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 Father Louis Guerin, a member of the faculty has written an article which has been published in the May 2008 issue of “Columbia” the Knights of Columbus International publication. This article attempts to answer some of the questions the populace seems to have these days, "The heart of a priest is meant to move, enliven, affirm and sometimes astonish the faithful into believing who they are and what they have the potential to become," is just a small part of its appealing message.
Priests: Agents of Hope
In a culture of mediocrity, vocations are promoted by authentic priestly witness
On Sept. 24, 1999, the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, with almost 300 participants, met for its annual convention in St. Louis. The theme of the conference was “Gateway to a New Millennium: Crossing the Threshold of Hope.” The meeting focused on the challenges of promoting religious vocations in the United States. I had just completed six years as director of vocations for the Diocese of Palm Beach, Fla. It was my seventh national conference but my first as a respondent to the keynote address, given that year by Benedictine Father Mark O’Keefe, president-rector of Saint Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana.
Father O’Keefe presented a sobering, fact-filled speech that outlined the challenges of providing priests and religious to America’s rapidly growing Catholic population. One of Father O’Keefe’s prophetic remarks came from Pope John Paul II: “People today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories.”
I say prophetic because, with the benefit of hindsight, we now know that the challenge and remedy for the vocations crisis lay not so much in the hundreds of imaginative awareness programs we share, but in the countercultural voice of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To coin an old phrase, “Actions speak louder than words.” If secularism and relativism want to engage in a shouting match, there is no stronger call than the truth that comes through genuine discipleship.
Also responding to Father O’Keefe’s address was Father Robert Finn from the Office of Continuing Education for Priests in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Father Finn said, “Priests who live more fully their vocation to priesthood will help to attract more men to answer God’s call….”
These are words we could carve in stone to live by, but there is no need. They are already written in the pages of the Gospel. This essay will revisit the insights these two dedicated priests shared as the Church was preparing to enter the third millennium.
NEED AND NUMBERS VS. MEN AND MISSION
I believe that those in vocations ministry are the Church’s genuine realists. Every year, their bishop or religious superior asks them how many candidates they have on board. While this reflects a sincere concern for the future, it can downplay the need for authenticity over numbers, for witnesses over creative advertising.
At that St. Louis meeting, I said the greatest obstacle to fostering healthy and courageous men and women for ministry was an epidemic of mediocrity. The emerging trend of narcissism and self-indulgence would in due time anesthetize even the impact of our clever advertising and steadfast determination.
The clergy sex abuse scandal that silenced the phones in many vocations offices certainly did not help our recruitment efforts or highlight our priestly image. The initial lack of response to the scandal from many Church officials provided fuel to the media, which already described the Church as increasingly irrelevant.
In my own diocese, I had just been assigned to start a new parish, St. Thérèse de Lisieux, in a rapidly growing community with a median age of 39 and hundreds of children. The potential for growth was a dream come true. As we launched our first capital building campaign, we lost our second bishop, all within two years.…
My parishioners proved to be “Church” in the truest sense of the word. They came forward after Mass in large numbers, not to condemn or question me, but to affirm my priesthood, and all the good, hard-working men and women who for them were true ministers of the Gospel. Some people were just grateful that I showed up that weekend!
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL
Priests are agents of hope. The remedy for the vocations crisis is, I believe, in letting priests be that for which they were called by God. Their “priestly presence,” their being rather than doing, is still the strongest fraternal witness. The parish priest, the guy in the trenches, still needs to pray the Gospel of hope as one empowered and commissioned by his vocation. He cannot compromise the priestly identity that he shares with his bishop and brothers in ministry.
Parish priests work very hard! No one knows that better than those who have run the race and fought the good fight. Unfortunately, at times, priests may feel defeated because they wonder if their work really does make a difference.
The Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests from the Second Vatican Council states, “The primary duty of priests is the proclamation of the Gospel of God to all.” In 1982, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops published Fulfilled In Your Hearing, a document addressing the need for more prophetic preaching to stifle apathy at the pulpit and in the pews. The bishops wrote: “This statement may still come as a surprise to us. We might more spontaneously think that the primary duty of priests is the celebration of the Church’s sacraments, or the pastoral care of the People of God, or the leadership of a Christian community. Yet, the words of the document are clear: the proclamation of the Gospel is primary.”
THE HEART OF A PRIEST
Priests as agents of hope will always be held to a standard that requires complete fidelity to their vocation and not just to the notion of priesthood. The difference is often what distinguishes a true vocation to ordained ministry and religious life from merely an infatuation with the idea, perhaps inspired by old movies.
We, as priests, challenged and privileged with the Word, can never water down the message. The heart of a priest is meant to move, enliven, affirm and sometimes astonish the faithful into believing not only who they are but what they have the potential to become.
Today’s 20- to 40-year-olds are not searching for a way to live out their faith any less than earlier generations did. They are, however, less likely to revisit and reconsider a lifestyle that at first glance seems unattractive. They are drawn to priests and religious who live a vibrant, principle-oriented way of life that reflects commitment to something greater than popular trends. What young person really wants to follow in the footsteps of a tired, burnt-out and angry minister when he has so many other choices? But would not that same young person, filled with passion and idealism, look twice at the man who is lively and vibrant in living out his dream to serve Christ in a radical way?
Who among my brother priests did not have a favorite parish priest and, perhaps, even gave thought to one day being just like them? Are we sending the right message? Do we stand out in the community or have we assimilated ourselves into anonymity?
As I see our first-year theologians coming into the seminary, I am always renewed and a bit astonished at their level of idealism and enthusiasm to bring the Gospel to a world so in need of it. They are our next generation of agents of hope. As we embrace the responsibilities of formation, we do so with a sacred reverence for the vocations that are entrusted to us by God and the Church.
A COURAGEOUS BRIGADE
Vocations to priesthood and religious life are out there, but so are many distractions in a culture too quick to settle for the path of least resistance. Vocations are not born in seminaries, monasteries and religious houses of formation. Instead, they are realized and nurtured by faith-filled communities and by those who are focused on identifying them and pursuing them despite the odds.
Even though I speak predominantly of priests as agents of hope, the truth is that without families, nurturing communities, and organizations like the Knights of Columbus and Serra, few of us would be here today doing what we do.
When I think of the courageous brigade that worked behind the scenes of my own vocation, I am humbled and grateful. Growing up in a predominantly Catholic community was a blessing, but one I largely took for granted. Our family prayed together. My parents were never ashamed to bow their heads and humbly place themselves in the Lord’s presence. I grew up seeing my parents pray, seek God’s mercy and rely on his grace. How else would they have survived raising the nine of us?
Outside of our immediate family were those within the parish family who worked to foster those values that defined us as young Catholic ladies and gentlemen. The Knights of Columbus and Ladies of St. Anne both enjoyed a huge presence in our little New England town. My parents belong to and were dedicated to these organizations, which in turn fostered family life.
As a former vocations director, I relied heavily on the assistance of my brother Knights in both Trinity Council 4839 in Delray Beach, Fla., and Loyola Assembly in Palm Beach Gardens to launch successful vocations awareness programs. When I was assigned to start a new parish and given the honor of naming a patron, I chose St. Thérèse de Lisieux because of her personal example of missionary zeal and passionate determination — virtues shared by my brother Knights. The very first official organization within that new parish was St. Thérèse de Lisieux Council 12873, and it has grown ever since, becoming a vibrant cornerstone of parish life. What is born of the Spirit endures by the Spirit!
A MOVEMENT OF MEN’S HEARTS
There is an old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind.” If we drop the ball on promoting vocations to our young people, then we have betrayed our own identities as Catholics, as Knights of Columbus and as agents of hope.
Father Michael J. McGivney could easily be called an agent of hope. In founding the Knights, he addressed the pressing needs of his day, but also saw beyond his own time and circumstances to create a movement of men’s hearts based on faith, charity and unity. Pope John Paul II told us “Be not afraid” and Pope Benedict XVI challenges us to live out our faith without hesitation. We are agents of hope!
Father Louis T. Guerin serves as formation adviser on the faculty of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla. He is a member of St. Thérèse de Lisieux Council 12873.
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