January, 2006
Catholic Spirit - January, 2006
Call to vocation is made one person at a time
Bishop Gregory Aymond shepherds 126 parishes, which include approximately 450,000 Catholics living in 25 counties in Central Texas.
Editor: Bishop Aymond, we have 30 seminarians, which is actually a dramatic rise from the number that we had just three years ago. However, the general Catholic population is projected to rise even faster in the next 25 years. We are not going to be able to maintain the current ratio of priests to lay people. During the October priests’ convocation the priests formed a task force to address the need for encouraging priestly and religious vocations. What are some of the challenges in regards to encouraging more vocations?
Bishop Aymond: Over the past 40 years there has been a dramatic shift in the number of seminarians. For example, in the United States in 1965 there were 8,325 seminarians. Today, in the United States we have 3,308 seminarians. At first, some would say what a drastic change, and people sometimes express shock. May I suggest that if you look at some of the societal influences, we should not be shocked.
The more affluent a nation, there will be less vocations. The more secularized the nation, there will be less vocations. The less Christian values within a culture, less vocations. Where there is lack of value and focus on family life, there will be a smaller number of vocations. All of those things describe the United States of America. That is not to say that we are beyond repair. But these societal factors do influence those who are being called by God as to whether or not they will respond in a positive way.
Editor: Why are we seeing an increase in the number of seminarians here?
Bishop Aymond: For the size of our diocese and in comparison to other dioceses, we have a very large number of vocations. Why? Our campus ministry programs are strong. Priests are more conscious of inviting men to think about the priesthood. Many of our laity have taken a more positive role in fostering vocations. The work of the Serra Club in our diocese is to foster vocations and the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and Knights of Columbus take it as one of their goals to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We have a full-time vocation director who is constantly trying to encourage others to say yes, if they are called.
Those who have entered the seminary in recent years tell us that it is not because they read a book about the priesthood or because of a poster or billboard. They are considering a priestly vocation because of a priest who has influenced them and encouraged them in faith and who has asked them to think about the priesthood. God uses people to make his invitation clear and personal.
Editor: I am glad that our priests are encouraging more men to consider the priesthood. But there are many more lay people. What can we do, as parents, teachers, friends, co-workers?
Bishop Aymond: I would strongly encourage and challenge each Catholic in our diocese to join me in prayer daily for vocations to the priesthood and religious life as sisters and brothers. I do not ask you to pray for vocations “for the Diocese of Austin.” Instead, pray daily for that person or those people from your own parish whom God is calling to serve the church as a priest or religious sister or brother. People may not even know for whom they are praying, but it is my belief that there is at least one person in every parish being called by God to serve the church as a religious leader. Without the prayerful support of the parishioners, they have a more difficult time in saying yes to God.
It is also difficult because often when a person tells others, sometimes even family members, that they are thinking about the priesthood or religious life there is some uncomfortableness or even embarrassment.
Certainly the church has its share of sins and mistakes that are made by those in leadership. At the same time, the media loves to play up those contradictions and capitalizes on them very well, as seen clearly in the sex abuse situation of a few years ago. It seems any time a priest or religious leader does anything wrong it becomes front page coverage. In many ways, the media does the Catholic Church and other religions a great disservice by distorting reality and making it more difficult for a young man or a young woman to say that this is a way of life that they want to follow.
I always challenge parents to cooperate with God’s call for their daughter or son, not to stand in God’s way. As a bishop and as a former seminary president-rector, I have met several men who did not have the prayerful or emotional support of a parent or close relatives. It is sad when people in the church try to discourage others from following God’s call.
As we face a very fast growing diocese and the need for more priests, wouldn’t it be interesting if we only assigned priests to those parishes that have produced vocations to the priesthood and religious life? Oh, I know I shouldn’t go there, but it is interesting to consider the position that those faith communities who have provided, encouraged and fostered vocations should be the first to receive new priests and religious!
At the beginning of 2006 we will be asking each parish to send us names of young men and women whom we can invite to a meeting to talk about whether or not they have a vocation to church leadership. This is a concrete way to extend that personal invitation to young people in our own faith community.
Editor: Will the recent document from the Vatican, restricting individuals with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” from the seminary, change anything in how men are screened for the seminary?
Bishop Aymond: The document basically states what is very much the practice of many dioceses and seminaries today, including this diocese. We expect that a person is willing to be celibate and chaste for the sake of the kingdom.
Editor: What are the qualities that we are looking for in a person whom we would want to recommend for priesthood or consecrated life?
Bishop Aymond: A person who is prayerful and truly hungry for God, a person who loves the church and wants to know in a more in-depth way what the church teaches, a person who seems to appreciate the ministry of Jesus and would be generous in giving of themselves to that, a person who is caring about other people, a person who shows integrity and generosity, a person who has the potential of being a leader, a person who is willing to talk about their relationship with God even when it is not comfortable, a person who values chastity, a person who is emotionally stable and well integrated and a person who is open to other people’s thoughts and ideas even if they are different from their own, a person who is non-judgmental.
Very often, a call to priesthood or to consecrated life starts out simply as curiosity. It is through curiosity or maybe admiration of a priest or religious sister or brother that God can speak and then call the person themselves to think about ministry.
Editor: You mentioned that oftentimes someone’s call to a vocation begins just with a question or curiosity. When is it that someone needs to say, “Yes, I definitely have a call that I am going to follow through on?” Is that before they enter a seminary or formation for religious life?
Bishop Aymond: No, it is during the formation period. In fact, as seminary rector I would get rather nervous when a person applying for the seminary would say to me, “I know I am called by God and I am going to be a priest.”
It is a vocation that one is attracted to and then one must continue to pray about the question, “Is this what I want? Is this what God wants? Where do my wishes and God’s desires come together? Is this what the church wants and needs?” That has to be done through prayer, spiritual direction and a great deal of formation which takes many years.
When a person enters the seminary he begins a process that we call discernment. When a person is to be ordained, not only should he feel called by God, but God also calls through the church, specifically through the local church. It is not enough for a man to say, I deserve priesthood or consecrated life or I think I am called by God. That call has to be confirmed by the local bishop or the superior of the religious community.
Editor: Yet, despite the careful discernment and screening, there are Catholics who are unhappy with their pastor. Why is that?
Bishop Aymond: There are times when I get complaints about the nationality of a priest or his personality and that they are not perfect. Patience and kindness is a two-way street and it is important that we are thankful for the very good priests that we have in our diocese.
None of our priests, including myself, are perfect. We are sinners. We make mistakes, but we are people of integrity who try to give our lives to the service of God’s people.
It would be important, first of all, for us to give thanks for the priests that we have, to appreciate their gifts, their sacrifices, their life of dedication, and then to foster vocations. It is always easy to find fault or to complain about a person’s accent or even their culture. But are we not called to be grateful for the gifts that God has given to us and then to work together to provide for a more abundant future?
After all, the Catholic Church is the only church that is truly universal. Whether a priest is from India, Ireland, Africa or Mexico, we are one family and our hearts should be big enough to recognize a brother or a sister who is from another culture. They can bring blessings to us and teach us something about the Catholic (universal) Church.