This weekend, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati ordained 7 men to the Sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ. I was in seminary with them and know them to be good, faithful men pursuing the call to holiness; it is a blessing for the Church that they have said “yes” to Lord. Praise God! Every priest has his story, but most of those stories rarely include miraculous events or heavenly visions; most priests will tell you that his story is pretty normal, but there was a moment of encounter with the Living God at which a choice needed to be made: to serve the Lord, or continue going “my way”. Priests are not made in a factory; they don’t just step out of a holy card one day. Priests come from the “yes” of real men living in the world, who have opened their hearts and heard the voice of the Lord say: “Follow me”.
It is important for all of us to consider how we might better encourage young men in our own families and parishes to consider the call to the priesthood. In my own life, it was the encouragement of others to discern the priesthood that gave me the confidence and the permission to do so, and I perceived this encouragement in some way as an invitation from the Lord as He spoke through the members of His Body. The Church clearly teaches that the seeds of every vocation – whether to married life, the priesthood, or religious life – are first planted and nurtured in the believing, Christian home: “In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason, the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the ecclesia domestica (domestic church). It is in the bosom of the family that parents are ‘by word and example…the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each child, fostering with special care any religious vocation” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1656). In the Domestic Church, the father, mother, and children exercise their baptismal priesthood through ’reception of the sacraments, pray and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity’. In this way, the Christian home truly becomes “the first school of Christian life and ‘a school for human enrichment.’” In the home, one “learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous – even repeated – forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one’s life” (ibid, n. 1657). If we wonder why there seems to be a shortage of priests, it must be noted that as the family goes, so goes the world: if families are not centers of living, radiant faith, there will not be the necessary environment in which religious and priestly vocations are grown. A crisis in the priesthood is ultimately a crisis of faith and a crisis of the family as the bosom of faith. But thanks be to God there is a way out of this crisis! The Church gives us the key and the roadmap, but we have to put it into action in our normal, daily lives. By God’s grace and our obedience, let it be done.
We must pray for priests – both the priests we have and the priests we need. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:37-38). Families must be generous in this regard. If the Lord is asking for your son or grandson, do not discourage or prevent him. What you sacrifice in giving a son to the Church will be more than rewarded by what you and the Church receive in grace and blessing from the Lord, who is never outdone in generosity. May God bless you in the week ahead and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
