Pastor's Corner

This Sunday we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for Vocations traditionally celebrated on Good Shepherd Sunday. The purpose of World Day of Prayer for Vocations is to publicly fulfill the Lord's instruction to, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). As a climax to a prayer that is continually offered throughout the Church, it affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to priesthood and to the consecrated life. While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the ordained ministries, consecrated life in all its forms and to the missionary life.

What can or ought we do to enable His voice to be better heard?

One thing that was always encouraging me to consider the priesthood, was the example of faith and devotion to the Catholic way of life given to us by our parents. We prayed daily as a family and of course never missed Sunday Mass. They actually made Sunday a very special day full of fun and special meals and even ‘road trips’: all flowing from the time at Church and the community of friends we knew from our Church and the Catholic school we attended.

What are some other ways to foster a climate in which a call from God can be heard and answered? Here are some “best practices.”

1. We must promote Catholic education. Having Catholic children in a government school subjects them to a dangerously anti-Christian environment. While a Catholic school cannot provide for every need, we need to assure everyone that if they desire a Catholic education, we will make it happen. Catholic schools provide a virtue and faith based  education that is also excellent academically. This also means that you support our schools financially and morally.

2. We have to take seriously the influence of materialism and instant gratification. Many years ago, I was very impressed by the way a fourth-grade boy had served Mass for me that whole week, at the end of which, I asked, “Joe, did you ever think about being a priest?” “Yup,” came the quick response. “That’s great. Stay close to Jesus and the Church.” “Oh, I don’t want to be a priest anymore, though.” “Oh, what do you want to be now? A fireman? A policeman?” “No, I don’t know what I want to be, but I do know I don’t want to be a priest after I found out that you guys don’t make much money!” Imagine: by fourth grade, that boy had been pulled into the god of Money.

3. We must form our youth in the virtue of chastity. The internet is a very dangerous thing for various reasons, but we need to keep safe and protect that gift of our sexuality. As an aside, neither materialism nor unchastity is good preparation for marriage, either.

4. Vocational recruitment is the responsibility of everyone in the Church, specifically parents. Parents’ attitudes are often problematic. Many of our youth encounter significant opposition from their parents–even parents who took their faith seriously if they mention they might want to be a priest or religious. Do you see someone in our parish or in your family who seems to be a prayerful or spiritual young person? Ask them if they’ve thought about serving God specifically as a priest or religious. If we all take that role to encourage others to ask God what He would want them to be and how He wants them to serve, our problem will not be a vocations shortage, but a vocations glut.

5. Develop an attitude of gratitude for the priesthood in general and for individual priests in particular, as well as women and men who are in the religious life and pray for them. Take some time every day to lift up in prayer the priests who have been a part of your life and others who serve God and His Church in some way. Pray for their peace and pray for more of them! Pray too that You may always know what God is calling you to do and whom He is calling you to serve. That is the common vocation we all share. 

Fr. Jerry

Next weekend during the 11:00 Mass, 91 of our parish youth will receive their First Communion. It is a time of great joy for these children, their families, and for our parish. These children have been preparing for this moment for nearly two years. I was able to join these children during their final preparation, a retreat centered on their upcoming sacrament, which took place a week ago. There was a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm that was obvious. We must thank our Nativity school staff and our parish Catechists for creating that atmosphere, and for their guidance for the past two years, as it adds a great deal to the primary teaching offered by parents. 

In May of 2019, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at Sacred Heart Church….in Rakovski, Bulgaria. Rakovski is a predominantly Catholic community in Southern Bulgaria, where the parish of Sacred Heart is one of the largest churches in the Balkans. While he was there, Pope Francis celebrated the sacrament of First Communion for more than 250 children from around the country. I would like to share with you Pope Francis’s homily to the children from that occasion, as it provides a brilliant summary of the experience: 

Congratulations to all of our young children who are celebrating their first communion.  Let us pray for them and for their parents to continue to give them the blessing of weekly Communion and lifelong effort to bring these children closer to Jesus. 

Fr. Jerry