Vocation Promotion:Helping Pastors of Souls

Vocation Promotion: Helping Pastors of Souls Lend Their Own Voice to Christ

Vocation Promotion:Helping Pastors of Souls
In surveys of classes of ordination, 80-88% of the men consistently report that it was a priest who invited them to consider the priesthood.

Surveys consistently show that only about 30% of priests actively invite men to consider the priesthood.

Categories of Priests: My Numbers Those who get it and got it (10-20%) Get them in key positions Be very generous to them Learn from them

2. Those who get it but don’t got it (60%) They will benefit most by the booklet. They need confidence in their ability to identify and call forth.

Lesson One: Jesus Calls a Man Through the Pastor of His Soul

Approach in the Past Parish Pastor Seminary Stories of past when pastors visited home, invited the guy and drove him to seminary. No vocation director.

The Too Common Approach Today Parish -- Vocation Director -- Seminary Story of conversation with pastor concerning the topic of booklet. He said, “Why do I need to know about that. We have you; you’re the vocation director.”

Effective Approach Parish – Pastor – Diocese - Voc. Dir. - Sem. Vocation Director supports pastor, but pastor calls. In our app. process, “Who most influenced you to join seminary?” After 8 years, not one man has put me down. That’s how it should be. In eight years, vested only two guys. How it should be.

Conversion is needed! Of Imagination: When priests imagine who calls forth men, they imagine the vocation director. Not right. Calling forth men is part of being a parish priest, pastor, chaplain, etc. It’s not a separate assignment Director of Vocations’ job is to help priests live out their responsibility. V.D. assists them; does not replace them! Of Mind: Church already has the structure: Pastor and parish. No need for alternate structures. Do our titles communicate properly: “Vocation Recruiter” or “Regional Vocation Director” can be misleading

Lesson Two: Become Aware of Personal Obstacles and Bring them to Jesus Fear of rejection? Can’t turn the ship around. Need to inspire one seminarian every years.

Lesson Three: Jesus needs a discerning heart, not a big personality This should encourage the second group of priests (60%). Being a fisher of men requires only what should be expected of every priest: discernment and fatherly care Avoid two extremes: asking no one or shotgun approach

Lesson Four: Trust Your Gut Discernment involves being aware of your gut, thoughts and feelings Bringing it to prayer Presbyterates’ response when asked if they know of someone that felt in your gut that he may be called, but dismissed it. Almost all raise their hand.

Lesson Five: Calling forth a Man is a sacred act Comparison to words of consecration, words of absolution, etc. We treat them with a sacredness The invitation requires an appropriate time and an appropriate level of seriousness. This increases efficaciousness.

Fr. Schmidt is a senior religion teacher and chaplain at the Catholic high school. Early in the semester one of his students, Mario, gets his attention. Mario is not the ideal teenager. He likes to party; chastity is not his strongest virtue. He has much that needs conversion. Nevertheless, when Fr. Schmidt passionately teaches the doctrinal and moral truths of Christ and the Church, Mario is fully engaged. He soaks it all in. Father pays attention to this. Although, Mario is still not free from much of his sinful behavior, Father can see that there is a battle going on in Mario’s heart.

Then Lent comes. Fr. Schmidt challenges all of his students to go to daily Mass at 6:45am at the Cathedral before they go to school. Mario accepts the challenge. During the weeks of Lent, Father can see a further change happening in Mario. He is noticeably moved about Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist; he begins to go to confession regularly; he is curious about Father’s life as a priest. Fr. Schmidt notices all of this and offers Mario to the Lord in prayer.

Then the final semester exam comes. The final exam is a ten-minute verbal exam, one-on-one with Father. It is an environment with a high level of seriousness; for ten minutes, Father asks each student questions about any of the material covered over the semester and the student has to answer verbally with no notes. All the students know that Fr. Schmidt takes this time seriously.

Mario was nervous but he did well on his exam. Father congratulated and praised him. Mario was pleased about his level of comprehension of the material and to know that Father was proud of him.

Fr. Schmidt knew that this was the time. In that meaningful and personal environment after a final exam, after a semester of sensing things in his gut and praying for Mario, Father said, “Mario, I need to tell you something. I see the qualities in you that were in me when I was your age.” After a pause, he continued, “I would not be surprised if Christ has chosen you to be a priest; I think you would make a fine priest.” Mario was consoled and overwhelmed at the same time.

After some silence and with a genuine seriousness, Mario admitted that sometimes he thinks about it. So, Father Schmidt continued, “Mario, do not be afraid; do not panic. I simply encourage you each night before you go to sleep to pray three “Hail Marys,” saying to Mary, ‘Blessed Mother, I want to do whatever your Son wants; show me!’” He thanked Father.

Mario was deeply touched that this man of God, Fr. Schmidt, would even consider a sinful young man like himself to be possibly called by Jesus to the same life which Father had been called; it left an impression on him that would not go away. He went to college, majoring in education and there were many days that he wished the thought of the priesthood would go away. It didn’t.

After four years of college, he joined the seminary. Today, he is a priest, the chaplain and religion teacher in that same high school. And often after a final exam, he does for a young man what Fr. Schmidt did for him: he lends his voice to Christ so that Christ may call the young man to the beautiful life to which he was called.

Lesson Six: Provide and Protect the Mystery within the man Go through points from booklet, stressing... Daily Mass and regular confession This is the point when the pastor should contact the vocation director…and vocation director needs to have something to offer. Need to be able to help them!

Lesson Seven: Discernment Happens “in Christ.” Story of Daniel in booklet. It is important that the priest is able to name for the discerner the space where they are “hearing” Jesus. This would be the time to walk through “Is Jesus Calling You to be a Catholic Priest?” with the candidate.

How to Use this?? Bishop send the booklet to every priest with a letter, encouraging them to read it and indicating to them that you will be out to every deanery to give a presentation to them. Less ideal, but could do it with entire presbyterate at once. Have Jesus Caritas groups go through it together and discuss it.

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