CALL TO PRIESTHOOD

My dear sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ,

No one can fool the people of the diocese. They know that the future is not bright for priests. The comment I most often receive, directly or by indirection is: "Yes, but what are you doing about it?" Right on the mark! For it says clearly that the people want to help in any way that they can.

Now we have a program and an excellent committee to work with it. It has been supported totally by the Council of Priests and by the Deaneries. Soon the people of the diocese at Mass will be asked to get behind it. The purpose of this Dialogue is to tell you about it. You can't hear the good news too often.

The first plank of the program is prayer. The Lord Jesus asked us to ask the Lord of the harvest that he call people to the harvest. It has been the constant tradition of the Church that we must pray that young people hear the call. This is not so simple as it sounds. Yes, God is calling, but there are so many other noises on the air waves, that young people can be tone deaf to God.

The heart of our program is based on the theory that people have a sense of who would be a good spiritual leaders for them. Think of the priests you know and admire. Was it a shocking piece of news when any of them went to the seminary? I doubt it. Many of them had already been pre-selected by the people of the parish, without their knowledge.

That does not mean that we are looking for some compliant dopes who will be willing lackeys of what the people want. Not at all. The priest who is not a spiritual leader today is going to die of frustration and likely have an unhappy and unfruitful ministry. Real people are needed who have something to give to the Church and society.

The basics are that the man must have good health, ability to do university studies and be living a good life style. When these meet motivation and a life of prayer, these are signs that the Lord is calling him. He is ready to go the seminary and see if this attraction is a genuine vocation of the Lord, or something other. That is one of the reasons that the process is so long.

In our diocesan program - Call to Priesthood - November will be used to build up concern for the issue with homilies in the parishes. There will be material in the parish bulletins and in the announcements and prayers of the faithful. On the Feast of Christ the King - November 23, l997 - I will celebrate a special Mass with all the people at the Cathedral on Sunday afternoon at 4 to storm heaven for the success of this great campaign.

Starting with the First Sunday in Advent, there will be nomination cards placed in all the parishes of the diocese. These will be cards that people are invited to fill in and return in sealed envelopes. On the card, the people are asked if they can think of any whom they think God might be calling to the priesthood.. There cards will be available in the parishes until the end of December.

During the month of January, the pastor of the parish meets with the people who have been nominated by the people. Of course any of these people is free or others are free to approach the pastor or some other priest, at the same time. After the meeting, if the pastor and the person feel positive about it, his name is sent on to me. Obviously this is only done if he wishes it to happen. I know of no name unless the name is given to me, with his permission.

In February I invite the people whose names have been sent on to me to make a Come and See weekend. This will be directed by some of the younger priests who are close to the seminary experience. They will help the candidates to understand what is involved in a call to diocesan priesthood and what does seminary formation mean today.

During all of this time, the process will be under the guidance and direction of the Vocations Promotion Committee of the Diocese which consists of Father Gary MacPherson, Chair: and Fathers R. D. Smith, John Hugh MacDonald,. Hugh D. MacDonald, Martin MacDougall, Paul Murphy and Paul MacNeil.

Will it succeed? With your prayers, it will. I believe with my whole heart that there are vocations in abundance out there. We just need to have the courage and trust in God to ask. There is no life like that of serving God in the priesthood.. When all we priests show this perfectly, our tribe will increase. Please pray for us and for the campaign.