married man) was to make sure that the young men were exposed over and over to the idea that it would be good to give their lives to God. I met one of them, and he was an ex-marine, to whom, if he told me to think of religious life, I would have said "Sir, yes sir!"

Oh, and a note to Mike C: if one seminary doesn't accept you, and you have a call to the priesthood, try try again. There are a number of priest saints who either nearly flunked out of or almost never got into the seminary. St. Jean Vianney is one example.

The RC parish where I play has a club that meets weekly to pray for vocations. It seems to be working.

This is linked to both topics being discussed here - please bear with me.

The problem is not confined to the US.

The Parish I presently attend was once a very busy Parish that had to be split - so in the 60s they built a new Parish Church 5 mins walk away from us . The boundaries were re-drawn and Our Lady of Consolation was formed from 3 Parishes. It was a very strongly Irish parish and every year at least 1 mass is celebrated in Irish Gaelic and a Priest has to come over from Eire for this.

Now , however , due to an influx of Muslims and a few Hindus in the area we have an over abundance of Churches and ,as ever ,too few Priests. So in his wisdom the Archbishop decided that OLOC should close and eveyone again come to Holy Cross . But the weeks went past and we got no further info

1 year on -- there are now 2 Church buildings in the one Parish , 4 Priests in the 1 house - 1 is full time [ the Parish Priest ] 1 should be retired [ he is over 70 ] and has frequent periods of ill health and does not drive a car , 1 part time - a Hospital Chaplain and does not give much help in the Parish, 1 part time - the Diocesan Youth Chaplain [ actually this is the only parish in Scotland which is affiliated to Life Teen ] and he likewise does not have much time to spend assisting in the Parish

There is over provision of Masses , and no sense of Community , this year there will be 2 Triduums celebrated - one in each Church and neither will be full. There is but one Seminarian and if truth be known he lives outwith the Parish boundaries.

No Parish Visitation is done - the excuse is that it is difficult because of controlled entry to the tenements.

The weekly income is diminishing and there are now 2 buildings to keep open and heated ,and 3 daily weekday Masses [ 2 in 1 building and 1 in the other ] 6 Sunday Masses, 2 of which are at the same time , plus 1 in the local Hospital every week and on alternate weeks 2 there.

There are 2 Scottish Seminaries - one in Rome and one in Scotland and between them there are 25 Students - for the whole of Scotland.

Within the past year 2 other parishes in Glasgow have been closed and amalgamated with others - and I suspect the same thing is happening in all the Scottish Dioceses - though I do not have access to the numbers.

This is going to carry on happening - not just in the US - but in most parts of the world - yet Vocations are booming in countries like Nigeria ..

Whatever is done = people are hurt by closures

Is there an answer to the problem - I really do not know

Anhelyna

In my corner of suburban Pittsburgh, we have begun discussions with a neighboring parish on the best ways to consolidate parish services and activites. Holy Child has three priests - one is retired and performs sacramental duties only, usually just daily Mass, and my parish, St. Barbara, has one priest. We will have only two priests at some point in the next ten years for both parishes.

We clearly need more vocations. The dioceses that have an abundance of vocations are doing things right. They provide an excellent example for all eparchies and dioceses, not just in the US, but all over the world.

Inone part of Johnstown, PA you have the sister Cathedral of the Diocese, a block down another RCc, a parking lot away, another RCC and another block away, the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
A wise man said this in a discussion.
Would you rather have Father run to say three masses in three different churches on a Sunday (particulary in the cities where there are 3-5 huge parishes blocks apart) or would you rather have everyone come to one church and have Father say mass and be able to take his time and not have to rush? Combining resources in certain areas in something we have to look at, but like I said, in certain areas.

Why do we have a priest shortage? Look in the mirror. It just occured to me how right Fr Gregory has been about us all. I dont think that I've done anything particularly wrong during Lent but I dont think I've done anything particularly right either. Those Lenten resolutions that a few weeks ago seemed fresh in my mind have faded and I've returned to normal. Anybody else feel the same?

If we want to know why people wont become priests all we have to do is ask why people wont convert to Catholicism? They wont because they dont see a reason to. I wont speak for everybody but I'm not exactly the finest example of how coming to see the face of Christ comes to change your life.

I think of something Cardinal Arinze said lately. To paraphrase the good Cardinal he said if a parish does not year after year produce priests there must be something wrong with that priest. To an extent I think he's spot on.

When I wake up in the mornings to catch the 7:30 Daily Mass at the Oxford Oratory and I see the Oratorians up and in Mental Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament I think its beautiful. Surely we all have that senations when we see priests who are truly committed to Christ? And yet I join them (on those rare occassions I manage to obey my spiritual directors guidance >_<) at 7pm to pray for 30 minutes before recieving the Lord.

Now I'm not saying that I am an example. God forbid if I am judged tonight I shall, if lucky, be purified by pain for a long, long time. However, I will say this: I'm trying. I'm trying to show my peers--University students swamped by sensuality--that the spiritual side of life is worthwhile. Indeed, worth more.

How does our witness appear to the young men of our parish? Do they see in us the reason to go and become monks? To ask God if they're called to be priests? Does the way the love of God seem to feed us make them hungry to know that love? I mean we're living in a world so starved of love that people even think we shouldnt deny people same sex relations 'if they're happy' dont you think if they could see the overpowering love of God they would be converted?

But are we seriously showing this? I mean can we really criticise other people for not following God's will when we ourselves ignore Him most of the time? How many of us can honestly say we live our our baptismal promises? Daily with all the fighting spirit of St Anthony the Abbot or the great desert Fathers. St John Chrysostom urged his parishoners to pray unceasingly. Are our lives an unceasing prayer? A witness to God to the lukewarm and the unchurched?

Examining my conscience I would have say that if I answered yes to any of those questions I would be calling God a liar. Because when I look at the Cross I know that had I been there I would not have been one of the prayerful ones. I would've been one of the ones jeering and laughing.

I think thats what the lukewarm see in us, what the non-Catholics see in us. They look our lives and they dont see John the beloved they see Judas. They see Christians as hypocrites and I confess I havent done much this Lent to justify myself against this accusation.

Where people are Holy, people will seek Holiness and that Holiness will lead them to great things. You know many of the great saints werent looking to become anything. They just wanted to become better. I think here of two of the great reformers of the Western Church Sts Francis of Assisi and Ignatius Loyola.

They both started out in the midst of a corrupt age looking only to become perfect themselves and because they sought that perfection, that desire became infectious. Other people who saw them struggling thought: yes, this is good, I will join. At first both were laughed at. They saw these men doing these stupid penances and thought what the heck are they on? But their continued perseverance caught their eye and this has been the weapon of Christianity for 20 centuries.

When Constantine saw Diocletian's soldiers slaughtering Christians in Nicomedia it affected him in a way few historians have ever captured. In their vigour and steadfastness he saw something distinctly un Roman: A willingness to die for a cause greater than worldly gain. In a society much like ours, where wealth and power were everything, their willingess to face death without a fight was exemplary even for him a great Roman general who had distinguished himself in campaigns on the Danube. Here was a strapping strategic master who had seen war with his own eyes and killed men with his own hands, impressed with the bravery of these townies.

They must have smelt of Holiness...

Now I'm not saying we should all give up all our possessions and swear ourselves to poverty, or vow obidience to the Pope and go wherever he tells us to, or to go and be martyred by some heathens. However, by right of our baptism we should be working to become saints. Its not an option its a neccessity and if people see us taking things seriously they might start doing the same thing.

Yes its a long term strategy but it is the only strategy. God said 'my thoughts are not your thoughts' and elsewhere that those who sow are not the ones who reap. We will not see the fruits of our labours most likely. But in the future perhaps our witness will help more than we realise.

The time has been fulfilled and the Kingdom has come near, repent and recieve the gospel..

...it is the only way to save the world

Dear Anhelyna,

I don't know the answer to the vocation problem either. I suspect that personal sanctity has a lot to do with it. Like Myles pointed out in his post: What about us inspires people to fulfill a religious vocation? On the other hand, people have free will. They can --and do-- choose to say no to God. I don't know what the answer to the vocation crisis except to live the Gospel and to trust in God.

However, there was one point you made in your post that intrigued me. You wrote that your area of Scotland was being populated more and more by Hindus and Muslims. Interesting. In America, we have more and more Latin Americans. I don't know about the Hindu and Muslim immigrants in the UK, but I know the Latino immigrants are often poor people who still believe in God, having kids, and sacrificing for the common good. I suppose what our Lord said is true: "The meek shall inherit the earth."

Be well.

--John

Slava Isusu Christu!

Dear Dan,

While I empathize with the sentiment of your words, I believe that as Catholics we must be careful to honor the mandates of our Church. It is apparent that we Catholics are in the midst of an era wherein our Church is struggling not only to attract new members to the fold but also to keep the current membership from falling away. It appears to me that the Church of the West and the Churches of the East are looking in two opposing directions in order to achieve this same end. While the East is making efforts to strengthen its ties to its liturgical past, the West appears to be trying a more progressive(?) approach. To this end, they've instituted numerous lay ministerial duties within their Church, duties that are simply unheard of in the East. The document Redemptionis Sacramentum outlines many of these lay ministerial duties in the Church of the West, most notably that of the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion to which you refer.

One problem lies in the fact that Redemptionis Sacramentum is written in such a fashion that it allows for numerous "gray areas" that are subject to the discretion of the presiding local bishop and, as we know, different bishops tend to have different interpretations in these sorts of instances, some strict and by the book, others perhaps a bit looser. Despite this, however, one fact remains - the Catholic faithful in a given eparchy or diocese are always absolutely bound by humble obedience to their bishop. As foreign as the concept of an EMHC may appear to those in the East, it remains nonetheless (at least for now) a fully "Catholic" institution, sanctioned and approved by our Holy Mother Church. As such, all Catholics, East or West, must be careful to treat these ministeries with appropriate respect.

Please don't misunderstand me... as an Easterner whose current worship practices are probably 90+% "Western," I too am saddened to see what some can consider to be lay abuses of priestly functions (for example, I cannot possibly conceive of ever receiving Our Lord into my hand; never have, never will). Despite my personal opinions and sentiments, however, this single fact remains - until our Church says otherwise, these practices, like them or not, are fully "Catholic," just as "Catholic" as our own Eastern practices. Because of this we, as Catholics, are bound to defer to the mandates of Rome and the bishops and treat these practices with all due respect fitting their official nature as one of many expressions of our Catholicism. We, as Easterners specifically, must be on our guard to avoid viewing those fully valid practices of the West that differ so much from our own as being "scandalous," lest we risk repeating the sad lessons we Easterners learned in the 1890s at the hands of our unenlightened Western brethren who refused to accept our own "differences."

Al (a pilgrim)

Hi all,

Maybe a diocese that has a shortage of priests can ask a diocese with a seminary waiting list to "share the wealth," so to speak, and see if any of the candidates are willing to move.

Also, how about reaching into the permanant diaconate of a diocese to see if there are any single/widowed deacons who have a call to the priesthood? I'm sure the diocese could handle the seminary education requirement in a creative way. Since the shortage of priests has caused a crisis in the American Church, there needs to be a lot of thinking outside the box. There is also a shortage in Protestant denominations and some of them are looking for creative solutions. I know of a Lutheran denomination that has what is called DELTO...Distance Education Leading to Ordination. The candidate is working in a church while pursuing studies in a non-traditional way, most recently over the Internet.

If the crisis does not subside, then maybe the Church needs to take a really close look at celibacy. Allowing married priests might be the answer. Of course, these men would have to be older, married a minimum number of years with the children already out of the house.

Just a few thoughts I wanted to share,
Gene

"Of course, these men would have to be older, married a minimum number of years with the children already out of the house."

Why the requirements? The East does quite well with married priests with families.

Fr. Deacon Lance

Fr. Deacon Lance,

I was thinking that the Church might now want the burden of supporting an entire family. Of course, you are right and I agree with you but I thought that, especially in the West, it would be best to go slow and easy rather than jumping right in and ordaining married priests with families.

Grace and peace,
Gene

Here is an article about the Lincoln RC Diocese

http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/1993/sep1993p4_808.html

The bottom line ----> "uncompromising orthodoxy."

Also ...

http://www.geocities.com/peterpaulmin/PriestShortage.html

http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/orsi_vocationcrisis1_jan05.asp

http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu25.htm#answer3

http://www.newoxfordreview.org/2002/feb02/michaelsrose.html
"...tolerance of the "gay lifestyle" and intolerance of orthodoxy" (read: the lavender mafia network)

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/media/shortage-pf.htm

http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2001/mar2001p6_149.html

http://www.morec.com/schall/articles/fullmess.htm
"The Archbishop of Omaha's quite sensible remarks on vocations are worth citing here:
The vocation "crisis" is precipitated and continued by people who want to change the Church's agenda, by people who do not support orthodox candidates ..."

http://www.nrbookservice.com/bookpage.asp?prod_cd=C5976

http://www.newoxfordreview.org/jun00/larryacarstens.html

Joe

I don't know if this is done in other parishes Archpriest Moran and Fr. Andrew would take the altar servers on a trip every summer to Pittsburg. Dinner, a ball game, ride the tram, you know fun stuff. However, part of that time was spent at St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary. I can remember how excited our oldest son always was getting to be there and how wonderful it was. Oh yes, lets don't forget the bowling alley there. But still, it may sound trivial but they were made aware of it's presence. He looked forward to the trip every summer.

Pani Rose