If you were at the meetings, think of your reaction to the basic numbers that we heard. Primarily, think of the numbers regarding the priests of the diocese. Today there are 216 priests in active ministry, and by 2025 they project that number to be 112. That news was not much of a shock to me since I have seen the decline first-hand. I remember thirty years ago, when we had over 300 parishes, and each of them had at least one priest. But I suspect that putting a number to the trend caught some people by surprise. Of course we rely on our retired priests for help, but there is only so much these heroic men can do. As I write this, for instance, Fr. Russell is in the hospital.
As I said, this column is not about On Mission. I bring this up because this week is National Vocation Awareness Week. The current planning process has made it even more clear to us that we need to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Yet as I like to say, I am convinced that there is no shortage of vocations. God still calls; the shortage is in people recognizing and answering the call. We can see that difficulty through some of the other information that On Mission has given us. When we see the number of young people who are not practicing their faith and the aging of those who are, then we recognize how difficult it is for our young people to hear the voice of God in their lives.
Yet as Bishop Zubik’s episcopal motto always reminds us, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Lately I have been joking with many people that we have proof of that saying when we see the Cubs and Indians in the World Series. But on a serious note, that belief gives us hope that in Christ who promised to be with us always, until the end of the world. So let us confidently pray to God for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. And let us try to encourage any youth we may know who may be thinking of a vocation to serve the Church.
Father H
