"Father Raymond J. de Souza: Why priests don't have kids"

From the National Post

By Fr. Raymond J de Souza

Childlessness advocates tell us, in sum, that children require a lot of sacrifices. That's not news. What may be new is that people now feel confident enough to argue publicly that those sacrifices are too great -- in short, that the child is not worth it. I say "may be" new because while the technology has changed over the millennia, the human heart has not. No doubt in every age there were a few who thought children not worth the bother.

The book excerpted in these pages this week makes the argument that life would be more convenient, and therefore happier, without children. That does not really follow. Many things, including most things that give meaning to life, are inconvenient on one level or another. A life of great ease and convenience and even wealth is not necessarily a happy one. Surely the mother at home with toddlers is more constrained than the jet-setting sybarite, but if you know people in both categories, you know that the latter is not necessarily happier than the former.

But any father or mother could tell you that. I, as you would correctly intuit, have no children. Catholic priests of the Latin rite are celibate (the Catholic eastern rites have married clergy).

Understanding the celibacy of the priest requires an understanding of what marriage and children are all about. If they were bad things, or wicked things, or merely things constraining human flourishing, then celibacy would simply be required for everybody. Only if they are good things, very good things, does it make sense to sacrifice them for something greater. So if children are such a good thing, why does the Catholic priest remain celibate?

The first answer is that is how Jesus lived. He chose not to marry and have children, contrary to the norms of his time--and our time too. In the Catholic sacramental world, the priest acts not merely as a representative of Christ, but in the person of Christ Himself. What a priest does no merely human power can do--baptize, forgive sins, consecrate the holy Eucharist. So when the priest acts in the sacraments, it is Christ who acts. The priest then is meant to be an icon of Christ. That is understood, incidentally, even by those who are not Catholic, which is why priestly wickedness occasions so much attention and legitimate opprobrium.

The identification of the priest with Jesus Christ is deeply rooted in the apostolic tradition. Though the apostles were certainly drawn from married men, the biblical witness indicates that they left married life behind, or never married, in response to their vocation. The apostolic tradition has roots even farther back, in the priests of the Jewish covenant, who refrained from conjugal life when engaged in their sacred duties.

There is another dimension at work -- what we call the eschatological dimension. The priest lives now as we all hope to live one day, in the blessedness of heaven. In heaven, there is no marrying or giving in marriage, as Jesus teaches. Marriage and family are for this world. To be sure, it is precisely through marriage and family that most learn the virtues that prepare them for blessedness in heaven. But it remains a preparation.

The priest, and others in consecrated celibacy, lives now as a sign of the world to come, with his life fixed upon the promise of the eternal fulfillment God provides. In freely renouncing the great good of married life and children, the priest points to the world to come. Indeed, without the world to come, the celibacy of the priest would make little sense.

The childless by choice are aiming to maximize some of this world's goods -- education, professional advancement, travel, wealth and, to be blunt, consequence-free sex. For this they are willing to sacrifice their most enduring stake in this world: The only enduring thing we leave in this world is our children. The priest's motivation could hardly be more different. He sacrifices his enduring stake in this world not for more of this world's transitory goods, but for those things that are more enduring than this world itself.

The child by his very nature points to the future. The childless advocates reject the future in favour of the present. The celibate priest points to the future beyond the future even children promise-- eternity.

"Vocations: When Parents Just Say No"

From the USCCB Committee onClergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations
By Reverend Timothy T. Reker

Today’s youth score high in Catholic identity,
but their parents have reservations about
religious callings

Vocations Directors share a telling anecdote about a colleague from a Midwest diocese. The man involved in the story is a happy and effective priest who has a good relationship with a family in his parish. He admires them and thinks their feelings are mutual. Then he asks the parents if they think their teenager might make a good priest. “Oh, no, Father!” they exclaim. “We don’t want our son to be a priest. We want him to be successful.”

It’s a story that hits close to home.

Recent findings by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate reveal that support for religious vocations is indeed weak among those whose support is most needed -- parents. But the Center’s study, conducted among youth ministers by a Georgetown University research team for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, indicates cause for hope among young people themselves. In fact, U.S. bishops intend to use the survey of more than 6,000 tens as a blue print for developing youth ministry into the 21st century.

In many ways, the study’s results are good news. Youth score high, for example, in Catholic identity. Results show that almost all are “proud to be Catholic” (94%) and “admire the pope” (89%). Virtually all “feel welcome at church” (90%), which may well offer ripe ground for future vocations.

The survey also found that today’s young Catholics value the Mass -- 72% attend weekly or more often. And about a third, or 30%, have thought about service as a priest, Brother, or Sister -- 36% of young men and 24% of young women.


More discouraging is the area of parental encouragement. Though one-third of the youth have considered a religious vocation, only 26% of young men and 15% of young women report parental encouragement.

Apparently, priestly and Religious life, which were acceptable, even highly regarded career choices decades ago, are less so now. Then, most Catholics were from low- and lower-middle-class- families. Materially, success meant steady employment and a regular paycheck. People entering the workforce aspired to service jobs in policing, fire fighting, and in teaching and nursing. Service in the Church was honorable.

Now, however, as U.S. Catholics have advanced economically, they’ve changed their concept of success. Today, it frequently includes massive earning power, accumulation of wealth, and a prestigious profession.

The problem, of course, touches not just priesthood and Religious life, but all career choices, as any college student can report. More than one collegian has felt pressure from parents to major in business or another lucrative field rather than in English, history, art, philosophy, or education. The advice that “teachers don’t make much money!” is heard in the same homes where parents demand quality schooling. The irony escapes them.


At one time, vocations personnel worried that Catholic parents might be pressuring children to pursue religious vocations. That is not the problem now, and the Georgetown study makes clear that the Church must revise its approach to promoting vocations.

Toward this end, the U.S. bishops’ three-year plan for vocations to the priesthood and Religious life, entitled A Future Full of Hope, states that parents must be included as important partners in building a positive climate for vocations. One task is to address head-on parents’ attitudes toward success, their understanding of Church and vocation, and even their images of Religious life.

In addition to concern for success, there are other reasons parents do not encourage religious vocations.

Loneliness is an issue. Many priests report that their parents worry they will be lonely. And there is no denying that loneliness is a part of the human condition; no one escapes it. At the same time, most priests and Religious live happy and fulfilled lives, usually because they are immersed in the lives of the people they serve. Not to be overlooked either is the Community shared by Religious, who also maintain ties with families and friends.

To be sure, there’s strong statistical data to underscore arguments that priesthood is satisfying. A 1993 survey by the Los Angeles Times, for example, looked as priestly satisfaction and found an incredibly positive feeling among clergy. On the question of the likelihood of leaving the priesthood, for instance, only 2% said they were very likely to leave the priesthood; 87% reported they were very unlikely to leave. A related Times survey moreover, found similar levels of satisfaction among women Religious.


A decreasing awareness of the meaning of vocations also influences parent’s attitudes. Everyone has a vocation -- and persons who see God walking with and guiding them recognize that. This sense of vocation, the call God has placed in the human heart, requires recognition that God loves each person individually into life and gives each a unique mission in the world.

It’s a concept wrapped in mystery. That God has called one to do something special and unique, and that God operates unseen in the everyday world is hard to accept in a pragmatic society where seeing is believing. Consequently, parents who have a deep sense of their own personal vocation, how God has called, guided, and assisted them in living out their baptismal commitment, can better understand and feel honored that their own child might have a religious vocation.

Attitude toward the Church also affects how parents directly advise their children and indirectly convey attitudes toward Church service. When parents have difficulty with the Church, encouraging sons and daughters to serve in the church becomes complicated. It is easy for a parent to pass on a bias or agenda without realizing it: in snide comments, negative judgments, biting critiques. As a result, some young persons may never know the Church as a place of comfort and challenge, of helping others, and of meeting God.


The negative images associated with priests and Religious also have a detrimental effect. Sexual misconduct scandals are an embarrassment to all Catholics, and some parents may fear their children will be tainted by close association with the priesthood. It needs to be recognized, however, that as horrific as cases of pedophilia are, they involve a tiny percentage of priests. This kind of behavior taints other professions that deal with children and families, too.

Another very personal reason that may influence parents is that celibacy deprives them of grandchildren. When a child is an only child this can be devastating. These parents face in a special way Jesus’ challenge to follow Him.

Bishops are now formulating a strategy for strengthening vocations that addresses many parental concerns. Even before the Center for Applied Research pointed to a weakened parental support for vocations, designers of the strategy recognized that developing parental perspective on vocations is vital. This is affirmed by the new study, which recommends “bringing parents into dialogue and developing a greater understanding of a parent’s perspective on vocations.”

This, the study notes, “may have a greater impact on Church vocations than working with youth alone. If parents more directly encourage Church vocations, more youth may well pursue such a path.”

Vocations and Catholic Schools

From Fr. Kyle Schnipple, Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati:

During Catholic Schools Week, I was looking over our files on how many of our seminarians are graduates of Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese. The number surprised me, as I found only nine of 28 of our currents seminarians had done so. I expected a higher number, especially considering we have one of the largest Catholic school systems in the country. Plus, I remember stories of huge numbers of grads from the schools entering the seminary each year, between ten and fifteen every year from Elder High School, alone. Yet now, we have one Elder alumnus in formation. (For the sake of completeness, there is one graduate from each of the following in formation: Alter, Badin, Carroll, Elder, Fenwick, Moeller, LaSalle, Springfield Central Catholic and Summit Country Day.)

To an extent, I can understand the drop off, for I taught in the system the first two years after I was ordained, and I know the pressures first hand that are put on the administrators and teachers by not only the state regulations, but also by the alumni, parents, and even the students. But I still wonder if we might be missing some aspect of education.

I fully admit that when I was teaching, my primary goal was to instruct my students in the ways of the New Testament and the person of Jesus Christ. Yet, there is a further dimension to the process that I missed then, and am only now coming to realize: education, especially in the Catholic sense, is not just about teaching the faith; it is about helping the parents to form their children as disciples of Christ. This is the key, in my understanding, to not only an increase in the number of seminarians, but also the revitalization of the Catholic Schools. It is not enough to teach each student, because the public schools can do that. Rather, each student needs to come to the realization that there is some special path that God is leading him or her down, a path that leads to a unique spot in this world, in the Church, which only this one particular student can do: the mission, (the vocation, in a broader sense) that this student has been given by God to enrich the world. Not a small task, by any means!

Accomplishing this new movement, though, can be done through some easy steps, I believe, and it begins with parental involvement, as they are the ‘first teachers of their children in the way of faith.’ Their witness of discipleship helps to shape their children as disciples. The witness of those who have chosen radical discipleship as a way of life also gives a favorable impression to the next generation. The current class of seminarians are excellent speakers and witnesses of how following Christ as a disciple can lead to a tremendous and wonderful thing. In addition to bringing seminarians to the schools, bring the schools to the seminary or visit convents that in your area. The witness of the aged members of the communities who have served as a religious for 70 years inspires me to want to give even more in my own journey as a disciple.

But even with the witness of those who have given all to following Christ, the next generation will not be able to follow Him if they first do not know Him. Both the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the newer US Catholic Adult Catechism give the basis of the faith, and lead the reader into a deeper relationship with Christ. Both of these wonderful resources are dripping with Scripture citations, highlighting the need to know and read Scripture, for ‘ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ,’ as St. Jerome so wonderfully said.

Finally, a perpetual challenge is to make the connections for the students through the curriculum, especially highlighting how the Church led so many innovations and discoveries throughout history. John Henry Newman stated, in his Apologia Pro Vita Sua, that to be a student of history was to cease being Protestant. His study of history led him from atheism through Anglicanism to the fullness of the Church in Catholicism.

Does the faith highlight and inform everything that happens in our schools? If so, we will be turning out disciples ready to serve Christ in radical ways.

Parents should help young people respond to their vocation, says Spanish cardinal

Seville, Feb 21, 2008 / 11:32 pm (CNA).- In a pastoral letter published for Seminary Day 2008, the Archbishop of Sevilla, Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo, said the entire ecclesial community should “help” God so that young people called to the priesthood would respond to their vocation.

“When we speak of the Seminary,” the cardinal wrote, “we should not only consider it the place of formation for seminarians, but also as a place that belongs to us all, and that we must always consider as a personal duty.”

The cardinal explained that the new candidates preparing to be priests “are also our responsibility. We must ‘help’ God so that his call may find an answer in the hearts of men.”

Therefore, he continued, in order to launch an “enthusiastic and effective vocations campaign,” we need to begin by “talking to God and tell him of the need his Church has for priests. Pray to him and trust that his help will not falter,” the cardinal stressed.

“Then, we should talk about God to families and young people and tell them what the Lord wants and what the Church needs: priests who serve the community. May there be young people willing to be these kinds of servants,” he added.

“The Lord continues to inspire the hearts of young people with the desire to serve Jesus Christ and his Church,” the cardinal continued, but often times they are fearful of making a “generous and brave decision” to “take the path towards the priesthood.”

Therefore, he said, “let us draw young people close to Christ, let us put them at his side and let them see the face of the Lord. Everything else will be added besides.”

“The family is where, with the support of the parents, the call to the priesthood can be best heard. The family is the school of the highest ideals. It is also the school of the vocation to the priesthood. May parents remind their children that if Jesus calls them, they should not be afraid,” Cardinal Amigo said.

“We hope to have your help to maintain the Seminary, but above all, to have your prayers imploring the Lord, Father and Shepherd of our Church, to grant us the vocations that we need,” he wrote in conclusion.

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI, Roman Major Seminary, Rome

VISIT TO THE ROMAN MAJOR SEMINARY ON THE OCCASION OF THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF TRUST
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVIDURING THE CELEBRATION OF FIRST VESPERS
Roman Major Seminary, RomeFriday, 1st February 2008

Your Eminence,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Seminarians and Parents,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is always a great joy for the Bishop to be at his Seminary and this evening I thank the Lord who has renewed this joy for me on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Trust, your heavenly Patroness. I cordially greet you all: the Cardinal Vicar, the Auxiliary Bishops, the Rector and the other Superiors and you yourselves, dear seminarians, with special affection. I am also pleased to greet the parents and friends of the community of the Roman Seminary who are present. We are gathered together for first solemn Vespers of this Marian Feast which is so dear to you. We have listened to some verses from St Paul's Letter to the Galatians in which he uses the expression "fullness of time" (cf. 4: 4). God alone can "fill the time" and make us experience the full meaning of our existence. God filled time with himself by sending his Only-Begotten Son, and in him he has made us his adoptive sons: sons in the Son. In Jesus and with Jesus, "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14: 6), we are now able to find exhaustive answers to the heart's deepest expectations. Once fear has been dispelled, trust in God, whom we even dare to call "Abba! Father!" (cf. Gal 4: 6), grows within us.

Dear seminarians, it is precisely because the gift of being adoptive sons of God had illuminated your lives that you were stirred by the desire to make others share in it too. This is why you are here, to develop your filial vocation and prepare yourselves for your future mission as apostles of Christ. It concerns a unified growth, that, while permitting you to savour the joy of life with God the Father, it makes you feel so much more the urgent need to become messengers of the Gospel of his Son Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit who makes you attentive to this profound reality and makes you love it. All this cannot fail to kindle immense trust in you, for the gift you have received is amazing, it fills you with wonder and profound joy. You can therefore understand the role that Mary also has in your lives, invoked in your Seminary by the beautiful title: "Our Lady of Trust". Like the "Son, born of woman" (cf. Gal 4: 4), of Mary, Mother of God, so your being sons of God means that you have her as Mother, as a true Mother.

Dear parents, you are probably the most surprised of all at what is happening in your sons. You probably imagined a different career for them than the mission for which they are now preparing.

Who knows how often you find yourselves thinking about them: you think back to when they were children, then boys; to the times when they showed the first signs of their vocation or, in some cases on the contrary, to the years in which your son's life seemed remote from the Church. What happened? What meetings influenced their decisions? What inner enlightenment guided their footsteps? How could they then give up even promising prospects of life in order to choose to enter the Seminary? Let us look to Mary! The Gospel gives us to understand that she also asked herself many questions about her Son Jesus and pondered on him at length (cf. Lk 2: 19, 51).

It is inevitable that in a certain manner, the vocations of children become the vocations of their parents too. In seeking to understand your children and following them on their way, you too, dear fathers and dear mothers, very often find yourselves involved in a journey in which your faith is strengthened and renewed. You find yourselves sharing in the marvellous adventure of your sons.

Indeed, even though it may seem that the priest's life does not attract most people's interest, it is in fact the most interesting and necessary adventure for the world, the adventure of showing, of making present, the fullness of life to which we all aspire. It is a very demanding adventure; and it could not be otherwise since the priest is called to imitate Jesus, who "came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20: 28).

Dear seminarians, these years of formation constitute an important time in which to prepare yourselves for the exalting mission to which the Lord calls you. Allow me to underline two aspects that mark your current experience. First of all, your seminary years involve a certain detachment from ordinary life, a certain "wilderness", so that the Lord can speak to your heart (cf. Hos 2: 14). Indeed, his voice is not loud but rather subdued, it is "a still small voice" (I Kgs 19: 12). Thus, if the Lord's voice is to be heard, an atmosphere of silence is essential. For this reason the Seminary offers space and times for daily prayer; it takes great care of the liturgy, meditation on the Word of God and Eucharistic adoration. At the same time, it demands that you devote long hours to study: in praying and studying you can build within yourselves the man of God whom you must be and whom people expect a priest to be.

Then there is a second aspect of your life: during your seminary years, you live together; your formation for the priesthood also involves this community aspect which is of great importance. In following Jesus, the Apostles were formed together. Your communion is not limited to the present time but also concerns the future: the pastoral action that awaits you must see you joining forces, as though in one body, in one ordo, that of priests who, together with the Bishop, care for the Christian community. May you love this "family life" which is an anticipation for you of that "sacramental brotherhood" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 8) which must characterize every diocesan priest.

All this reminds you that God calls you to be holy, that holiness is the secret of the true success of your priestly ministry. From this moment holiness must be the goal of your every choice and decision. Entrust this desire and this daily commitment to Mary, Mother of Trust! This most pacifying title corresponds to the invitation, repeated in the Gospel and addressed to the Virgin by the Angel and then so many other times by Jesus to his disciples: "Do not be afraid" (cf. Lk 1: 30). "Do not be afraid, for I am with you", says the Lord. In the icon of Our Lady of Trust, in which the Child points to the Mother, it seems that Jesus is adding, "Look at your Mother and do not fear". Dear seminarians, follow the Seminary curriculum with your minds open to truth, transparency and dialogue with those who guide you. This will enable you to respond in a very simple and humble way to the One who calls you, freeing yourselves from the risk of creating a strictly personal project. Dear parents and friends, accompany the seminarians with prayer and with your constant material and spiritual support. I also assure you all of my remembrance in prayer, as I joyfully impart the Apostolic Blessing to you.

Hat tip to Fr. Zehnle for finding this complete homily.

THE "ADVENTURE" OF PRIESTHOOD IS NECESSARY FOR THE WORLD

VATICAN CITY, 2 FEB 2008 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, the Holy Father visited Rome's Major Pontifical Seminary for the occasion of the feast of its patroness, Our Lady of Trust. After presiding at Vespers, the Holy Father expressed his joy at having the opportunity, as Bishop of Rome, to visit "his seminary".

"Because the gift of being adoptive children of God has illuminated your lives", the Pope told the seminarians, "you have felt the desire to share this with others. That is why you are here, to develop your filial vocation and prepare yourselves for your future mission as apostles of Christ. ... Savouring the joy of life with God the Father means that you feel the ever more urgent need to become messengers of the Gospel of His Son, Jesus".

"All this cannot but induce great trust, because the gift received is amazing, it fills us with wonder and sates us with intimate joy. And thus you are able to understand the role Mary has in your lives. ... Just as 'the Son was born of woman', of Mary Mother of God, the fact that you are children of God means you have her as mother".

The Pope then addressed the parents of the future priests, saying "you are probably the most surprised of all about what has happened and is happening to your children. You had perhaps imagined for them a mission different from the one for which they are now preparing. ... Let us look to Mary. The Gospel helps us to understand that she too asked herself many question about her Son Jesus, and reflected on Him for a long time.

"It is inevitable that the vocation of children in some way also becomes the vocation of the parents", he added. "You have found yourselves participating in your sons' marvellous adventure. Indeed, although it may appear that a priest's life does not attract the interest of the majority of people, in reality it is the most interesting of adventures and the most necessary for the world: the adventure of demonstrating and realising the fullness of life to which everyone aspires. It is a very demanding adventure and could not be otherwise because a priest is called to imitate Jesus".

The Holy Father then went on to refer to two aspects that characterise the lives of seminarians. In the first place, that of listening to the voice of the Lord which, he said, "requires an atmosphere of silence. For this reason the seminary offers time and space to daily prayer; it pays great attention to liturgy, to meditation on the Word of God and to Eucharistic adoration. At the same time, it asks you to dedicate long hours to study: by praying and studying, you can create within yourselves the man of God that you must become and that people expect a priest to be".

The Pope went on: "There is also another aspect to your lives: ... the community aspect, which is of great importance. ... Your communion is not limited to the present but also concerns the future. The pastoral activity that awaits you must see you acting together united in a single body, an 'ordo' of priests who, with the bishop, watch over the Christian community".

"All this serves as a reminder that God calls you to be saints, and that sanctity is the secret of real success in your priestly ministry. From this moment on, sanctity must be the final goal of all your choices and decisions. Entrust this desire and this daily commitment to Mary, Mother of Trust".

"Follow your journey at the seminary with your hearts open to truth, to transparency, and to dialogue with those who guide you, and this will enable you to respond simply and humbly to the One Who calls you, freeing yourselves from the risk of pursuing a personal project of your own".

HML/VESPERS/MAJOR ROMAN SEMINARY VIS 080204 (660)

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE 43rd WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE 43rd WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

7 MAY 2006 -FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER




Theme: Vocation in the mystery of the Church


Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,


The celebration of the coming World Day of Prayer for Vocations gives me the opportunity to invite the entire People of God to reflect on the theme Vocation in the mystery of the Church. The Apostle Paul writes: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world … He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1,3-5). Before the creation of the world, before our coming into existence, the heavenly Father chose us personally, calling us to enter into a filial relationship with Him, through Jesus, the Incarnate Word, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Dying for us, Jesus introduced us into the mystery of the Father’s love, a love which completely envelops his Son and which He offers to all of us. In this way, united with Jesus, the Head, we form a sole body, the Church.


The weight of two millennia of history makes it difficult to grasp the novelty of this captivating mystery of divine adoption, which is at the centre of St Paul’s teaching. As the Apostle reminds us, the Father “has made known to us the mystery of his will … as a plan to unite all things in him” (Eph 1,9-10). And he adds, with enthusiasm: “In everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren” (Rom 8,28-29). The vision is indeed fascinating: we are called to live as brothers and sisters of Jesus, to feel that we are sons and daughters of the same Father. This is a gift that overturns every purely human idea and plan. The confession of the true faith opens wide our minds and hearts to the inexhaustible mystery of God, which permeates human existence. What should be said therefore of the temptation, which is very strong nowadays, to feel that we are self-sufficient to the point that we become closed to God’s mysterious plan for each of us? The love of the Father, which is revealed in the person of Christ, puts this question to us.


In order to respond to the call of God and start on our journey, it is not necessary to be already perfect. We know that the prodigal son’s awareness of his own sin allowed him to set out on his return journey and thus feel the joy of reconciliation with the Father. Weaknesses and human limitations do not present an obstacle, as long as they help make us more aware of the fact that we are in need of the redeeming grace of Christ. This is the experience of St Paul who confessed: “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor 12,9). In the mystery of the Church, the mystical Body of Christ, the divine power of love changes the heart of man, making him able to communicate the love of God to his brothers and sisters. Throughout the centuries many men and women, transformed by divine love, have consecrated their lives to the cause of the Kingdom. Already on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, many allowed themselves to be won by Jesus: they were in search of healing in body or spirit, and they were touched by the power of his grace. Others were chosen personally by Him and became his apostles. We also find some, like Mary Magdalene and others, who followed him on their own initiative, simply out of love. Like the disciple John, they too found a special place in his heart. These men and women, who knew the mystery of the love of the Father through Jesus, represent the variety of vocations which have always been present in the Church. The model of one called to give witness in a particular manner to the love of God, is Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who in her pilgrimage of faith is directly associated with the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption.


In Christ, the Head of the Church, which is his Body, all Christians form “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him” (1 Pt 2,9). The Church is holy, even if her members need to be purified, in order that holiness, which is a gift of God, can shine forth from them with its full splendour. The Second Vatican Council highlights the universal call to holiness, when it affirms: “The followers of Christ are called by God, not because of their works, but according to his own purpose and grace. They are justified in the Lord Jesus, because in the Baptism of faith they truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature. In this way, they are really made holy” (Lumen Gentium, 40). Within the framework of this universal call, Christ, the High Priest, in his solicitude for the Church calls persons in every generation who are to care for his people. In particular, he calls to the ministerial priesthood men who are to exercise a fatherly role, the source of which is within the very fatherhood of God (cfr Eph 3,14). The mission of the priest in the Church is irreplaceable. Therefore, even if in some regions there is a scarcity of clergy, it should never be doubted that Christ continues to raise up men who, like the Apostles, leaving behind all other work, dedicate themselves completely to the celebration of the sacred mysteries, to the preaching of the Gospel and to pastoral ministry. In the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, my venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II wrote in this regard: “The relation of the priest to Jesus Christ, and in him to his Church, is found in the very being of the priest by virtue of his sacramental consecration/anointing and in his activity, that is, in his mission or ministry. In particular, «the priest minister is the servant of Christ present in the Church as mystery, communion and mission. In virtue of his participation in the ‘anointing’ and ‘mission’ of Christ, the priest can continue Christ’s prayer, word, sacrifice and salvific action in the Church. In this way, the priest is a servant of the Church as mystery because he actuates the Church's sacramental signs of the presence of the risen Christ»” (no.16).


Another special vocation, which occupies a place of honour in the Church, is the call to the consecrated life. Following the example of Mary of Bethany who “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching” (Lk 10, 39), many men and women consecrate themselves to a total and exclusive following of Christ. Although they undertake various services in the field of human formation and care of the poor, in teaching or in assisting the sick, they do not consider these activities as the principal purpose of their life, since, as the Code of Canon Law well underlines, “the first and foremost duty of all religious is to be the contemplation of divine things and assiduous union with God in prayer” (can. 663 §1). Moreover, in the Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata Pope John Paul II noted: “In the Church's tradition religious profession is considered to be a special and fruitful deepening of the consecration received in Baptism, inasmuch as it is the means by which the close union with Christ already begun in Baptism develops in the gift of a fuller, more explicit and authentic configuration to him through the profession of the evangelical counsels” (no. 30).


Remembering the counsel of Jesus: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Mt 9,37), we readily recognise the need to pray for vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. It is not surprising that, where people pray fervently, vocations flourish. The holiness of the Church depends essentially on union with Christ and on being open to the mystery of grace that operates in the hearts of believers. Therefore, I invite all the faithful to nurture an intimate relationship with Christ, Teacher and Pastor of his people, by imitating Mary who kept the divine mysteries in her heart and pondered them constantly (cfr Lk 2,19). Together with her, who occupies a central position in the mystery of the Church, we pray:

O Father, raise up among Christians
abundant and holy vocations to the priesthood,
who keep the faith alive
and guard the blessed memory of your Son Jesus
through the preaching of his word
and the administration of the Sacraments,
with which you continually renew your faithful.

Grant us holy ministers of your altar,
who are careful and fervent guardians of the Eucharist,
the sacrament of the supreme gift of Christ
for the redemption of the world.

Call ministers of your mercy,
who, through the sacrament of Reconciliation,
spread the joy of your forgiveness.

Grant, O Father, that the Church may welcome with joy
the numerous inspirations of the Spirit of your Son
and, docile to His teachings,
may she care for vocations to the ministerial priesthood
and to the consecrated life.

Sustain the Bishops, priests and deacons,
consecrated men and women, and all the baptized in Christ,
so that they may faithfully fulfil their mission
at the service of the Gospel.

This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

From the Vatican, 5 March 2006.

BENEDICT XVI