This is Not a Memoir

Getting to know the Author

My name is John, during the tail end of the first decade of the 2000's I entered Roman Catholic Seminary and was nearly called as a Candidate for Holy Orders, and then if I had continued on that path, I would have been ordained in the Easter Season of 2014.

Notice, that I didn't say if things had gone well, I would have been ordained to the priesthood, just that this was the path I was on. Like many men before me, I came to the point of an important calculation. Is my call to serve in faith so self-sustaining that I could forgo my need for companionship and having someone to return to in the evening.

As you may deduce from the picture, I felt more strongly called to marriage and family. Pictured you will see my wife Emily (married 8/12/2017), my son Elijah (born 4/22/2020), and my daughter Avila (born 11/29/2021) on the day we baptized our children at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish on October 9th, 2022.

I am proud of my family, and the fact that I've been a layperson working in ministry since 2013. I share this to reveal how my perspective is formed!

In between my reviews on media, and videos from my YouTube series called What in the Word?! IHM, I'll be sharing my thoughts on the Catholic Vocations Crisis, and some of the ways I think that they can be addressed.

Defining the Crisis

What do people generally mean when they refer to a vocations/ vocational crisis? Generally, they mean that there is a lack of ordained ministers, or priests to serve the existing parishes, or numbers of faithful within a territory. The impact of this lack is felt differently based on the region you live in.

On the east coast, for instance in New Jersey, the way that this crisis is felt is that some parishes that once had 2-3 priests, now have a Pastor (or Administrator), and if they are lucky there is also a retired priest in residence. More severely, especially in city areas (not wealthy, sometimes minority) or sparsely populated rural areas in the northeast, a pastor will serve multiple parishes.

In the Midwest, and similar areas, you may find a priest reminiscent of the old mission circuit riders, who serve up to 5 parishes hundreds of miles apart, saying Mass and administering sacraments on a rotating basis, and consecrated the Eucharist so lay men and women can offer communion services on a frequent basis.

This is for the most part generalization, but effectively demonstrates what is commonly known as a vocation crisis. In extremis this could mean the closing, merging and centralizing of parishes. I hope that this doesn't occur, because I feel most comfortable and nourished in smaller Catholic communities of faith. my personality lends to blending in when faced with a larger crowd (even if we have faith in common).

Let's broaden the circle of the crisis one step out. There was a time when Catholic education, and other services such as hospitals were dependent on the dependable, faithful, and oft inexpensive service of brothers and sisters engaged in religious life.

As numbers of religious brothers and sisters have fallen to attrition, and steep cultural shifts, a lot has changed in the Catholic world. A large shift has been a significant increase of lay employees in schools and hospitals, and other places that these men and women were highly visible.

This means, that men and women often responsible for the health, wellbeing, feeding, and shelter of children and spouses are now in these roles. While many of these agencies do what they can to provide incentives for their employees, the system hasn't largely caught up with the modern reality.

Let's take this out one more circle of vocations. There are two sacraments at the service of Communion. These are Holy Orders, and Holy Matrimony. I personally spent 4 1/2 years in preparation for Holy Orders. If I had discerned that vocation further, I would have been in process and discernment for 6 years total.

Until seminary, I wasn't made or led to consider who I was as a man. Wasn't offered the resources to do so as intensely as in seminary. Once I left knowing I was called to marriage, I dated and continued to learn important lessons about myself.

However, once I hit engagement, my wife and I met with a deacon 3 times, went to pre-Cana for a weekend of sessions (I think), and then had our rehearsal for the sacrament.

Sitting in parish offices, not as a receptionist, but close enough to the action to hear, I know that in many cases, initial calls about marriage prep, and especially sacramental records, not always but often enough, come from the parents of the aspiring spouses.

Let that sit for a moment. Then imagine the last 10 Catholic colleagues that you've met. How many of them brough their Catholicism up within the first conversation.

I'd like to make a series of these reflections. One on the Vocation of Holy Orders, one on Religious Vocation, another on Holy Matrimony (with parenthood), and perhaps the single life. Perhaps through conversation we can come to some conclusions and brainstorm some practical solutions. Let me know what you think!