Tag: Vocations

Answering God’s Call

Once there was a young priest—we’ll call him Fr. Brian—who was appointed pastor of a big parish, even though he had been ordained just a few years. The prospect of being in charge of a large staff and serving as spiritual leader of almost 2000...

We Are So Short

We are so short of people, that is, in the Catholic Church. We all know that we do not have enough priests today and the looming vacancies keep growing. We ordained a young man a deacon last Friday who was a late life vocation after a tragic family...

Our Role in the Mission of the Church

At a parish called Christ the Good Shepherd, a permanent deacon was in his office one Saturday evening, working on his homily for Sunday. Because it was getting late, he tried calling his wife on the office phone, wanting to tell her it would be...

The Lord is Calling

When I was in my mid twenties, I worked in the engineering department of a large company. While I was working there, I became friends with a fellow employee, a young man. This man, in my opinion, was the consummate bachelor. He was good looking...

Goodbye Sisters

The good sisters that served the Catholic Church so well are going away. From a few hundred in the mid 19th century to a maximum of 200,000 in 1965, their numbers are declining with an estimated roughly 45,000 sisters currently serving in 2016. The...

Regarding Shepherds and Vocations

Regarding Shepherds and Vocations

I recently turned 59, and in my lifetime there have been some truly remarkable popes, or chief shepherds of the Church. I was born near the end of the lengthy reign of Pope Pius XII, a great but somewhat under-appreciated leader who led the Church...

The Harvest Is Abundant But The Laborers Are Few

The Harvest Is Abundant But The Laborers Are Few

Continuing the theme of discipleship begun a few weeks ago, in this week’s Gospel, Luke further elucidates the need for disciples in the world. This passage is often used for vocation recruitment materials: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers...