Catholics: What is your opinion of why we do not have enough Priests?

[Beautiful]

This forecast from a 1955 article - Special Catholic Challenges/Priests and People - predicted what we are experiencing today.

Priests and People
The Catholic faith distinguishes between those who teach and rule in the name of the Church and those within in the Church who are taught and ruled. A secular consequence of this distinction has been clericalism and anticlericalism. This damaging tension has been no part of the inheritance of the Church in the U.S. True, the polemic of our day attempt to distinguish between the Catholic layman and the Catholic hierarchy as the Western movie distinguishes between the good guys and the bad guys. But the attempt has not been successful with the Catholic laity. The closeness of the American bishop and priest to his people has probably been unique in Church history.

Together the priest and his people have built the parish church and the parochial school—twin monuments to their friendship as well as to their faith. Together the bishop and his people have dotted the land with all the buildings needed for the works of charity and social justice that are their common responsibility. This traditional alliance will endure, since a growing Catholic population in almost every diocese still makes necessary a brick and mortar job. Constant demands for money are indeed a strain on the layman, especially since he is not always satisfied with the ways in which the money is spent. And the priest may well fear the spiritual danger inherent in his preoccupation with financial affairs. But is not out of such problems that the ancient tension between clergy and laity is bred.

If anticlericalism comes to America it will come in some native form in response to some equally native form of clericalism. There are perhaps two clouds on the horizon. There is the kind of clericalism that would deny to the layman—in fact if not in doctrine—any real responsibilities and consequently any genuine freedom even in the fields in which the layman belongs and has competence; journalism and education would be two examples among others. There is consequently a kind of anticlericalism that results from the laymen’s feeling that he is “not wanted” except as a compliant instrument of clerical will. These clouds on the American Catholic horizon are presently no bigger than man’s hand. But they forewarn of a challenge that neither clergy nor laity has yet fully face: how shall the immense energies resident in the faith of the laity be fully utilized in the work of God’s kingdom—which is, importantly, the work of freedom and justice in America and in the world community?

Excerpt from article: Special Catholic Challenges by Reverend John Courntney Murray S.J. from the 1955 special issue of LIFE magazine: Christianity

Father Murray also expressed concern for American “group consciousness” eroding the true sense of Church, Catholic indifference to an organized international community, and anti-intellectual clouding of American Catholics particularly in institutions of higher learning.

 

[Pamm]

I know that I will be attacked and told about how “impossible” it is that there will ever be women serving as a priest – and perhaps that is so, but regardless, until women can play a vital leadership role in the Church there will never be enough priests in today’s Church. I wish this were not true but if look at the other faiths, the number of female ministers and leaders within their churches is astounding. In times past, the Catholic Church was not so adamant that women could not be in leadership roles. And I am wearing my flack jacket – so let the beatings begin.

 

[JReducation]

I know that I will be attacked and told about how “impossible” it is that there will ever be women serving as a priest – and perhaps that is so, but regardless, until women can play a vital leadership role in the Church there will never be enough priests in today’s Church. I wish this were not true but if look at the other faiths, the number of female ministers and leaders within their churches is astounding. In times past, the Catholic Church was not so adamant that women could not be in leadership roles. And I am wearing my flack jacket – so let the beatings begin.

It’s not that women are being denied the ordination. It’s that no church has the authority to ordain women. Those churches that have done so, have done something that they do not have the authority to do. We can’t look at those who act without authority for example. It makes no sense.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[JReducation]

A while back I found a vintage LIFE magazine from the sixties that described how lay people were getting restless in the pews as homilies seemed to have less and less meaning to them. The article went on to explain how increased availability of education to common folk was causing a gradient of satisfaction and knowledge. This article was dated 35-40 years ago.

Back in the 60s and 70s I always thought my parents had an impressive collection of spiritual books. Comparatively today, my collection and access to information is astounding.

We live in an over discerning and nitpicking culture that wants to be entertained and stimulated in secular ways which really have nothing to do with holiness. The lay ecclesial movement which is changing the face of the Catholic Church is mitered with secularization which undertows the priesthood rather than hold it in its rightful place. I see this played out time and again in individuals who really mean well but who really should be considered part of the listening flock rather than leaders with authority trying to manage spouses, households and other domestic concerns along with pastoral concerns of the church. In some cases it appears they are doing good but I don’t buy ‘cause I know first hand what it really takes to be a married layperson with a family.

It comes down to the fact that there are different vocation callings in life. Lay people these days like to think they are jacks of all trades and are unwilling to sit tight in the pews and be lead and fed by priests. Men today know this and don’t want to deal with dissatisfaction from the flock.

I think that wherever you see LEMs taking over the flock there is a bishop who was willing to give up his authority and figure as male, leader and spiritual guide. He no longer believes that a few can feed the thousands. He no longer believes in Jesus and the Apostolic Church.

What secularization in the Church has created is a ‘too many chiefs and not enough Indians’ situation.

Secularization – education has created chiefs of us all.

First I refer you back to my post # 51. Franciscans have an 200 year tradition of running parishes with large teams of lay brothers and one or two priests and an 800 year tradition of running an order with 75% non ordained friars.

Second, there is a place for lay ministers in the Church. The Decree On The Apostolate of the Laity makes this very clear. We can see this even at the Vatican. In fact, the current protector of the bond at the Roman Rota is a sister, not a priest or bishop. She’s one of our Franciscan Sisters. There are many lay theologians working at the Sacred Congregation of the Faith. Not all are Catholic.

The challenges of married life do not exclude ministry. We have had married deacons and priests run very effective parishes since the foundation of the Church. They are more common in the Eastern Rites.

Finally, the issue is secularization, not seculars. Most priests in parishes are secular men. Very few religious men run parishes. Most religious men ordained priests are not in parishes. When we speak of secularization we’re speaking of worldliness, not the secular state. Otherwise, we would have to fire the pope. He’s a secular priest. He’s not a consecrated man. That’s why he can wear Gucci sunglasses and designer shoes. He’s a secular man, but he’s a priest.

All this being said, the rule to follow is that the lay person should not replace the ordained person in those areas that are proper to Holy Orders. These are the sacraments, preaching during the liturgy and governing the Church.

Other than that, non ordained people have been spiritual directors, pastoral counselors, parish administrators, religious superiors, abbots, religious educators, canon lawyers, theologians and even missionaries since the early Church. But the roles of the deacon, priest and bishp were always reserved for them.

It’s the invasion of secular values that is interfering with the call to the priesthood. In addition to the fact that religious orders no longer ordain as many men as they did in the past. They are desperately trying to reduce the number of priests among their ranks. We’re not going to see those large numbers of religious men who are priests again. The Church expects religious orders to dedicate themselve to the business of living a consecrated community life of prayer and charity as their founders wanted and leave parish work to the secular deacon, priest and local laity.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Brickmaker]

Perhaps it’s God’s will.

 

[opera]

I have not read all of the previous posts, so I apologize if this has already been stated.

No doubt there are various reasons for the current shortage of priests and religious, but the one I keep hearing a lot about is the break down of the family. Many years ago I heard a devout Catholic priest say that most vocations to the priesthood come out of good Catholic families. Well, just take a look at all of the attacks that the family has been under since the late 1960’s.

With the statement from that priest in mind, here’s a scary thought: the number of Catholics marrying for the first time these days is at an all time low. In my own social circle, I know all kinds of orthodox Catholics who have discerned a vocation to marriage but can’t find a spouse whose values are remotely similar to theirs or who have the basic virtues necessary to make a marriage work. Or, by the time they do find someone to marry, it’s too late to have children, and I’m talking about people who would love to have children and raise them to be good, faithful Catholics.

The call to marriage and the call to the priesthood/religious life are different callings, and yet these two vocations are closely linked. The former “feeds” the latter. Basically, the “food supply” to the priesthood/religious life has been drying up for some time. We need to pray for singles who want to marry, and for married people to be open to life and to raise their children with solid Catholic teaching.

 

[JReducation]

Mother Agnes, the superior general of the Sisters of Life was interviewed on EWTN. She made an interesting statement. She said that the glory days of the priesthood and the religious life were over and were never coming back. She was referring to the large numbers entering. I believe that’s her name.

Anyway, the Franciscan Friars of the Eternal Wlord were in a agreement. There was a Franciscan Sister of the Martyr St. George in the panel. She too agred that we would not be going back to those days.

The interesting thing is that the Franciscans (men and women) and the Sisters of Life, all agree that this is a good thing. We don’t want so many priests in our religious orders. That’s for the diocese. Priests in the older religious orders are for the benefit of the members of the order, not the benefit of the laity. The brothers in the orders are for the benefit of the laity. What we are seing among the old orders is an increase in the number of brothers who are very active in ministry and a decrease in the number of priess who are involved with the laity. Thus it can give the mistaken impression that there is a more severe shortage. The fact is that there is shortage of secular men becoming priests, not religious becoming priests. Religioius orders are ordaining as many men as they need to celebrate the sacraments for them inside their houses. That’s what matters to those religious orders that are not clerical.

In the past, non-clerical religious orders ordained men to serve outside of their religious houses as an act of charity to the bishop and the laity. This proved to be disastrous to religious life. They ended up with religious living and working as if they were diocesan priests. Everyone knows that diocesna priests are not consecrated men; therefore, they are not religious. When you have religious living as if they were secular priests, this is a tregedy for the religious life, even though the large numbers may well be appreicated by the laity. It’s not appreciated by the Church. The Church wants to keep the gift of religious life pure, not blended with secular life. Therefore, you cannot ordain religious men to live and work as if they were secular priests.

The conclusion is that those religious orders that are not clerical are pulling back on the numbers that they ordian. In some cases we’re talking about cutting the numbers by thousands. There was a period of unrestrained ordination of religious men to meet the needs of the dioceses. Today, the Church discourages any religious order do go against its charism, even if it means reducing the numbers that they ordain.

We will not see the large numbers of priests that we saw 50 years ago. In my own community we only ordain one man to celebrate the sacraments for every 50 friars. All friars have masters and doctorates in theology. All can be ordained. But this is not the charism of the order. The older friars who were once ordained are not being replaced.

We are offering the dioceses brothers to run many ministries and they do so very well. But the bihsop must find his own priests or get them from clerical religious communities. This is proving difficult, because many clerical religious communities no longer want to serve in parishes. They were founded to have priests, but not for parish work. These priests were intended for other works: teaching, preaching, missions, social service, spiritual direction, retreats, writing, studying, contemplation and solitude, hospital work, prison work, immigrants, the poor, poor parishes only and so forth. With the recovery of the charism of one’s community, the numbers of priests in a parish are going to decrease.

In addition, many young priests, religious and secular, are complaining to their religious superiors or their bishops that they do not want to be in parishes, because the laity treats them very disrespectfully. The laity wants to teach them theology. The laity is very critical of every weakness or mistake. The laity is not generous with time or funds. The laity does not always want the faith, but simply sacraments.

There are some very good reasons that are changing the face of the priesthood and the numbers of priests that the laity will see in a parish.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[lisa09]

Not enough Priests is good. If we have too many then that is bad.

 

[JReducation]

Not enough Priests is good. If we have too many then that is bad.

It’s not bad. But they should come from the secular state, not the consecrated life. The ideal is that every dioceses provides its own priests. This is a good thing, because these men belong to the local diocese. They are usually born and raised in that diocese. This is their home Church. They also have the blessing of being close to their families, because their families usually live in the diocese. In addition, their major duty is to run parishes and diocesan ministries for the diocese. This frees up religious to live the consecrated life and to minister according to the charism of their orders, congregations, and societies.

We do want more priests, but we hope that they will be secular men and serve in the local dioceses. I believe that we’re seeing a return to this with the John Paul II generation. Most seminarians entering today are not interested in religious life in the seminary. They are asking for seminary training to prepare them in the secular life. In the past, semianries mimmicked religoius houses of formation. The semianrians had office in choir, community meals, community recreation, community schedules, common dress, even rules about what property they were allowed to have or not have. They also had many of the practices of religious houses of formation. After four years of this kind of conventual living, they were thrown into a secular parish and expected to know how to live as secular men.

Today, the tendency is to promote individual prayer life, spirituality, autonomy, cooperation instead of community living, stewardship over material posessions, family life and acitivity that is proper to the secular priest. Many religious men attend classes at semianries, but they rarely live there. Those religious who cannot commute to classes, usually live in a separate part of the building. This helps too. The secular and the religious life do not become blended.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[fabricdragon]

in RCIA my priest blamed it on Birth Control
and i have to agree

as he said, he , and most of the other priests he knew, were one of several sons in teh family. If he had been the only son, he would have likely felt obliged to stay in the secular world, to help his family, etc… to carry on the name… and his parents would likely have been less supportive of his going into the ministry.

so smaller families, mean fewer vocations.

 

[JReducation]

in RCIA my priest blamed it on Birth Control
and i have to agree

as he said, he , and most of the other priests he knew, were one of several sons in teh family. If he had been the only son, he would have likely felt obliged to stay in the secular world, to help his family, etc… to carry on the name… and his parents would likely have been less supportive of his going into the ministry.

so smaller families, mean fewer vocations.

That is certainly one important fact.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[mercer87]

We have a critical shortage of priests here in the US for several reasons:

1. The scandals that rocked the Church damaged the priesthood greatly in the eyes of young men and made it an almost taboo vocation. I went to an all-boys Catholic high school and you wouldn’t believe the things that were said when I mentioned I was considering the priesthood. It was as if I had said I was homosexual and I had a pile of bodies in the basement of my house.
2. The laity do an awful job nurturing vocations. I’ve always been the one who was pegged to become a priest in my parish, and I’d get comments like “When are you going to seminary?” or anything to that effect. That’s remarkably counter-productive. It’s as if my personal reflections on the matter meant nothing, I was meant to be a priest and that’s that. Now that I’ve fallen in love, I’ve heard things from parishioners like “It’s a phase.” Deacons apparently don’t exist or are worthless in the eyes of the laity of my diocese.
3. The materialistic society leads many men away. We have to find better methods of combatting it, or else this trend will continue.
4. The celibacy requirement scares many parents, especially those who only had one child. If that only child becomes a celibate priest, they will have no grandchildren and that is legitimately heart-breaking to many people and they’ll work against his vocation. It’s selfish, but there it is.
5. There is a disconnect between the clergy and many of the young men of my diocese. There is an empathy problem, as many young men feel that their priests and bishop don’t know their struggles and understand them. We don’t see the clergy as human but instead they’re like holy robots.

And also, while I respect any bishop’s authority, I often wonder when was the last time he heard an ordinary person’s confession. Or when he witnessed the marriage of two average Catholics. Or when he baptized a baby after Sunday Mass. These are the things that truly connect a bishop to the people, the celebration of the sacraments by the bishop himself, even on a individual basis like Reconciliation or Matrimony. If he doesn’t do this, he’s simply a theologian with a funny hat. I realize it’s not easy, and that they’re extremely busy people. But some corners shouldn’t be cut, and celebration of the sacraments is one of them. And the bishops, even moreso than presbyters, are the representatives of the Church herself, and therefore it is imperative for people to have a personal connection to their bishop, as he can inspire the lukewarm and contiue to guide the fervent. And if a young man sees his bishop more often and celebrates the sacraments with him more commonly, he may be more receptive to the Spirit’s call.

 

[novaslasher]

And also, while I respect any bishop’s authority, I often wonder when was the last time he heard an ordinary person’s confession. Or when he witnessed the marriage of two average Catholics. Or when he baptized a baby after Sunday Mass. These are the things that truly connect a bishop to the people, the celebration of the sacraments by the bishop himself, even on a individual basis like Reconciliation or Matrimony. If he doesn’t do this, he’s simply a theologian with a funny hat. I realize it’s not easy, and that they’re extremely busy people. But some corners shouldn’t be cut, and celebration of the sacraments is one of them. And the bishops, even moreso than presbyters, are the representatives of the Church herself, and therefore it is imperative for people to have a personal connection to their bishop, as he can inspire the lukewarm and contiue to guide the fervent. And if a young man sees his bishop more often and celebrates the sacraments with him more commonly, he may be more receptive to the Spirit’s call.

It would be really nice to see bishops participate in baptisms, marriages, and confessions. However, I suspect besides being busy, bishops are afraid to step on the toes of their cathedral rectors in this regard. Also, Catholics would line up in scores if they had the chance to get a bishop for their wedding or baptism (and would probably shrink away from his confessional!). There would be a lot of demand for one man. I would be satisfied if the bishop could at least preside at the majority of confirmations. I remember being disappointed when the bishop did not show up for my confirmation.

On topic, I also think it is a fact that our culture in the west is rapidly secularizing. The population of practicing Catholics is dwindling quickly. In the near future, we will no doubt see consolidation of parishes since parish finances will plummet as parishioners convert to agnosticism or to CINO status. The loss of practicing Catholics and the loss of parishes will go hand in hand with our current loss of priestly vocations. Eventually, sadly, there will be a restoration of balance between parish churches and parish priests.

 

[JReducation]

We have a critical shortage of priests here in the US for several reasons:

1. The scandals that rocked the Church damaged the priesthood greatly in the eyes of young men and made it an almost taboo vocation. I went to an all-boys Catholic high school and you wouldn’t believe the things that were said when I mentioned I was considering the priesthood. It was as if I had said I was homosexual and I had a pile of bodies in the basement of my house.
2. The laity do an awful job nurturing vocations. I’ve always been the one who was pegged to become a priest in my parish, and I’d get comments like “When are you going to seminary?” or anything to that effect. That’s remarkably counter-productive. It’s as if my personal reflections on the matter meant nothing, I was meant to be a priest and that’s that. Now that I’ve fallen in love, I’ve heard things from parishioners like “It’s a phase.” Deacons apparently don’t exist or are worthless in the eyes of the laity of my diocese.

.

I found these two paragraphs of particular interest, so I’ll just limit my response to them. The scandals did take their toll. There is no doubt about that. However, it’s interesting to see that what we call the John Paul II generation is stepping up to the plate. Three dioceses come to my mind: Boston, New York and Miami. All three have full seminaries. Miami has a waiting list to get in. This is the John Paul Generation. These are men who are very serious about the priesthood, very orthodox and very generous. Boston is full to capacity. I’m not sure if they have waiting lists. NY is also full. Then there is Mt. St. Mary’s, which is not a diocesan seminary, but a regional, and it is also full. While the scandals certainly stunned and hurt, they were not the death toll. Goes to prove that Jesus will not leave his Church without priests. That’s just secular seminaries.

Now let’s focus on religious houses of formation. I can’t speak for every religious community in the world. I can speak about my own. The Franciscan family is up to 1.7 million in 114 countries, in 1300 regions around the world. As a result of the John Paul II Generation, the family has been compelled to split the order up into smaller branches, each with their own leadership, mission according to the rule of St. Francis, Franciscan apostolate and unique response to the needs of the local Church where they find themselves. In the USA alone we have carved out many new branches out of the larger order:

Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word
Little Brothers of St. Francis
Franciscans of the Reform
Franciscans of the Primitive Observance
Franciscan Brothers of Peace
Franciscan Brothers of Life
Franciscans of the Immaculate
Capuchin Franciscans of the Ancient Observance
Franciscans of the Eucharist
Franciscans of Christ the King

All of them are branches of the Franciscan Friars. All are men and all are getting vocations. The issue here is that they are not ordaining as many men as they did in the past. Some do not ordain at all. But there is a reason for that. There are too many ordained Franciscans. We were never meant to be a family of priests.

Here is where the laity has to help. The laity has to understand the difference between a priest and a religious. As St. Bonaventure once told the laity in his time, if the laity wants priests, it must support religious life in its purest state, that is the consecrated state, without the priesthood. The role and mission of men religious is to consecrate the Church through a life of prayer, penance, community, silence, service and total submission to the Gospel. In any community, diocese or nation, where you do not have enough religious men, you will not have the flow of grace that comes from their union with Christ in the intimacy of the evangelical counsels and the fraternal life. God works through grace. He gives grace freely to those who seek it.

Archbishop Dolan recently made an interesting statement. He said that you cannot get more priests, if you ignore the vocation of the brother, because it is the brother who surrenders his life for the faithful. He is the one who prays day and night, who does penance for those who do not do it, his life is a constant journey toward the perfection of charity, not only in his life but in the life of the Church. Unless we move forward in our search for the perfection of charity, we cannot expect others to be generous with their lives. Therefore, he wanted to promote the brothers in the Archdiocese of New York, because through them, charity is perfected. When charity abounds, men generously respond to Christ’s call to the priesthood.

This actually makes sense. There was a an entire generation of priests who were nurtured and prayed through the seminary by religious brother and religious sisters. Not to underestimate the role of sisters, but young men need the inspiration of those men who will serve as their spiritual fathers. That’s the role of the brother. We have to help the laity to connect the dots. If you do not have enough religious men in your local Church, who is going to bring down the graces needed to sustain priestly vocations? This is the role of religious men, to pray the Church to perfect charity.

We need this awareness of the grace that comes to a diocese through a hidden life of prayer, consecration, simplicity, service, and penance. We have to get excited about both calls: to the priesthood and to the religious life of men. The laity should be asking their bishops to invite religious men to enter their diocese to offer consecrate their lives for the grace of perfect charity. Perfect charity will move men to respond to Christ’s call to Holy Orders as a deacon or a priest.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[fabricdragon]

people forget how many converts go through RCIA every year.
it is critical that we TEACH the RCIA converts, as well as the cradle Catholics, what is expected of them…

honestly, i got so much confusing information about my attendance at Sunday mass… and whether i needed to go to Confession if i missed Mass… if my experience is typical, then no wonder we just end up with people “showing up when they feel like it”

 

[chicago]

1. Then you have secular institutes such as the Opus Dei and many others. These rarely run parishes. Most of their time and energy is taken up with keeping the organization up and running and promoting the work and spirit of the institute.
2. Secular Societies of priests such as the Maryknoll do not run parishes

Interestingly enough, I’ve known priests from both Opus Dei and Maryknoll who ran parishes.

The shortage is often due to a shortage of secular priests, because it is their vocation to keep the diocese alive.

So, perhaps, the larger question is, “What’s wrong with dioceses?” such that they aren’t producing enough native priests.

 

[chicago]

A good amount of the reflection from this thread centers upon families and why boys no longer choose to be priests as they grow into adulthood.

Ironically, there are quite few programs to nurture vocations among youth, however.

Couple this with the reality that people tend to make serious commitments at later ages than in previous times. Adolescence carries into young adulthood and immaturity is celebrated through an elongated perpetuation. If people do enter marriages at an early age, for instance, too often they fail because they had not yet developed an ability to life out a life of mature commitment in a society which does not actively support and nurture such.

Is it any wonder, then, in this distracting culture which doesn’t offer a lot of opportunity for a man to spiritually mature in faith, that it is difficult for one to discover the potential of a priestly vocation? Or, often, when such an awareness does come about, it has frequently been after some years of secular success and searching for something of greater fulfillment than just prestige or finances?

There is (or can be) also a certain solitariness in discerning priesthood early on. Unless and until a man finds some sort of group of like interested men, where is the support system?

It just seems that the challenges which exist in contemporary culture are not extremely facilitating for fostering priestly vocations.

 

[Shlomey]

I think the reason is bad preaching and bad praying: in essence - we no longer radiate a sense of reverence and holiness so as to attract many people and convince them that the life totally dedicated to God is not one of loss, but one of the greatest gain.

 

[JReducation]

Interestingly enough, I’ve known priests from both Opus Dei and Maryknoll who ran parishes.

There are some who do, but it’s not what their societies do.

So, perhaps, the larger question is, “What’s wrong with dioceses?” such that they aren’t producing enough native priests.

I think there are two things happening, both have equal weight.

1. For many years there were many vocations to both the diocesan seminary and to religious orders. Religious orders had a commitment to the poor, especially the immigrant poor. They often took up parishes in these communities. I believe that surrendering these parishes back to the bishops came at the same time that the numbers of diocesan seminarians decreased. This created a major gap in staffing parishes.
2. The other phenomenon is not that there is anything wrong with dioceses, but that there is definite need to promote vocations to the diocesan seminary. This campaign has to be stepped up. It think that it is easier for religious to recruit men because our presence is often more palpable. We live in communities; therefore there is the advantage of numbers. We are engaged in diverse ministries; therefore we’re exposed to a broader segment of the population. We have very charismatic figures in our history: founders, reformers, saints, etc.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[JReducation]

A good amount of the reflection from this thread centers upon families and why boys no longer choose to be priests as they grow into adulthood.

Ironically, there are quite few programs to nurture vocations among youth, however.

Couple this with the reality that people tend to make serious commitments at later ages than in previous times. Adolescence carries into young adulthood and immaturity is celebrated through an elongated perpetuation. If people do enter marriages at an early age, for instance, too often they fail because they had not yet developed an ability to life out a life of mature commitment in a society which does not actively support and nurture such.

Is it any wonder, then, in this distracting culture which doesn’t offer a lot of opportunity for a man to spiritually mature in faith, that it is difficult for one to discover the potential of a priestly vocation? Or, often, when such an awareness does come about, it has frequently been after some years of secular success and searching for something of greater fulfillment than just prestige or finances?

There is (or can be) also a certain solitariness in discerning priesthood early on. Unless and until a man finds some sort of group of like interested men, where is the support system?

It just seems that the challenges which exist in contemporary culture are not extremely facilitating for fostering priestly vocations.

I believe that these are all valid points, especially for secular seminarians. Remember, they are not entering a family. They are leaving their family and circle of friends to enter a system where they are individuals. The relationship between diocesan priests is not the same, nor should it be, as that between religious brothers in a community. In religious communities, we tend to get the younger men. Even though there is not always a guarrantee that a young man entering a religious order will be a priest, because it’s up to the order, not up to him, many young man are willing to take the risk of being told by a superior that they cannot be ordained, but must remain a religious for life. What makes this “risk” doable is the community life.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF