THE TABLET
Jan. 12, 2008

Invitation to a Religious Vocation

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This coming week is National Vocations Awareness Week.  As we look at the situation in our own Diocese, we realize we always can do better as far as the number of seminarians who are studying for the priesthood.  Currently, we have 37 seminarians: 32 are in our college and theologate program, while five are studying with the Neo-Catechumenal Way in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Kearny, N.J.

Last year, we were fortunate to ordain ten seminarians to the priesthood and at the same time we had nine new seminarians enter in the fall.  This coming June, two deacons are scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood.  

Looking at the future of our Diocese and recognizing the aging of our priests, the current numbers are certainly not adequate to meet our future needs.  So what can we do about this situation?  First, we must create an awareness of the need for vocations, and second, we must create opportunities where young people can learn what the priesthood and religious life are all about. 

Recently, through the kindness of Father Donald Harrington, C.M., the president of St. John’s University, the Diocese and the university conducted a joint survey using online facilities to obtain  responses from 1,400 high school juniors and seniors as well as college students.  Sometime in the future we will report more details on the survey, but perhaps the most critical common denominator and variable detected in all responses was, “No one ever asked us to consider a vocation to priesthood or religious life.”  In many ways we think we are doing well, but we think that the survey result teaches us that we must do better.

During January, our seminarians are visiting twenty parishes to speak at Sunday Masses, drop in on schools and religious education programs, as well as meet with youth groups in an effort to promote vocations.  I have continually told our seminarians that they are the best recruiters, because they have immediate credibility with young people, since they are of their generation.

We are offering various discernment opportunities throughout the next several months.  First, there is “Project Miryam & Joseph” on Jan. 20 at the Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica, which is aimed at fostering vocations to the religious life for both men and women.  This has become an annual event. It is my hope that religious communities of our Diocese, along with our Vocation Office, will use this opportunity to good advantage.  On Feb. 8-10, I will conduct the annual Bishop’s retreat at the Cathedral Seminary Residence in Douglaston for men considering the priesthood.  Normally, about twenty young men attend. Several have entered formation.  The retreat is a great opportunity for me, as Bishop, to be with our seminarians and to challenge young people to consider a vocation.

It has been announced formally that the Pope John Paul II House of Discernment is nearing completion and will be opened early this year.  Father Kevin Sweeney will be its director and Msgr. Vincent Keane will act as spiritual director.  This opportunity is aimed at young men working or attending college who wish a year-long experience to live in a community setting promoting this type of discernment.

In my latest pastoral letter entitled, “Do Not Be Afraid,” I requested that each parish create a vocation committee by June of 2008.  The committee will be asked to support and promote the efforts of the Vocation Office, serve as a liaison between the parish and the Vocation Office, promote prayer for vocations throughout the parish, post vocation information and material, and coordinate parish vocation awareness programs.  Most importantly, the parish vocation committee will help identify and invite people to attend our discernment retreats and other opportunities.  The Vocation Office will be assisting parishes in developing various models for these committees.

Another fertile field for vocation awareness and recruitment are young people in our high schools, colleges and universities.  Our Vocation Office is working with our Catholic high schools to offer vocation days and other types of vocational promotion to our high school students.  It seems that today young people are making decisions earlier regarding vocational choices and we must be present in our high schools to present vocations to priesthood and religious life as an option for them.  Also, the Vocation Office is beginning to work with the chaplains and campus ministers at our Newman Apostolates in our local colleges and universities to strengthen vocation promotion on these campuses.  Again, it is here that young people are making their decisions and we must be there to assist them in offering the option for priesthood and religious life.

Please join me during this National Vocations Awareness Week in praying for an increase in vocations to priesthood and religious life.  In doing so, we truly are “putting out into the deep,” lowering the nets, searching for those who will be our future priestly and religious leaders.  As I have said repeatedly, a vocation to the priesthood and religious life is a work of the Spirit.  The Lord reminds us that we must pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send sufficient laborers to reap the harvest that He Himself has sown.