"Sydney archdiocese sees increase in priestly vocations after World Youth Day"

From The Catholic Weekly (Australia)

THE OFT-STATED claim that young men nowadays don’t want to be priests is given the lie by the number of them in Sydney alone who are now in training for the priesthood – the 39
young men at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, 21 young men at the Redemptorist Mater
Seminary and countless numbers in formation with orders such as the Dominicans and the
Capuchin Friars.

The number of seminarians is increasing worldwide and this has been apparent in Sydney
for some time.

The past two years has seen the ordination of 10 young men in St Mary’s Cathedral, with further ordinations scheduled for May this year.

The Vocation Centre of the archdiocese of Sydney is hard at work offering confidential spiritual guidance and retreats for those discerning priestly and religious life.

This year it offers two discernment retreats for men considering the “You see, my role as
director of vocations is to help young people discern what God is really calling them to; there is never a question of trying to ‘recruit’ or influence someone who is not called.

“For instance, I have assisted some young men to see they are actually called to marriage.

“It is their vocation, their choice as to how they exercise their freedom and it’s also their responsibility to genuinely listen to what God is asking them.”

The Vocation Centre is also hard at work helping parishes to be supportive and caring places for young people discerning their vocation.

This month sees the launch of a Vocations Co-ordinators Resource Kit.

And today (Sunday, February 27) the Archbishop of Sydney, George Cardinal Pell, in a
service at St Mary’s Cathedral, is commissioning the first group of lay volunteers who
will implement the kit in their parishes.

Elizabeth Arblaster of the Vocation Centre says: “The lay people who have volunteered to be parish vocations co-ordinators know that we need to support priests in this work so that our young people hear vocations stories, see positive examples of all vocations and have a prayerful and informed community that will support them as they listen to God’s call.

“In doing this work, these lay people are giving life to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s desire that young people need to be supported in their local churches and ‘feel the Priesthood (April 8-10 , September 23-25 ), two seminary inquiry days (May 29 and October 30) as well as monthly reflection days throughout 2011 called Silence and Solitude
Sundays.

There is also a retreat for women on prayer, discernment, marriage and consecrated life (March 11-13), as well as one later in the year for women considering consecrated life
(November 25-27).

On top of it all, the Vocation Centre is about the launch a new DVD on the priesthood as well as a weekly Vocations Show on the online Catholic radio station CRADIO, offering
in-depth interviews, testimonies and the chance to ask questions about vocations.

“These retreats, reflection and inquiry days for young men considering whether Christ is calling them to the priesthood is a time for these men to go deeper, ask questions, and
meet up with peers who are undertaking a similar journey” says the archdiocesan director of Vocations, Fr Michael de Stoop.

“The men take much spiritual enrichment, knowledge and support from these retreats.

“They know when they come along that there is no pressure and no strings attached.warmth of the whole community as they respond yes to God and the Church’.

“We want to hear from those lay people and we feel passionate about training and supporting them.”

For discernment resources, information about retreats, receiving confidential guidance, or
becoming a parish vocations co-ordinator, call the Vocation Centre on 9390 5970, email
vocations@sydneycatholic.org or visit www.vocationcentre.org.au

Pastoral letter calls for new deacons in the Archdiocese of Vancouver

New document highlights the role of permanent deacons in the Church

Painting: St. Peter consecrates Lawrence of Rome as a deacon in a fresco from 1447-49 by Fra Angelico and Benozzo Gozzoli. St. Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who was martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258 AD.

By Brent Mattson
The B.C. Catholic

VANCOUVER--Recently Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, announced a program to form permanent deacons for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Now the archbishop has released a pastoral letter (available on the Archiocese of Vancouver's website ) providing more detail.

"The permanent diaconate is meant to be a driving force for the Church's service toward the local Christian communities," he wrote in the letter, released Feb. 25.

"Because the deacon is a public and living icon of Christ the Servant within the Church, his ministry encourages all the baptized to commit themselves to service of the ecclesial community and the world," the archbishop said.

Quoting Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Miller wrote that the permanent deacon is a great gift of God to the Church.

The archbishop noted that the encouragement of recent Popes, as well as recommendations from the Archdiocesan Synod, Presbyteral Council, and Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, led him to the decision that it was time to call permanent deacons to serve the archdiocese.

"Increasingly we recognize that every baptized person has a calling to share the faith," he wrote.

Because men must be between the ages of 35 and 65 to enter the diaconate, the archbishop said they will bring experience from their secular careers and family lives that will help expand the presence of Church ministries in the various spheres of public life.

"Permanent deacons will add yet another dimension to our witness and service, while supporting the ministries that are already exercised in such fruitful ways," the archbishop wrote. "Deacons are ordained to proclaim the Gospel and preach the Word of God at the liturgy, as well as to be a herald of this Word to the faithful and the world."

Though they cannot celebrate Mass, deacons will have a liturgical role at Mass, as well as the ability to baptize, witness marriages, preside at funerals and burials, and conduct prayer services for the sick and dying.

The archbishop said that deacons are a sign of the Church's service to the world, and therefore must be dedicated to works of charity and justice.

"I will expect them to bring the poor to the Church and the Church to the poor, whether that poverty is material, spiritual, or cultural," he said.

Major Motion Picture: Of Gods and Men - Movie about the Trappist Monks in Algeria

"Cannes Film Festival grand-prize winner had 'monastic adviser' on set"

By Mark Pattison
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- "Of Gods and Men," the Cannes Film Festival grand prize-winning feature now debuting across the country, had a "monastic adviser" on the set to help faithfully depict the lives of the French monks whose story is at the heart of the movie.

Henry Quinson, who lived for six years at a Cistercian monastery in France, knew two of the monks portrayed in the film.

The subject matter is not typical for a movie: the lives of seven Trappist monks in turmoil-ridden Algeria in the mid-1990s. All seven were kidnapped in 1996 and ultimately beheaded.

"It's very difficult for me to make a movie that would be cheap -- the kind of movie that would only be about blood," Quinson told Catholic News Service in a Feb. 18 telephone interview from Marseilles, France, where he lives. "It would be very far away from the spirit of the people I knew."

Xavier Beauvois, who directed and co-wrote "Of Gods and Men," approached Quinson after seeing his memoir on monastic life; Quinson had earlier translated into French an English-language book on the murdered monks.

Quinson said Beauvois e-mailed him asking, "I need someone to be with me on this movie. ... When it's written (in the script) 'the monks pray,' how are they dressed? What do they do? Do they sing? I need someone who knows the monastic life from the inside."

Quinson, who had been considering making a movie himself on the French Trappists, agreed to help Beauvois.

"My little job," Quinson said, "was to tell their story, ... be faithful to the brothers, and reach out to as many people as we can."

Quinson said Algeria in the mid-1990s was struggling through many of the same issues today roiling Muslim-majority nations in North Africa and the Middle East.

"The murder of the monks was a turning point in Algeria. That doesn't mean there's no violence in Algeria today. Things are shaking up in Algeria right now," he told CNS. "What is true is that no Christians were murdered after '96, and I think that Algerian people started to come to terms with the idea that violence is not going to beget any bright future and another way to solve the problems would not be terrorizing people, not only for their religious faith -- most people who were murdered in Algeria were Muslims themselves -- but questions were raised about who murders whom."

Quinson said, "For the two months when we shot the movie in Morocco, I was there every day. Beauvois would have me very close to him -- 'Henry, are you sure this is right?' -- to re-create the atmosphere of the monastery."

Then came the bombshell from Beauvois when it came to the chapel scenes: "Henry, for these parts you are the film director. I cannot direct something I know nothing about. What are they going to do? What are they going to think?"

"I found all the songs, and all the dialogue, which makes up about 15 percent of the movie. I rewrote one of the speeches about being a martyr, which was a very important part of the movie," Quinson told CNS. "We spent several days in a monastery" coaching the actors, working with Beauvois on the setting, and re-creating the monastery in Morocco for filming.

Quinson, the son of a banker, was born in New York City but has lived in Europe, primarily France and Belgium, since age 5.

"I'm not a real monk in the sense that I'm not a part of a monastic order. But I'm celibate, working within the church," said Quinson, who turns 50 March 8. "I worked as teacher here in Marseille. I managed to have part-time jobs so I would have a lot of time to help out the neighbors" in a Muslim enclave in Marseille with "a lot of educational help and now a lot of financial help. ... A lot of these kids were considered not very able to go far in their studies" for academic or financial reasons.

Quinson said that, before filming, he had gotten advice from "a big French film producer" he would not name that "this story with seven monks being killed is not going to sell." Cannes awards and international acclaim later, the producer's opinion is being debunked.

In his review of "Of Gods and Men," John Mulderig of CNS' Media Review Office called the movie "a restrained religious masterpiece and a memorable viewing experience."

The film received a classification of A-III -- adults -- for brief gory violence, some unsettling images and a single instance each of rough and crass language. But Mulderig said older teens could profit from seeing the movie.

Director Beauvois, according to Mulderig, "finds a path to the heart of the Gospel through simplicity, a compassionate sense of brotherhood and an atmosphere of prayer enriched by sacred music and potent silence."

Beyond the Silence - Carthusian Monks

Discernment Program at San Benedetto in Norcia

Via New Liturgical Movement:


The Monastery of San Benedetto in Norcia will hold its 11th annual summer vocational discernment program in 2011 from July 4 – July 29.

The purpose of the program is to offer young men (usually age 18-30) a time to discern God’s will for their life in a more concentrated way than normal worldly circumstances permit. Attendees will be invited to participate in the life of the monks as a way to guide their decision.

Participants should try to arrive a few days early to get over the jet lag. To apply, please write to the Novice Master at vocations@osbnorcia.org.

News video about the Nashville Dominicans

"Number of priests growing worldwide, Vatican reports"

From Catholic News Agency

By Alan Holdren

Vatican City, Feb 11, 2011 / 05:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- There are more than 5,000 more Catholic priests globally in 2009 than there were in 1999, according to official Church statistics.

The Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper anticipated the news from the soon-to-be released 2009 almanac prepared by the Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics.

The statistics reveal that there were 410,593 priests in the world in 2009 compared to 405,009 in 1999. The number of diocesan priests among these increased by over 10,000 while the number of those belonging to religious orders fell by nearly 5,000.

In North America, as well as Europe and Oceania, the numbers decreased for both diocesan and religious priests. Africa and Asia, however, brought up the overall figures with a more than 30 percent increase on both continents.

Europe still has nearly half of the world’s priests, but the “old continent” is gradually losing weight on the world stage.

More seminarians are studying for the priesthood from Africa and Asia and fewer from Europe. But, there is also the issue of the number of deaths of priests in the different areas.

In Europe, the average age of priests is higher than in Africa and Asia. The number of European priests is falling as new ordinations do not surpass the numbers of those who die.

But in Asia and Africa the number of deaths was only one-third of the total new ordinations.

North and South America’s numbers combined show a positive trend over the decade since 1999, according to L’Osservatore Romano. In Oceania, the death-to-ordination ratio was equal.

The Vatican’s publishing house prints the volume of Church statistics annually. It includes names and biographies of major Catholic figures and offers a variety statistics on all those who work in apostolates and evangelization efforts the world over.

It also offer shorter term statistics. They report, for example, that between 2008 and 2009 the number of priests in the world increased by 809. According the Vatican newspaper, this is the highest jump since 1999 and a reason “to look to the future with renewed hope.”

"World Catholic population growing; mixed results on priestly, religious vocations"

From Catholic Culture

The world’s Catholic population grew by 1.3% in 2009, reaching 1.181 billion, according to the latest Church statistics, published in the new Annuario Pontificio.

The Annuario is the pontifical yearbook, containing the latest available figures for the universal Church. This year’s edition of the Annuario-- which was formally presented to Pope Benedict XVI on February 19—includes statistics up to the end of 2009, the most recent year for which full figures are available.

Those figures show that nearly half of the world’s Catholics—49.4%-- live in the Americas. (The Vatican considers North and South America as a single continent for statistical purposes.) Europe, with a roughly similar overall population, accounts for only 24% of the world’s Catholics. And Asia, by far the most populous continent, with 60% of the world’s total population, is home to only 10.7% of the Catholics.

The number of Catholic priests serving worldwide has grown slightly, reaching 410,593 in 2009. But that growth is uneven, with a disproportionate number of new priests coming from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In Europe the number of priests has fallen, while in North America it has held steady. The figures on young men training for the priesthood suggested that this trend will continue; the number of seminarians rose in Africa and Asia, fell in Europe, and held steady in the Americas primarily because of the higher figures from Latin America.

The year 2009 saw a noticeable drop in the number of female religious, from 739,067 to 729,371, despite a net increase in Africa and Asia. Again the figures show a shrinkage in Europe and North America.

Pope to Filipino Bishops: Urge more youth into priesthood

From the Inquirer Global Nation

By Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Saying that the Philippines needed more priests, Pope Benedict XVI has advised visiting bishops from Visayas and the Bicol region to persevere in their pastoral care for young Filipinos to encourage them to heed the call to priesthood.

He also encouraged them to carry on reminding the Filipino youth that "true friendship" with God, not the world's "glamour" will satiate their aspiration for happiness.

The Holy Father made the statement during the ad limina visit of bishops from Visayas and Bicol in Rome on Saturday. His statement was posted Monday on CBCP News, the official news service of the Church hierarchy.

In addressing the Filipino prelates, the Pope acknowledged that despite a rise in the number of Catholic priests around the world, "more dedicated servants of Christ" were still needed in the Philippines, a mainly Roman Catholic nation, to meet the needs of its growing Catholic population.

Based on official Church figures in 2009, the number of Catholic priests around the world grew by 5,000 since 1999.

"With you, I pray that young Filipinos who feel called to priesthood and the religious life will respond generously to the promptings of the Spirit," stated the Pope.

He also exhorted the Filipino prelates to offer these young vocations a "well-developed and carefully applied plan of integral formation" to advance their initial tendency towards priesthood and their faith to reach full spiritual and human maturity.

"I encourage you to continue to remind young people that the glamour of this world will not satisfy their natural desire for happiness," added the Pope.

"Only true friendship with God will break the bonds of loneliness from which our fragile humanity suffers and will establish a true and lasting communion with others, a spiritual bond that will readily prompt within us the wish to serve the needs of those we love in Christ," he said.

Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, Expanding to California

By Valerie Schmalz

(CNA).- One of the fastest growing orders of women religious in the United States is expanding to California where the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, took over administration of a Sacramento Catholic school this school year.

Perhaps more significantly, the Dominican Sisters have outgrown the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, Mich., and are planning to build two new houses of formation in California and in Texas. Each would hold about 100. The order’s lifestyle intrigued Oprah Winfrey, who featured the sisters twice on her show in 2010. As a result they have been nicknamed the “Oprah nuns.”

“We had 22 young women enter in August, and we have had between 10 and 20 new vocations per year for the past five years,” said Sister Thomas Augustine, director of California Mission Advancement. “It has happened to us before that by the time we finished adding onto the motherhouse in Ann Arbor we were already out of room! This time we are hoping to stay ahead of things so we are planning for two new houses of formation.”

Founded in 1997 by four Dominicans from the Nashville Dominicans, just 31 of the 110 Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, have made final vows so far. The remaining religious are in various stages of formation or education and discernment, said Sister Thomas Augustine.

“We’re not turning anyone away. We’ll sleep on the floor. We’ll live in kitchenettes, closets and landings. We have in the past,” Sister Thomas Augustine said.

The land in Loomis near Sacramento was purchased by Fred and Joan Cordova, a couple who received a direct-mail piece and called in 2005 to say they wanted the order to come to California and would buy the sisters land.

There are now eight sisters in the Sacramento diocese. Four are teaching at Presentation School, an elementary school that saw its enrollment jump by 44 students to 196 when the sisters took over in the 2010-11 school year, said Kevin Eckery, spokesman for Bishop Jaime Soto. “This is the first increase in enrollment in five years,” Eckery said.

Under the city of Loomis’ planning and building regulations, the sisters expect their application to be approved Jan. 18 and after negotiating details and meeting regulatory requirements to be able to build by 2012, Sister Thomas Augustine said. Funding for construction still needs to be raised, she said.

The religious’ primary apostolate is teaching. Sisters are sent out in small groups. They are teaching and administering Catholic schools in California, Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, and Michigan. A new mission will open next year in Columbus, Ohio, Sister Thomas Augustine said. Fifteen sisters are obtaining their teaching credentials this year and will go out to teach next year.

“We deliver a Catholic education because we are in the business of saving souls,” she said.

The order is part of a worldwide resurgence among religious orders who embrace the traditional religious life as part of Pope John Paul II’s call for a new evangelization, Sister Thomas Augustine said.

“The thing to note is what we all have in common: the habit, living a common life, devotion to the Eucharist and Our Lady, absolute fidelity to the Church’s teachings and the influence of John Paul II,” said Sister Augustine, who was a New York lawyer before she joined.

Find more information at http://www.sistersofmary.org/ or contact Sister Thomas Augustine at
maocadirector@sistersofmary.org.

Polish Priest Murdered in Tunisia

Roman Catholic Salesian missionary Father Marek Rybinski was found dead with his throat cut in Tunis on Friday. The Tunisian interior ministry says it believes he was murdered by “fascist terrorists”.

The ministry in the Tunisian capital “strongly condemned” the murder, adding that the perpetrators would be “severely punished”.

Father Rybinski, who was 34 years old, went missing on Thursday morning and after a search of the Salesian school in the Manouba district, police found his body in a storage room, his throat cut.

"Given the manner of his murder [we believe] that a group of fascist terrorists are behind the crime," the ministry said in a statement.

Rybinski’s family has been notified.

Police say that the priest is the second Christian religious figure to be killed during the social unrest which led up to and followed the ousting of President Ben Ali in January.

On 31 January, the Salesian missionary’s web site says the order in Tunis received death threats in an unsigned letter.

Father Rybinski worked in Tunisia for three years and had been a priest for five after being ordained in Lodz, central Poland. He served in the Salesian missionary centre in Warsaw and also worked for a year in the Olsztyn Salesian institution, where he prepared educational and volunteer mission trips.

The Salesian Society mission is the third largest Christian missionary organisation in the world.

New president/rector named for Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Ohio

From the Catholic Telegraph

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr has appointed Father Benedict O’Cinnsealaigh the 35th president/rector of the Athenaeum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.

The new appointment, announced Feb. 14, takes effect July 1.

The archbishop also created the position of vice rector and appointed Father Anthony R. Brausch, an instructor of philosophy, to fill the post.

Archbishop Schnurr said he is asking Father O’Cinnsealaigh “to give special attention to recruiting more dioceses to send their seminarians here, while continuing the spiritual, human and liturgical formation of our seminarians and growing the Athenaeum’s role in the diocese as a center of education and training both for the work of the lay ecclesial ministry and for outreach and evangelization to teachers and families.”

“I want to reiterate my commitment to Mount St. Mary’s and the Athenaeum, and to the stated goal of this institution to become one of the premier institutions in the church in the United States for the education and formation of priests and laity,” he added.

Since 2004, Father O’Cinnsealaigh has served as director of seminary formation at the Athenaeum of Ohio’s Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, which is the third-oldest Catholic seminary in the United States.

Achbishop Schnurr thanked outgoing president/rector Father Edward P. Smith for his almost seven years of service, citing many accomplishments during his tenure at the helm of the Athenaeum and its seminary.

“I feel very fortunate to have served at Mount St. Mary’s with Father Smith for the last 11 years,” said Father O’Cinnsealaigh. “He has been very effective in his ministry here and has been a kind and insightful mentor. I hope I can build on his work as he has built on the good work of those who went before him.”

During Father Smith’s watch, the Athenaeum conducted the most successful capital campaign in its 181-year history, recently raising more than $19 million — some 21 percent above the goal of $15.75 million.

Father Smith never left the classroom during his tenure, continuing to teach seminarians, deacons and lay ministers.

Archbishop Schnurr noted that the final phase of the expansion of seminarian housing from 46 to 70 suites came under Father Smith’s leadership and positions Mount St. Mary’s Seminary for future growth at a time when vocations to the Catholic priesthood are critically needed.

“The Athenaeum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary’s Seminary has given me so much. For 15 years of my life — four as a seminarian and 11 on the faculty — I have lived and worked with many wonderful people,” Father Smith said. “My vocation was formed here, and in the past years it has been strengthened by the zeal and commitment of our current students and faculty. . . . My life, my vocation, and my ministry are better for having been here.”

Father O’Cinnsealaigh, 47, is a native of Dublin, Ireland, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1993, the same year he came to the United States. He holds a degree in humanities from All Hallows College, Dublin; a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome; and a licentiate in sacred theology and a doctorate in sacred theology from the International Marian Research Institute, Dayton.

Prior to being assigned to the Athenaeum in 2000, Father O’Cinnsealaigh was assistant pastor of Holy Angels Parish, Sidney, while also serving as head of the religion department and campus minister at Lehman Catholic High School. He earlier served as assistant pastor at St. Albert the Great Parish, Kettering.

He became a U.S. citizen in 2004, the same year he was named “Teacher of the Year” at the seminary. In addition to his role as director of seminary formation, he also has served as director of permanent diaconate formation and as assistant professor of theology since 2000. He holds the recently created Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk Chair in Systematic Theology.

“I feel somewhat anxious about taking on this new ministry, but being surrounded by so many good, faithful, and competent collaborators is encouraging and also exciting. The archbishop has a dynamic vision for the Athenaeum and the seminary, and the next few years should prove to be exciting and hopefully fruitful for the church,” Father O’Cinnsealaigh said.

"In Nairobi, cloistered Carmelites give themselves to God in prayer"

By Barb Fraze
Catholic News Service

Photo: Sister Bernadette is among 16 sisters in a contemplative community at Mount Carmel Convent in Nairobi. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) -- For several of the cloistered Carmelite Sisters at Mount Carmel Convent, their life of prayer began in their families, when they were children.

"My dad taught me to pray for others," said Sister Bernadette, one of the younger sisters. She said her father told her he knew sisters who prayed for everyone, and she asked if they could pray for her, too. She said she began corresponding with the sisters and was drawn to their life of prayer.

Sister Constanza, who professed her final vows in January, said she attended Mass each morning because she did not live far from the local church. Each evening, her family gathered to pray the rosary and other evening prayers.

"I decided to give myself to the Lord for myself and for the salvation of souls," and the best way seemed to be contemplative life, she said.

In an interview with Catholic News Service Feb. 16, several of the sisters talked about the path that led them to nearly continuous prayer each day.

"I never dreamed of becoming a nun," said Sister Monica, who now serves as novice mistress for the order. In college, she met some Catholic students who began praying the rosary together, then attending daily Mass. One of the students wanted to become a Franciscan priest, and as he talked more about the saints, her interest grew.

She said she was filled with "a desire to belong to Christ."

Sister Regina, a young nun who works with aspirants, said her family prayed the rosary and intercessions every day.

"I came from a praying family," she said with a smile. She said she felt called to pray, "especially for priests."

Not all of the sisters are from Kenya. Sister Agnes, from India, said a friend of her sister was becoming a Carmelite, and "somehow that mystique of Carmel drew me very strongly."

The cloister was founded by Carmelites from Dublin in the mid-20th century. When the archbishop of Nairobi visited Cleveland, he asked the Carmelites there for help, and seven nuns and three postulants flew to Kenya in 1951.

The three postulants -- Margaret, Jean and Annamae -- remain, now as some of the oldest members of the order.

Sister Margaret, originally from Pittsburgh, said when she was a teenager, she had visited the Carmelites in Cleveland, and they invited her to go with them to Kenya. They "took a chance" and took her along, she said. Since then, she has only traveled home to be with her mother when she died.

She and Sister Agnes spoke of how much the area around the cloister has changed. Today, it has been built up and surrounded by affluent homes. When they arrived, they were the only building on the hill, and they could see Mounts Kenya and Kilimanjaro in different directions. Now the city is too built up to see far, they said.

The two were there during the eight-year Mau Mau Uprising that started in 1952, and the Mau Mau, a tribal group, had a hideout in the valley. Sister Agnes said one of the local priests talked to the Mau Mau, who promised never to trouble the sisters, because they were holy.

Today, when young women apply to join the order, the sisters require that they finish high school and begin some other course work, Sister Monica said.

"It gives them time to mature a bit," she said.

Sister Regina, who works with the aspirants, said she checks to see if candidates are "determined to live the life."

"Does she feel called because she has other things she is afraid to face or does she feel called because God is calling her?" she said.

An aspirant will join the sisters for three months to see if a contemplative life is something she really wants. The day begins with the prayers of the morning office at 5:20 and ends around 10 or 10:30 p.m. Other than a couple of hours of recreation, the day is spent in prayer. While the sisters work -- sewing vestments and altar linens, printing greeting cards and making Communion hosts -- they meditate. Meals, cooked by the sisters, are eaten in silence while one nun reads -- to nourish the soul.

The sisters pray for their own intentions -- pregnant women and mothers, priests, events in the world -- as well as intentions of those who ask, including Muslims, Hindus and Protestants.

Sister Bernadette said they prayed for Americans before the 2008 elections "because we have our American sisters."

"It's not just like we are here for Kenya," added Sister Regina.

CARA Reports on Religious Life - Confirms Traditional Religious Life Attracting Vocations

From the Archdiocese of Washington website

By Msgr. Charles Pope

On February 2 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops released a report on Religious life. The study was conducted by the very reputable Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

The Bishops’ report is interesting and informative for what it says, but also has puzzling omissions in the topics covered, which seem to amount to ignoring the “elephant in the room.” The “elephant” is the rather obvious fact that religious communities that preserve traditional elements such as the habit, common prayer, communal life, focused apostolates and strong affirmation of Church teaching, are doing well in comparison to orders that do not. Indeed some are doing quite well.

That data regarding the strength of tradition is covered in an earlier 2009 CARA report commissioned by the The National Religious Vocations Conference (NRVC). Strangely the bishop’s report did not seem to want to go near the topic of tradition. Hence I would like to look at some data from both the 2011 report and the 2009.

Let’s start with the 2011 Bishop’s Report. The Full report is HERE. The numbers are from CARA and refer to sisters who made their Solemn Vows in 2010. The comments are just my own.

1.Scope – 311 Superiors responded to the survey and this represents 63% of Religious Congregations in the USA

2.Most lay fallow – It is striking that the report indicates that 84% of Religious Communities had no one profess solemn vows in 2010. 13% had one woman profess solemn vows and only 3% had between 2 and 9 women profess solemn vows. While this is only a picture of one year it shows that a large number of communities are in very serious shape.

3.Missing Data? The report must have excluded some of the more fruitful congregations since I personally know of two communities that had more than 9 women enter.

4.Diversity – 62% of newly professed sisters are Caucasian, 19% are Asian or Pacific Islander, 10% are Hispanic. This suggests a lot of work needs to be done to reach the Hispanic (Latino) Catholic communities in the US which are very underrepresented in the numbers entering.

5.Older sisters less diverse – An astonishing 94% of sisters overall are Caucasian but this number is sure to drop a bit as the numbers in point four begin to shift forward in the years ahead.

6.Converts – 13% of newly professed sister in 2010 were converts.

7.Big Families Factor – A remarkable 64% came from families of 5 or more children. See pie chart at upper right. This confirms the long held notion that decreased family size is a significant factor in the decline of religious vocations.

8.School Connections – 51% of new professed sisters attended Catholic elementary school. For decades Catholic Schools had been an engine of vocations for sisters. That seems a wash today and is likely due to the fact that most schools have few if nay Sisters teaching.

9.Parish connections – 2/3 of the Sisters had participated in parish youth ministry programs and/or young adult ministry or Newman clubs.

10.Liturgical Connections – 57% had been involved in some sort of liturgical ministry.

11.Devotional Connection – 74% of the New Sisters had participated in Parish retreats, 65% prayed the rosary frequently, 64% participated regularly in Eucharistic Adoration. 57% had taken part in regular Bible Study programs. Hence parish life and traditional pious factors play and important role as does more more modern forms such as liturgical ministry and Bible Study.
12.Encouragements – 52% of new sisters report being encourged to enter religious life by another sister, 44% by a friend 39% by a parish priest.
13.Only 26% say their mother encouraged them on only 16% say their father encouraged them.
14.Discouragements! – An astonishing 51% say their parents or family members actively discouraged them from entering! This is quite an awful statistic actually. The very ones who should encourage are off message.
OK a lot of good information. But in the end the report seems to dodge the question as to why 84% of Religious Congregations had no one profess vows. I do not blame CARA for this since they likely received the scope of the survey from their patrons at the USCCB. The question remains though, why do some congregations show success and others not? What are the factors that most influence women to enter certain orders and not others?

Fortunately another CARA study mentioned above was commissioned by NRVC in 2009 and it does explore such questions. The full report is HERE and the findings are these:

1.Scope – The response rate in this survey was higher, about 80% of Religious in the US had their community respond to the survey. Most of the communities that did not respond were small larelgly contemplative communities.

2.The Survey includes both men and women.

3.How many in Formation – Three-fourths of institutes of men (78 percent) and two-thirds of institutes of women (66 percent) have at least one person currently in initial formation (candidate or postulant, novice, or temporary professed). However, almost half of the institutes that have someone in initial formation have no more than one or two. About 20% of the responding institutes currently have more than five people in initial formation.

4.Aging – Over all religious are an aging population. 75% of Men are over 60 and an astonishing 91% of women are over 60.

5.More diverse – Compared to men and women religious in the last century, those coming to religious life today are much more diverse in terms of their age, racial and ethnic background, and life experience. 21% are Hispanic/Latino, 14% are Asian/Pacific Islander, and 6% are African/African American. About 58% are Caucasian/white, compared to about 94% of older professed members. This show a significantly higher percentage of Latinos than the smaller 2010 survey above.

6.Critical Factors – Younger respondents are more likely than older respondents to say they were attracted to religious life by a desire to be more committed to the Church and to their particular institute by its fidelity to the Church. Many also report that their decision to enter their institute was influenced by its practice regarding a religious habit. Significant generational gaps, especially between the Millennial Generation (born in 1982 or later) and the Vatican II Generation (born between 1943 and 1960), are evident throughout the study on questions involving the Church and the habit. Differences between the two generations also extend to questions about community life as well as styles and types of prayer. Ah, so here is the elephant that the 2011 report chose to leave unexplored. The italics in this sixth point are a direct quote from the CARA report and it makes it clear that data confirms what we already know anecdotally. Tradition and the respect for it is an important factor for younger vocations, as is fidelity to the Church.

7.Generation Gap – Millennial Generation respondents are much more likely than other respondents – especially those from the Vatican II Generation – to say that daily Eucharist, Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharistic Adoration, and other devotional prayers are “very” important to them. Pay attention Religious orders.

8.Communal life – When asked about their decision to enter their particular religious institute, new members cite the community life in the institute as the most influential factor in their decision (followed closely by the prayer life or prayer styles in the community). Most new members indicate that they want to live, work, and pray with other members of their religious institute, with the last being especially important to them. Responses to an open-ended question about what most attracted them to their religious institute reinforce the importance new members place on this aspect of religious life. When asked about various living arrangements, most new members prefer to live in a large (eight or more) or medium-sized (four to seven) community and to live only with other members of their institute. Younger respondents express even stronger preferences for living with members of their institute in large community settings. Findings from the survey of religious institutes suggest that that new membership is negatively correlated with the number of members living alone. That is, the higher the number of members who live alone, the less likely an institute is to have new members. Imagine wanting to live in community when you enter religious life. Here too we see that tradition is confirmed and the loose knit apartment style, dispersed living of many dying congregations is simply being rejected by younger people seeking religious life and to live, work and pray in community

9.The Habit – The responses to the open-ended question about what attracted them to their religious institute reveal that having a religious habit was an important factor for a significant number of new members.
Thus, the data of this earlier CARA report confirms what most Catholics already know: those who have vocations to religious life have a strong preference for the practices of tradition. A strong and enthusiastic love of Christ and his Church, fidelity to his teachings expressed through the magisterium, the wearing of the religious habit, vigorous common life and common prayer, a focused apostolate, joyful and faithful members of the community, all these are essential in attracting new vocations. Of course.

Death wish? This has been clear for some time now and why some religious communities do see the obvious and adapt is mystifying to say the least. The clear message of the Holy Spirit who inspires vocations, the clear admonition of Rome which has strongly requested the return to the habit and other reforms, and the obvious preference of the young people who vote with their feet, is a clarion call. Communities that follow these simple truths are growing, some are growing rapidly. Communities that refuse to follow these simple truths would appear to have a death wish.

Picture – My own parish convent is occupied by an order that does follow these truths and they are bursting at the seams. They have just out-grown our convent which housed over 25 of them. They have now moved to another larger convent and left four sisters behind here. I have no doubt that our convent will fill again soon for the Servant Sisters of the Lord are a growing order who obey well the Holy Spirit and thus attract many many vocations. Their picture solemn vows is posted above. God is faithful, he is also clear as to what it takes for a religious community to thrive.

"God has a plan for everyone, fifth graders told at Vocation Days"

From The Catholic Key

By Kevin Kelly
Catholic Key Associate Editor

Photo: Sister Maria Damiana Lee, of the Sisters in Jesus, the Lord, explains the life of an avowed religious woman to fifth grade girls from several Catholic schools at the annual Fifth Grade Vocation Days Feb. 9.
KANSAS CITY — Prayer. There is no substitute.

That was the message that priests and avowed men and women religious gave to some 800 Catholic school and home-schooled fifth graders at the 15th annual Fifth Grade Vocation Days Feb. 9-10.

Gathered at Archbishop O’Hara High School, the fifth graders learned that God has a plan for their lives, and the only way to know that plan was to talk and listen to God in prayer.

Some of the priests and religious brothers and sisters who spoke to the fifth graders in both large and small groups told them that they had even pursued other calls until God’s call to religious life could not be ignored.

“I went to college, got a degree in mathematics and I taught math,” Father Joe Miller, director of vocations for the Society of the Most Precious Blood, told boys in small group sessions.

“I almost got married,” he said. “But I really felt the nudge of God calling me to be a priest.”

And it was a nudge heard only in prayer, Father Miller said. God sent him no loud, clear instructions.

“It wasn’t a bolt of lightning, or a burning bush like Moses,” he said. “God will call you similar to the way he called me. It will be a little nudge, a little pull inside.”

Franciscan Sister Mary Clare Eichman told the fifth graders that she also wanted to be married and have a family.

“Even though I had a job I liked, something was missing,” she said.

“I always thought that I just hadn’t found that perfect guy yet,” Sister Mary Clare said. “Then I found that perfect guy” — Jesus.

She recalled her sister, Pam, expecting her first child, telling her “This was what I was created to do.”

“I learned that God was calling me,” she said. “Only when I started living out religious life, I finally understood my sister’s words. This is what I was created to do. It’s brought me more joy and fulfillment than I could ever dream of.”

Diocesan vocations director Father Richard Rocha told the fifth graders that he was a football coach at both the college and the high school levels before he responded to his call to the priesthood.

He introduced seminarians Michael Leeper, who told the fifth graders he heard the call in the U.S. Navy, and Sean McCaffery, who said he had a Hollywood acting career going, including a part in a Hannah Montana video, when he responded to his call.

God may be calling any of the fifth graders to religious life, to married life, or to single life. But he is calling them to something, the priests and religious told the fifth graders.

“Don’t be afraid to listen to his dreams for you,” Sister Mary Clare said. “You’ll be amazed.”

The fifth graders got the message, as well as learning about the lives of priests, religious brothers and sisters.

“We learned what it is like to be a sister,” said Isabel Flores, of St. Peter School in Kansas City. “It means you are married to God.”

“Being a priest is fun, but sometimes it can be sad when people die,” said Xavier Lamros of Nativity of Mary School in Independence.

“We learned there is a difference between nuns and sisters,” said Madison Clark of Our Lady of the Presentation School in Lee’s Summit. “Sisters are more missionary, and more active in the community. Nuns are more cloistered and they pray a lot.”

“If you pray and listen to God,” said Emilie Connors of Presentation, “God will tell you your mission in life.”

Bishop Robert W. Finn, in his homily at Mass that ended each day, told the fifth graders, that it isn’t always easy to hear God’s voice through all the distractions and noise of living.

“We have to know which voices to follow, which paths to follow,” he said.

“We have to listen to him in our hearts. We have to listen to him in the Word of God. We have to listen to him in the teachings of the church, and we have to listen to him in our prayers,” the bishop said.

“Sometimes we just need to be quiet with God in prayer,” he said. “If we do that more and more, we can recognize God’s voice calling us.”

Bishop Finn said time spent in prayer will help a young person recognize the voice of God just as easily as they recognize their best friend’s voice or a parent’s voice immediately over a telephone.

“We learn to recognize the voices of people we care about and love immediately,” he said.

“We need to spend time with the Lord Jesus Christ so we can begin to recognize his voice,” Bishop Finn said. “This is the voice that really matters, the person who loves us and cares for us through and through. We have to learn to listen to Our Lord, Jesus Christ. He will call you.”

Bishop Finn asked the fifth graders to pray for him, and he promised to pray for them as well.

“Jesus has a plan for you,” he said. “My prayer for you is that you will say, ‘Yes.’”

Seminarian Philip Johnson

Seminarian Philip Johnson (Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh) gives a powerful talk to the student body of St. Thomas More Academy in Raleigh, NC. If you are not aware of Philip's heroic witness, you can learn more at his blog: In Caritate Non Ficta

Seminarian Philip Johnson from Deacon Watkins on Vimeo.

A Priestly Vocation - Life at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary

A Priestly Vocation ~ Life at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary from Father Joseph Lee, FSSP.

Ordinations at the Austrian Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz

"Rays of Musical Light: Cloistered Nuns Share Record Label With Elton John"

From Catholic Online
By Sonja Corbitt

NASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - "The whole world, compacted as it were together, was represented to [Benedict's] eyes in one ray of light" (The Life of Our Most Holy Father Saint Benedict, Pope Saint Gregory the Great).

It seems the cloistered, self-sufficient community of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation near Avignon, France, also sees the world through a Benedictine ray of light, and is about to diffuse a radiant love all over the world through the slow, soaring movements of their Gregorian chant.

Benedictine vows include Stability, Fidelity to the Monastic Life, and Obedience, and their communal life is centered around the eight canonical hours of the Divine Office. The Benedictine Divine Office is one of the most ancient daily observances of any kind anywhere in the world, and Gregorian chant is the oldest music ever written down.

Originating in the ancient Jewish prayer tradition, Benedictines continued the practice of daily singing of the psalms (meaning, songs) and have conducted the Divine Office for the 1500 years since St. Benedict first wrote and compiled his Rule. The Benedictine sisters at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation, following the Liturgy of the Hours, sing eight times a day.

Ora et Labora, Pray and Work

The mystery and poetry of Scripture at its earthly best, Benedictine prayer rolls on, as daily as parenting, washing dishes, and marriage. Its chant is a living, lived-in song, a relationship with God and Church revealed and expressed in ordinary, but sacred, words and music. It is benediction.

It is this blessing, this work of prayer at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation, France that attracted the attention of a talent scout for Decca Records. "When you hear them chanting, it's like an immediate escape from the stresses, noise and pace of modern living," he said of the prayer of Benedictine nuns cloistered there.

Decca Records is part of Universal Music, a British label which also produces albums by The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Amy Winehouse, U2 and Elton John. After chant first gained secular popularity through Enigma's chart successes in the 1990s, and the last Gregorian chant album released sold over a million albums, Decca Records went on a worldwide search for the finest female Gregorian chanters.

Their anxious ears finally came to rest on the lilting prayer of the Benedictine sisters in Avignon who were chosen over more than 70 other convents worldwide. Typically, prospective pop stars cannot garner enough publicity, but this group is slightly different.

Hidden Life

"We never sought this, it came looking for us," said the abbey's Reverend Mother in a statement released by Universal Music, and indeed, their seclusion posed some challenges for both the record label and the religious community.

"Before starting the recording we were a bit nervous," said English speaking Sister Raphael in an interview. She expressed the whole community's concern for the extraordinary project:

"We were a bit afraid of what was going to happen to our cloistered life, so we confided this to St. Joseph in our prayer: that if this was going to help people to pray, if it was going to help people find God, if it's going to help people find peace, [he should] make this go through."

And "go through" it did, presumably under his patronage and special protection. In accordance with St. Joseph's lifelong, heroic protection of the consecrated, Decca took exceptional measures to protect the isolation the nuns vow until death.

The album contract was passed to the sisters for their signature through the beautiful wood-worked partition that secludes them from the outside world, and recording engineers were only allowed into the convent when the nuns were in different parts of the abbey.

After setting up microphones in the chapel, they retreated to a separate room when the sisters sang, remotely directing the recording. To promote the album, the sisters filmed their own television commercial and photographed the album cover.

"We had to give the cameras to the nuns, because they had access to the more beautiful parts of the monastery," a Decca spokesperson remembered fondly, "so we had to actually hand everything over to them. And they were making their own TV advert, they were making their own CD cover, and it was a very interesting and different way of working."

A Ray of Musical Light

They have no access to newspapers, TV or radio, but the sisters are now on Facebook and YouTube, and their album, Voice: Chant from Avignon, will be released early this November. Remarkably, although the nuns never leave the convent, the whole world will feel the radiant peace of their singing.

"I think that our music appeals to a wider audience, secular and non-secular. The words have a very profound meaning that is coming from the Sacred Scripture. The singing in our daily lives is very important for us. It is our prayer," said Sister Raphael, conveying the heart of her community. It has been said that other than the Bible, the Benedictine Rule was the most influential book in the development of western civilization, a light in medieval darkness.

"It's not quite a question of how we feel when we sing, but who we are, and for whom we sing," the sisters confirm. Indeed, the chanted Office is a song of Love, and they consider this song as one way to contemplatively bring sacred, musical, Benedictine light to a dark, frantic, noisy world.

N.C. Prep School has third alumnus accepted as seminarian

From the St. Thomas More Academy website:

Photos at left: Jonathon Baggett (far left), Michael Schuetz.



Raleigh, NC, July 2, 2010 / St. Thomas More Academy (STMA) congratulates John Kane (Class of ‘07) on being accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Raleigh. He joins fellow alumni Jonathon Baggett (‘07) and Michael Schuetz (‘08) as the third graduate from STMA in formation for the Diocesan Priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.

Kane began discerning his vocation while at STMA and continued to discern during subsequent years at Belmont Abbey College, near Charlotte. He related that it was friends at STMA who helped him grow in his faith and begin to take it much more seriously. He said that the faculty provided a solid Catholic environment where he was able to begin discerning the call to become a priest.

Jonathon Baggett, STMA’s first seminarian, when asked about the role St. Thomas More Academy played in his formation and discernment of a vocation, had the following to say: “St. Thomas More Academy was a major contributor to my discernment. It was the only place outside of youth group where I knew peers who were excited about Catholicism. These experiences solidified for me the reality of our faith and inspired me to want to live that faith out radically.”

Baggett added “STMA also prepared me academically for my studies at the seminary. Having studied philosophy and Latin really put me ahead of the learning curve at St. Charles Borromeo.”
Michael Schuetz related: “My time at STMA gave me the opportunity to grow in my faith and to realize that it was ‘cool’ to be Catholic. This open Catholic environment allowed me to explore my faith and enabled me to begin my discernment. I know that no matter where God is ultimately calling me in life, the time I spent at STMA helped me to grow and mature, giving me the beginning formation that would, God Willing, help me become a man of God.”

Schuetz continued, “Looking back at my education at STMA I realized that my teachers’ main goal was to prepare me for college. The education I received in high school gives me comfort in college, because I had previously seen these materials and I knew something about the subjects we are covering.”

Of the sixty-five graduates of St. Thomas More Academy, three alumni, roughly 10% of the male graduates, are now studying for the priesthood – a remarkable percentage for any institution in the Church today.

We are extremely proud of all our graduates, and very pleased to count these three fine young men among them. They have said “Yes!” to Our Lord’s call and have offered their lives in service to the People of God in the Diocese of Raleigh. In doing so, they stand as wonderful examples of generous and faithful individuals, attributes that STMA students and alumni have come to embody.

Please continue to pray for these young men and for the other young men and women from STMA who are in the discernment process. AMDG+

"23 Reasons Why A Priest Should Wear His Collar"

From Homiletics and Pastoral Review

By Msgr. Charles M. Mangan & Father Gerald E. Murray

Photo at left: Pope John Paul II after his ordination to the Priesthood

1. The Roman collar is a sign of priestly consecration to the Lord. As a wedding ring distinguishes husband and wife and symbolizes the union they enjoy, so the Roman collar identifies bishops and priests (and often deacons and seminarians) and manifests their proximity to the Divine Master by virtue of their free consent to the ordained ministry to which they have been (or may be) called.

2. By wearing clerical clothing and not possessing excess clothes, the priest demonstrates adherence to the Lord’s example of material poverty. The priest does not choose his clothes – the Church has, thanks to her accumulated wisdom over the past two millennia. Humble acceptance of the Church’s desire that the priest wear the Roman collar illustrates a healthy submission to authority and conformity to the will of Christ as expressed through his Church.

3. Church Law requires clerics to wear clerical clothing. We have cited above number 66 of the Directory for priests, which itself quotes canon 284.

4. The wearing of the Roman collar is the repeated, ardent desire of Pope John Paul II. The Holy Father’s wish in this regard cannot be summarily dismissed; he speaks with a special charism. He frequently reminds priests of the value of wearing the Roman collar.In a September 8, 1982 letter to Ugo Cardinal Poletti, his Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, instructing him to promulgate norms concerning the use of the Roman collar and religious habit, the Pontiff observed that clerical dress is valuable “not only because it contributes to the propriety of the priest in his external behavior or in the exercise of his ministry, but above all because it gives evidence within the ecclesiastical community of the public witness that each priest is held to give of his own identity and special belonging to God.”In a homily on November 8, 1982 the Pope addressed a group of transitional deacons whom he was about to ordain to the priesthood. He said that if they tried to be just like everyone else in their “style of life” and “manner of dress,” then their mission as priests of Jesus Christ would not be fully realized.

5. The Roman collar prevents “mixed messages”; other people will recognize the priest’s intentions when he finds himself in what might appear to be compromising circumstances. Let’s suppose that a priest is required to make pastoral visits to different apartment houses in an area where drug dealing or prostitution is prevalent. The Roman collar sends a clear message to everyone that the priest has come to minister to the sick and needy in Christ’s name. Idle speculation might be triggered by a priest known to neighborhood residents visiting various apartment houses dressed as a layman.

6. The Roman collar inspires others to avoid immodesty in dress, words and actions and reminds them of the need for public decorum. A cheerful but diligent and serious priest can compel others to take stock of the manner in which they conduct themselves. The Roman collar serves as a necessary challenge to an age drowning in impurity, exhibited by suggestive dress, blasphemous speech and scandalous actions.

7. The Roman collar is a protection for one’s vocation when dealing with young, attractive women. A priest out of his collar (and, naturally, not wearing a wedding ring) can appear to be an attractive target for the affections of an unmarried woman looking for a husband, or for a married woman tempted to infidelity.

8. The Roman collar offers a kind of “safeguard “for oneself. The Roman collar provides a reminder to the priest himself of his mission and identity: to witness to Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, as one of his brother-priests.

9. A priest in a Roman collar is an inspiration to others who think: “Here is a modern disciple of Jesus.” The Roman collar speaks of the possibility of making a sincere, lasting commitment to God. Believers of diverse ages, nationalities and temperaments will note the virtuous, other-centered life of the man who gladly and proudly wears the garb of a Catholic priest, and perhaps will realize that they too can consecrate themselves anew, or for the first time, to the loving Good Shepherd.

10. The Roman collar is a source of beneficial intrigue to non-Catholics. Most non- Catholics do not have experience with ministers who wear clerical garb. Therefore, Catholic priests by virtue of their dress can cause them to reflect – even if only a cursory fashion – on the Church and what she entails.

11. A priest dressed as the Church wants is a reminder of God and of the sacred. The prevailing secular morass is not kind to images which connote the Almighty, the Church, etc. When one wears the Roman collar, the hearts and minds of others are refreshingly raised to the “Higher Being” who is usually relegated to a tiny footnote in the agenda of contemporary culture.

12. The Roman collar is also a reminder to the priest that he is “never not a priest.” With so much confusion prevalent today, the Roman collar can help the priest avoid internal doubt as to who he is. Two wardrobes can easily lead – and often does – to two lifestyles, or even two personalities.

13. A priest in a Roman collar is a walking vocation message. The sight of a cheerful, happy priest confidently walking down the street can be a magnet drawing young men to consider the possibility that God is calling them to the priesthood. God does the calling; the priest is simply a visible sign God will use to draw men unto himself.

14. The Roman collar makes the priest available for the Sacraments, especially Confession and the Anointing of the Sick, and for crisis situations. Because the Roman collar gives instant recognition, priests who wear it make themselves more apt to be approached, particularly when seriously needed. The authors can testify to being asked for the Sacraments and summoned for assistance in airports, crowded cities and isolated villages because they were immediately recognized as Catholic priests.

15. The Roman collar is a sign that the priest is striving to become holy by living out his vocation always. It is a sacrifice to make oneself constantly available to souls by being publicly identifiable as a priest, but a sacrifice pleasing to Our Divine Lord. We are reminded of how the people came to him, and how he never turned them away. There are so many people who will benefit by our sacrifice of striving to be holy priests without interruption.

16. The Roman collar serves as a reminder to “alienated” Catholics not to forget their irregular situation and their responsibilities to the Lord. The priest is a witness – for good or ill – to Christ and his Holy Church. When a “fallen-away” sees a priest, he is encouraged to recall that the Church continues to exist. A cheerful priest provides a salutary reminder of the Church.

17. The wearing of clerical clothing is a sacrifice at times, especially in hot weather. The best mortifications are the ones we do not look for. Putting up with the discomforts of heat and humidity can be a wonderful reparation for our own sins, and a means of obtaining graces for our parishioners.

18. The Roman collar serves as a “sign of contradiction” to a world lost in sin and rebellion against the Creator. The Roman collar makes a powerful statement: the priest as an alter Christus has accepted the Redeemer’s mandate to take the Gospel into the public square, regardless of personal cost.

19. The Roman collar helps priests to avoid the on duty/off duty mentality of priestly service. The numbers 24 and 7 should be our special numbers: we are priests 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are priests, not men who engage in the “priest profession.” On or off duty, we should be available to whomever God may send our way. The “lost sheep” do not make appointments.

20. The “officers” in Christ’s army should be identifiable as such. Traditionally, we have remarked that those who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation become “soldiers” of Christ, adult Catholics ready and willing to defend his name and his Church. Those who are ordained as deacons, priests and bishops must also be prepared – whatever the stakes – to shepherd the flock of the Lord. Those priests who wear the Roman collar show forth their role unmistakably as leaders in the Church.

21. The saints have never approved of a lackadaisical approach concerning priestly vesture. For example, Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), Patron Saint of Moral Theologians and Confessors, in his esteemed treatise The Dignity and Duties of the Priest, urges the wearing of the appropriate clerical dress, asserting that the Roman collar helps both priest and faithful to recall the sublime splendor of the sacerdotal state instituted by the God-Man.

22. Most Catholics expect their priests to dress accordingly. Priests have long provided a great measure of comfort and security to their people. As youths, Catholics are taught that the priest is God’s representative – someone they can trust. Hence, the People of God want to know who these representatives are and what they stand for. The cherished custom of wearing distinguishable dress has been for centuries sanctioned by the Church; it is not an arbitrary imposition. Catholics expect their priests to dress as priests and to behave in harmony with Church teaching and practice. As we have painfully observed over the last few years, the faithful are especially bothered and harmed when priests defy the legitimate authority of the Church, and teach and act in inappropriate and even sinful ways.

23. Your life is not your own; you belong to God in a special way, you are sent out to serve him with your life. When we wake each morning, we should turn our thoughts to our loving God, and ask for the grace to serve him well that day. We remind ourselves of our status as His chosen servants by putting on the attire that proclaims for all to see that God is still working in this world through the ministry of poor and sinful men.
Msgr. Charles M. Mangan & Father Gerald E. Murray. “Why a priest should wear his Roman collar.” Homiletic & Pastoral Review (June, 1995).

Founded over one hundred years ago, Homiletic & Pastoral Review is one of the most well-respected pastoral magazines in the world. HPR features solid articles on every aspect of pastoral life and eloquent weekly sermons that illuminate through exposition of Scripture. Subscribe to HPR here.

THE AUTHORS

Msgr. Charles M. Mangan has been appointed by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, to a position serving the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Ordained in 1989, Msgr. Mangan formerly served the Diocese of Sioux Falls in several parishes.

Father Gerald E. Murray is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and was ordained in 1984 after completing studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, N. Y. Currently he is studying canon law at the Gregorian University in Rome.

"From the pub to the convent: sisters seek new vocations in changing world"

From Catholic News Agency

Rome, Italy, Jul 19, 2010 / 07:21 pm (CNA).- A summer course for religious sisters began on Monday at one of Rome's Pontifical Colleges which examines the approach of religious congregations to attracting interest for new vocations. The course takes a look at vocational pastoral ministry in a changing world.

The official program for the July 19-24 "Animation Vocation"course promotes it as "a week of prayer, listening, exchange of international experiences, proposals for new strategies and planning."

Included among the variety of attention grabbing sessions within the six days of the course at the Pontifical Atheneum Regina Apostolorum University are titles such as "From the internet to the convent" and "Vocation promoters among cosmetics and pubs." Of the latter, Italian media in recent days have run a variety of headlines, perhaps topped by Italian news agency TGCOM's "Sisters, between whiskey and make-up."

CNA spoke with a spokesperson of the University's Institute of Religious Studies, Dr. Laura Salvo, about the idea behind the course, which has drawn 100 religious sisters from more than 30 congregations worldwide.

She said that it takes a look at how congregations can get in touch with youth, adapting their vocational ministry to the contemporary world by meeting potential candidates on their playing field.

Dr. Salvo noted that they are making an effort to understand the "language" of the younger generation, transmitting values while recognizing the changes that have taken place. The modified approach, she said, "doesn't change values just the modality."

Changing the approach is important, she emphasized, especially in more developed nations where there are more distractions. She explained that "We're living a much stronger crisis in vocations (in Italy) than in other places" where the "consumerist" culture isn't as widespread and faith is "more at the center" of people's lives.

The official communique for the course promotes the returned enthusiasm to the consecrated life as "crucial" to the third millennium, describing the religious sister as "the bearer of the most characteristic values of human nature."

"More than 1,300 teens studying in minor seminaries in Spain"

From the Catholic News Agency

Madrid, Spain, Jul 19, 2010 / 06:03 pm (CNA).- The Spanish daily La Razon reported this week that more than 1,300 teens between the ages of 12 and 18 are currently pursing a call to the priesthood by studying at the 53 diocesan minor seminaries that exist in the country.

An article written by Alex Navajas revealed that while “some kids at that age dream about being soccer players, business leaders, doctors or bullfighters,” others, “as soon as they enter adolescence, want to become priests.”

Such is the case with Alvaro Pinero, a 16-year-old from Toledo, who entered the minor seminary school in Madrid in 2006. He discovered his vocation at the age of 12 but felt unsure. “The school helped me a lot. It’s a great environment where we have good friendships and my classmates feel like they are my second family,” he said.

Another student, Adrian, felt the call to the priesthood at the age of five as an altar boy in his hometown of Monturque. At the age of 12 he entered the seminary of San Pelegio, and now at age 16 he says of the seminary, “Our ideal is Christ. Prayer is part of our formation, because without it we can do nothing. Our spiritual retreats are times of more intense prayer in order know and love Christ more.”

Santiago Fernandez, 18, has been in the minor seminary for two years and in September he will graduate to major seminary. “At first, my friends reacted very negatively. Then, when they saw how well I was doing, they began to support me,” he recalled.

Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Cordoba also discovered his vocation at an early age and attended minor seminary. “I wanted to be a priest since I was seven,” he said. “I was an altar boy and I told my pastor, who was a key part of my vocation.” He said the years at minor seminary “were the happiest of my life. I only have positive things to say about minor seminaries,” Bishop Fernandez added.

Bishop Fernandez is one among many Spanish bishops who attended minor seminary, including the Archbishop of Toledo and the Bishop of Jaen. According to Antonio Prieto, the rector of the minor seminary of Cordoba, “more than 60 percent of the clergy of our diocese has passed through these halls.”

"First Mass of New FSSP Priests"

Click HERE to see the very nice post over at New Liturgical Movement.

"PRIESTS MUST ALWAYS REMAIN WITH CHRIST"

VATICAN CITY, 20 JUN 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI celebrated Mass this morning in the Vatican Basilica, during the course of which he conferred priestly ordination on fourteen deacons from the diocese of Rome.

In his homily the Pope explained how, "in prayer, the priest is called to rediscover the ever-new face of his Lord, the most authentic content of his mission. Only one who has an intimate relationship with the Lord can be seized by Him, can bring Him to others, can become His envoy. This involves a kind of 'remaining with Him' which must always accompany, and be the core of, priestly ministry, also and above all during moments of difficulty when it seems that 'the things to be done' must take priority. Wherever we are, whatever we do, we must always 'remain with Him'".

"The priesthood must never represent a way to achieve security in life or to attain social position. Anyone who aspires to the priesthood in order to increase his personal prestige and power has radically misunderstood the significance of this ministry. Anyone whose main goal is to realise an ambition of his own, to achieve success, will always be a slave to himself and to public opinion. In order to be noticed he will have to adulate; he must say what people want to hear, he must adapt to changing fashions and opinions. In this way, he will deprive himself of the vital relationship with truth, reducing himself to condemning tomorrow what he praises today.

"A man who organises his life like this", the Holy Father added, "a priest who sees his ministry in these terms, does not truly love God and neighbour, he loves only himself and, paradoxically, ends up by losing himself. The priesthood - let us never forget it - is founded on the courage to say yes to another will, with the daily-growing awareness that - precisely my conforming ourselves to the will of God, 'immersed' in this will - not only is our originality not cancelled but, quite the contrary, we increasingly enter into the truth of our being and our ministry".

"When we celebrate Mass", said Benedict XVI, "we have the bread of heaven in our hands, the bread of God Who is Christ, the grain broken to be multiplied and become the true food for the life of the world. This cannot but fill you with a sense of inner wonder, of living joy and immense gratitude because now the love and gift of the crucified and glorious Christ pass through your hands, through your hearts! It is an experience of wonder, ever new, to see that in my hands and in my voice the Lord achieves this mystery of His presence".

The Pope asked God to give the new priests "the grace to achieve a profound experience of all the beauty and power of your priestly service and, at the same time, the grace to be able to live this ministry coherently and generously, every day.

"The grace of the priesthood", he told the newly-ordained priests, "will unite you in the depths of your hearts to the sentiments of Jesus, Who loved unto the end unto the total gift of self, it will unite you to His becoming bread multiplied for the holy meal of unity and communion".

The Holy Father concluded by explaining that "care over the celebration of the Eucharist must always be accompanied by commitment to Eucharistic life; that is, a life lived in obedience to the one great law, the law of love that gives completely and serves with humility, a life that the grace of the Holy Spirit makes ever more similar to that of Jesus Christ, High and Eternal Priest, Servant of God and of man".

"Priests must not use vocation as social stepping stone, cautions Benedict XVI"

From EWTN

During Pope Benedict's homily for the ordination of 14 priests on Sunday for the Diocese of Rome, he emphasized that the vocation of the priesthood, must not be viewed as a way to achieve social status in life, but rather as a way to “rediscover the ever-new face” of Christ.

In his homily for the ordination, which took place Sunday morning in St. Peter's Basilica, the Holy Father cautioned that the priesthood “must never represent a way to achieve security in life or to attain social position”

“Anyone who aspires to the priesthood in order to increase his personal prestige and power has radically misunderstood the significance of this ministry,” explained the Pope.

He noted that if a priest's main goal is to “achieve success,” he will say “what people want to hear” and “adapt to changing fashions and opinions.”

“In this way, he will deprive himself of the vital relationship with truth, reducing himself to condemning tomorrow what he praises today,” Benedict XVI warned.

"A priest who sees his ministry in these terms,” he continued, “does not truly love God and neighbor, he loves only himself and, paradoxically, ends up by losing himself.” The vocation of the priesthood “is founded on the courage to say yes to another will, with the daily-growing awareness that” by “conforming ourselves to the will of God ... we increasingly enter into the truth of our being and our ministry.”

Pope Benedict also encouraged the priests to “rediscover the ever-new face” of Christ through prayer.

“Only one who has an intimate relationship with the Lord can be seized by Him, can bring Him to others, can become His envoy. This involves a kind of 'remaining with Him' which must always accompany, and be the core of, priestly ministry, also and above all during moments of difficulty when it seems that 'the things to be done' must take priority.

“Wherever we are, whatever we do, we must always 'remain with Him'."

The Pontiff drew his homily to a close by asking God to give the priests the grace “to be able to live this ministry coherently and generously, everyday.”

"PRIESTS MUST ALWAYS REMAIN WITH CHRIST"

VATICAN CITY, 20 JUN 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI celebrated Mass this morning in the Vatican Basilica, during the course of which he conferred priestly ordination on fourteen deacons from the diocese of Rome.

In his homily the Pope explained how, "in prayer, the priest is called to rediscover the ever-new face of his Lord, the most authentic content of his mission. Only one who has an intimate relationship with the Lord can be seized by Him, can bring Him to others, can become His envoy. This involves a kind of 'remaining with Him' which must always accompany, and be the core of, priestly ministry, also and above all during moments of difficulty when it seems that 'the things to be done' must take priority. Wherever we are, whatever we do, we must always 'remain with Him'".

"The priesthood must never represent a way to achieve security in life or to attain social position. Anyone who aspires to the priesthood in order to increase his personal prestige and power has radically misunderstood the significance of this ministry. Anyone whose main goal is to realise an ambition of his own, to achieve success, will always be a slave to himself and to public opinion. In order to be noticed he will have to adulate; he must say what people want to hear, he must adapt to changing fashions and opinions. In this way, he will deprive himself of the vital relationship with truth, reducing himself to condemning tomorrow what he praises today.

"A man who organises his life like this", the Holy Father added, "a priest who sees his ministry in these terms, does not truly love God and neighbour, he loves only himself and, paradoxically, ends up by losing himself. The priesthood - let us never forget it - is founded on the courage to say yes to another will, with the daily-growing awareness that - precisely my conforming ourselves to the will of God, 'immersed' in this will - not only is our originality not cancelled but, quite the contrary, we increasingly enter into the truth of our being and our ministry".

"When we celebrate Mass", said Benedict XVI, "we have the bread of heaven in our hands, the bread of God Who is Christ, the grain broken to be multiplied and become the true food for the life of the world. This cannot but fill you with a sense of inner wonder, of living joy and immense gratitude because now the love and gift of the crucified and glorious Christ pass through your hands, through your hearts! It is an experience of wonder, ever new, to see that in my hands and in my voice the Lord achieves this mystery of His presence".

The Pope asked God to give the new priests "the grace to achieve a profound experience of all the beauty and power of your priestly service and, at the same time, the grace to be able to live this ministry coherently and generously, every day.

"The grace of the priesthood", he told the newly-ordained priests, "will unite you in the depths of your hearts to the sentiments of Jesus, Who loved unto the end unto the total gift of self, it will unite you to His becoming bread multiplied for the holy meal of unity and communion".

The Holy Father concluded by explaining that "care over the celebration of the Eucharist must always be accompanied by commitment to Eucharistic life; that is, a life lived in obedience to the one great law, the law of love that gives completely and serves with humility, a life that the grace of the Holy Spirit makes ever more similar to that of Jesus Christ, High and Eternal Priest, Servant of God and of man".

"PRIESTS ARE A GIFT FOR THE CHURCH AND FOR THE WORLD"

VATICAN CITY, 13 JUN 2010 (VIS) - The Year for Priests, which came to an end last Friday at a Mass attended by some 15,000 members of the clergy, was the theme of the Holy Father's remarks before praying the Angelus this morning.

"The Year for Priests came to an end on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is traditionally the 'day of priestly sanctification', and this time it was especially so", the Pope told the faithful gathered below his study window in St. Peter's Square.

"The priest", he went on, "is a gift of the Heart of Christ, a gift for the Church and the world. It is from the Son of God's Heart, overflowing with charity, that all the good of the Church comes, in particular the vocation of those men who, conquered by the Lord Jesus, leave everything to dedicate themselves entirely to the service of Christian people, following the example of the Good Shepherd.

"The priest is moulded of Christ's own charity, that love which impelled Him to give His life for his friends and to forgive His enemies", the Pope added. "This is why priests are the primary builders of the civilisation of love. At this point my thoughts go to many priests, the well-known and the less well-known, some raised to the glory of the altars, others whose memory remains indelible in the minds of the faithful, perhaps in some small parish community. This was the case in Ars, the French village where St. John Mary Vianney worked his ministry".

The Pope also mentioned Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, the priest and martyr who "generously and courageously practiced his ministry along with those committed to freedom, to the defence of life and its dignity. His work at the service of goodness and truth was a sign of contradiction for the regime that then governed Poland" he said. "Love for the Heart of Christ brought him to give his life, and his witness was the seed of a new springtime in the Church and in society".

The Holy Father went on: "If we look at history we can see that many episodes of authentic spiritual and social renewal have been written with the decisive contribution of Catholic priests, animated only by their passion for the Gospel and for man, for his true religious and civil liberty. How many initiatives of integral human promotion began with the intuition of a priestly heart", he concluded.

"Recruiting For The Priesthood A Hard Sell In France"

Now even NPR is jumping into doing articles about vocations to the Priesthood? What's going on here? And the title of this article is misleading - from what I understand there doesn't seem to be any shortage of traditional vocations in France.

From National Public Radio
By Eleanor Beardsley

Photo at left: A French newspaper displays an advertisement recruiting young men to be Catholic priests. The French church has launched a public relations campaign to try to update the image of the priest and reverse the decline in numbers of French men entering the vocation. Photo by Thomas Coex

The Roman Catholic Church in Europe is struggling with a shortage of priests. In France, the number of priests has been in steady decline since the 1960s. Determined to reverse that trend, the Catholic Church recently launched a public relations campaign meant to attract more young men to the priesthood.

But the campaign has come at a difficult time, amid ever-expanding sex scandals, and its intended targets are skeptical.

On a recent Sunday, bells call the faithful to morning Mass at St. Christophe de Javel Catholic Church in Paris' 15th arrondissement.

The Rev. Paul Ndour leads the congregation in song and prayer. An African priest from Senegal, Ndour has been preaching at St. Christophe since last August, and he will stay in France for two years.

Ndour is one of about 1,500 foreign priests in parishes across the country who are helping to fill in for the dearth of French priests. Ndour says his time in France has been a wonderful opportunity for him and his congregation.

"This has been a rich experience that has fostered more openness on both sides. For example, before, I had an image of French priests as missionaries or colonizers. But now I see that I was wrong," Ndour says. "And I also feel that I'm teaching the congregation many things through our exchanges."

Improving The Image Of French Priests

In the 1960s, there were about 41,000 priests in France. Today, there are around 15,000. About 800 priests die each year, and only 100 are ordained.

Frederic Fonfroide de Lafon is the head of the firm that the church has hired to run its public relations campaign. He says to attract new priests the church must first improve the image of the priest in France.

"Priests suffer from a low social status, so we're trying to change that by showing what being a priest really means. A priest has extensive training in philosophy and the humanities. He is not someone who lives apart from society in his own world, but someone who participates," Fonfroide de Lafon says.

"A priest accompanies people in the most important moments of their lives," he adds.

The campaign tries to reach out to the public with newspaper inserts and brochures that showcase real priests and their passion for people and humanity. The campaign is also distributing 50,000 postcards in cafes, cinemas and on college campuses specifically aimed at 16- to 22-year-olds.

Fonfroide de Lafon says the recent child abuse scandals haven't hurt the campaign, but instead made it more important than ever for the church to show the important work that priests do every day.

Need For Mea Culpa, Modernization

But in a student center at the Sorbonne, history major Nicolas Dolivera stares skeptically at one of the cards. On it, a smiling young man holds a cardboard cutout of a priest's collar and jacket. A button on the lapel reads "Jesus is my boss" in English. The caption "Why Not?" — also in English — is printed across the bottom of the card.

"They're trying to show they're hip by using English words," Dolivera says. "But it's not some slogan or a few flashy colors on a postcard that's going to attract people. The Catholic Church is full of scandals and has to do its mea culpa."

Church officials say they are pleased with the campaign's reception; its Facebook page has had 40,000 visitors already.

Near the university, 21-year-old Maxime Bermann is hanging out with his friends. He has seen the church's campaign on the Internet. But he thinks it will be difficult to draw more young people to the priesthood as long as there are so many arcane rules.

"[The church] seems to look back to old values that don't mean anything to young people today. They have to show with actions that they are able to modernize and not only with cards," Bermann says.