Hear and heed the vocations call, Bishop Wester urges

Intermountain Catholic

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It is no secret that our diocese is in desperate need of more priests, sisters and brothers. There was a time when we were generously served by numerous sisters and priests, but those days are long gone.

What has happened? Has God decided to cut back on those he calls to the ordained or religious life?

Certainly not! God calls each of us by name, through baptism, to become holy – that is, to draw close to him in this life and to be one with him forever in heaven. For most, that call is expressed in the sacrament of marriage or as a single person dedicated to a specific vocation of service. But there are many for whom that path to holiness is one of ordained service of God’s community as a priest or deacon, or as a vowed religious, living in community in the midst of God’s people, whom they serve through a variety of charisms.

I believe that the key to understanding our current vocation shortage is to recognize that God’s call is a two-way street: For God’s called to be effective, somebody has to be listening on the other end!

It is not the call that is the problem, it is the response.

Unfortunately, our society is a noisy one and it is not particularly easy to hear God calling.

This is beautifully illustrated in 1Kings 19:12, where God’s call to Elijah takes the form of a tiny whispering sound. That whisper can easily get lost in our current culture. Many pulls and tugs can divert those who may be called to the priesthood or the religious life. The lure of a high-paying job, the incessant call for gratification on all levels, the tendency to put one’s self ahead of others and all else are just a few of these distractions, not to mention computers, cell phones, iPods and all manner of technological advances that have come about in the Digital Age.

Truly, God is calling men and women to ordained ministry and the religious life as he has since the inception of the Catholic Church. It’s just that we are not listening as well as we could.

What can we do about this situation? I believe that all of us Catholics in the Diocese of Salt Lake City need to see ourselves as instruments of God’s call. While God sometimes chooses to speak to us in extraordinary and miraculous ways, his usual mode of operating is to act within the human condition and to use us, his sons and daughters, to assist him in communicating his will.

This means that we must all take an active role in promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Recognizing the many distractions and obstacles our culture places between God’s call and an affirmative response, we must do all that we can to magnify (to use Mary’s word) the Savior’s call to those he wishes to follow him in a special way through ordained ministry or vowed religious service.

How can we do this it? I would suggest the following as possible ways:

• Parents are in a unique position to encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Pope John Paul II often referred to the home as the first seminary, the first house of formation. If parents truly value the priesthood and the religious life and share this value with their children, then I believe that God’s call will be more clearly heard.

Sadly, many parents actually discourage their children from becoming a priest or a sister or a brother. There are many reasons for this, of course, but I believe that as Catholics we must challenge this position. It doesn’t make sense that parents would treasure our Sunday celebration of the Eucharist and yet not feel compelled to promote vocations so that priests will be available to celebrate that same Eucharist Sunday after Sunday in our diocese. It is not fair that we would turn to a religious sister for help in the school, the hospital or the parish and not feel compelled, in justice, to promote vocations to the religious life so that other women might serve future generations as we ourselves have been so ably served. Again, parents may have personal reasons why they do not wish to promote vocations in their own family, but I believe that if this is the case this position must be challenged.

• Another way we can promote vocations in our diocese and assist God in calling others to ordained or religious ministry is to make a personal invitation.

I know this is not easy because it moves us beyond our comfort level, but it has been shown that young men and women (and older men and women as well!) respond very positively when they are asked personally to consider the priesthood or the religious life. If you know a parishioner who seems to have a vocation, then by all means mention that to him or her. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

• Another way to assist in this important process of promoting vocations is to contact your parish vocation promoter. Every parish and school in our diocese has (or should have!) a vocation promoter. Find out who this is in your parish or school and contact that person, asking what you can do to help.

Not long ago we had a meeting of all of our vocation promoters and I was very impressed by their dedication and zeal. Not only will your help assist them in their role of service, but it will also encourage them and give them support as they serve our church by working hard to promote vocations.

• You might also think of calling Deacon Ricardo Arias, Diocesan Vocation Director, to find out what programs the diocese is promoting at this time. Deacon Ricardo may also have some specific ways for you to assist in your own parish or school.

• Finally, we all need to pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life in our diocese. There is no substitute for prayer in this regard. Those parishes and dioceses that have very specific programs of prayer for vocations have experienced a noticeable increase in priests and religious. It is particularly beneficial to have prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, asking the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into our diocese to serve the spiritual needs of our people as priests, sisters or brothers.

I encourage all priests, principals, parish pastoral councils and vocation promoter’s to explore ways in which people will be invited to pray specifically and often for an increase of vocations in our diocese.

I am grateful to the staff of the Intermountain Catholic for publishing this issue on vocations. I pray that each of us in the diocese of Salt Lake City will act now in promoting vocations to the priesthood and the religious life and that each of us will see ourselves as an integral part of God’s call to "Come, follow me."

If we take up this challenge, I am confident that God’s call will be heard by many and that our church will be ably served for generations to come.

To all those who have responded positively to God’s call to be a priest or religious, I thank you most sincerely in the name of all of us in this local church for your selfless and loving service.

To all those discerning a call, please say "yes" – we need you!