The fourth Sunday of the Easter season is consecrated to prayer for Vocations. While we thank the Lord for His generosity, we also must pray that He will continue to inspire others to respond to His call to follow Him, but it seems that our modern-day society is less and less able to hear this call. How then will others ever be able to respond?
Every year, on the fourth Sunday of the Easter season, the Church celebrates the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. This is usually the day when I tend to think about my own priesthood: about the call from God that was whispered in my ear. I didn’t answer it right away; in fact, I would say that each day, God continues to whisper in my ear, to invite me to be a priest, and each day, I need to respond to that whisper: I need to say yes to the many ways that Jesus calls me to lay down my life for his people (cf Jn 10:11).
Some of the tasks that Jesus places in my path bring great joy, but others are not easy. The reality is that over the twenty-five years of my priesthood, the number of priests who are serving in this diocese has declined. There are about half the number of priests today compared with the number of priests there were then. The decline in numbers is also being experienced in other dioceses and it is not confined merely to priests: there is also a decline in the number of Religious men and women, by which I mean Sisters, priests and Brothers who belong to various Orders.
Why has this happened? Has God stopped whispering in the ears of our young people, or is there some other reason? In truth, I believe that there are a number of reasons, each of which adds another layer to the puzzle. I do not believe that God has stopped whispering, but perhaps we have forgotten how to listen for these whispers, or perhaps we have grown deaf to them because they are drowned out by competing noises. Saint John says in today’s second reading that we are all children of God (1 Jn 3:1), but the world does not know us as such because the world no longer seems to know him.
How many of our family members and friends were Baptized and raised with faith as part of their lives, yet have forgotten how to listen for God’s whispers? There are at least two (if not three) generations of people who now believe that faith is a private matter between God and me, or that it’s not so important for me to make time to be part of a faith community – except perhaps at Christmas or Easter. Isn’t it funny how so many people have managed to fill up the space that would once have been considered Sacred with so many other activities that they readily admit that they are too busy to find time to take part in a local parish community? Does this mean that the Church has somehow failed to communicate the fact that we are all precious children of God, or is it simply a matter of convenience that so many people seem to want to pick and choose the elements of faith that are convenient?
It’s difficult at times for us to see these realities in a positive light, but could it be that we are living in a time when persecution is not so much a matter of physical conflict but rather a matter of apathy? If this is the case, then we must listen all the more for the whispers of God’s voice, prompting us to boldly proclaim the truths that we believe. Like the apostles Peter and John, people may try to ignore what we have to say about our faith (cf Acts 4:7) but we must always be willing to bravely testify to our faith. Like Peter, we must courageously tell others that Jesus, the stone that was rejected by the builders, has become the cornerstone (Acts 4:11). Jesus needs each one of us to joyfully respond to the whispers he shares with us, to share the news of our faith with those we meet, and to encourage others to do the same.
I know my own and my own know me
Every year, on the fourth Sunday of the Easter season, the Church celebrates the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. This is usually the day when I tend to think about my own priesthood: about the call from God that was whispered in my ear. I didn’t answer it right away; in fact, I would say that each day, God continues to whisper in my ear, to invite me to be a priest, and each day, I need to respond to that whisper: I need to say yes to the many ways that Jesus calls me to lay down my life for his people (cf Jn 10:11).
Some of the tasks that Jesus places in my path bring great joy, but others are not easy. The reality is that over the twenty-five years of my priesthood, the number of priests who are serving in this diocese has declined. There are about half the number of priests today compared with the number of priests there were then. The decline in numbers is also being experienced in other dioceses and it is not confined merely to priests: there is also a decline in the number of Religious men and women, by which I mean Sisters, priests and Brothers who belong to various Orders.
Why has this happened? Has God stopped whispering in the ears of our young people, or is there some other reason? In truth, I believe that there are a number of reasons, each of which adds another layer to the puzzle. I do not believe that God has stopped whispering, but perhaps we have forgotten how to listen for these whispers, or perhaps we have grown deaf to them because they are drowned out by competing noises. Saint John says in today’s second reading that we are all children of God (1 Jn 3:1), but the world does not know us as such because the world no longer seems to know him.
How many of our family members and friends were Baptized and raised with faith as part of their lives, yet have forgotten how to listen for God’s whispers? There are at least two (if not three) generations of people who now believe that faith is a private matter between God and me, or that it’s not so important for me to make time to be part of a faith community – except perhaps at Christmas or Easter. Isn’t it funny how so many people have managed to fill up the space that would once have been considered Sacred with so many other activities that they readily admit that they are too busy to find time to take part in a local parish community? Does this mean that the Church has somehow failed to communicate the fact that we are all precious children of God, or is it simply a matter of convenience that so many people seem to want to pick and choose the elements of faith that are convenient?
It’s difficult at times for us to see these realities in a positive light, but could it be that we are living in a time when persecution is not so much a matter of physical conflict but rather a matter of apathy? If this is the case, then we must listen all the more for the whispers of God’s voice, prompting us to boldly proclaim the truths that we believe. Like the apostles Peter and John, people may try to ignore what we have to say about our faith (cf Acts 4:7) but we must always be willing to bravely testify to our faith. Like Peter, we must courageously tell others that Jesus, the stone that was rejected by the builders, has become the cornerstone (Acts 4:11). Jesus needs each one of us to joyfully respond to the whispers he shares with us, to share the news of our faith with those we meet, and to encourage others to do the same.
Je connais mes brebis et mes brebis me connaissent
Chaque année, l’Église célèbre la Journée mondiale de la prière pour les vocations en ce quatrième dimanche du temps pascal. C'est généralement le jour où j'ai tendance à penser à mon propre sacerdoce: à propos de l'appel que Dieu m'a chuchoté à l'oreille. Je n'y ai pas répondu tout de suite à cet appel. En fait, je dirais que chaque jour – même aujourd’hui - Dieu continue de me murmurer à l'oreille, à m'inviter à être prêtre, et chaque jour, j'ai besoin de répondre à ce murmure: je dois dire oui chaque fois que Jésus m’appelle à donner ma vie pour son peuple (cf Jn 10,11).
Certaines des tâches que Jésus place sur mon chemin apportent une grande joie, mais d'autres ne sont pas faciles. En fait, pendant les vingt-cinq ans de mon sacerdoce, le nombre de prêtres qui servent dans ce diocèse a diminué. Il y a environ la moitié du nombre de prêtres aujourd'hui par rapport au nombre de prêtres qu'il y avait auparavant. La diminution du nombre est également expérimentée dans d'autres diocèses et ne se limite pas aux prêtres: il y a aussi une diminution du nombre de religieux et de religieuses, c'est-à-dire de sœurs, de prêtres et de frères appartenant à divers Ordres.
Pourquoi est-ce arrivé? Est-ce que Dieu a cessé de chuchoter à l'oreille de nos jeunes, ou y a-t-il une autre raison? En vérité, je crois qu'il y a plusieurs raisons, dont chacune ajoute une autre couche au casse-tête. Je ne crois pas que Dieu a cessé de chuchoter, mais peut-être avons-nous oublié comment écouter ces chuchotements, ou peut-être que nous en sommes devenus sourds parce que ces chuchotements sont noyés par des bruits concurrents. Saint Jean dit dans la deuxième lecture d'aujourd'hui que nous sommes tous des enfants de Dieu (1 Jn 3,1), mais le monde ne nous connaît pas en tant que tel parce que le monde ne semble plus le connaître.
Combien de nos parents et de nos amis ont été baptisés et élevés dans la foi, mais semblent avoir oublié comment écouter les chuchotements de Dieu? Il y a au moins deux (sinon trois) générations de personnes qui croient maintenant que la foi est une affaire privée entre Dieu et elles-mêmes, ou qu'il n'est pas si important pour elles de prendre le temps de faire partie d'une communauté chrétienne - sauf peut-être à Noël ou à Pâques. N'est-il pas étonnant de voir comment tant de gens ont réussi à remplir l'espace qui aurait été considéré sacré avec tant d'autres activités jusqu’au point où ils admettent volontiers qu'ils sont trop occupés et qu’ils n’ont pas de temps pour participer à la vie d’une communauté paroissiale? Cela signifie-t-il que l'Église a failli de communiquer le fait que nous sommes tous des enfants précieux de Dieu ou est-ce simplement une question de commodité que tant de gens semblent vouloir choisir les éléments de foi qui leur conviennent?
Il nous est parfois difficile de voir ces réalités sous une lumière positive, mais est-ce que nous vivons à une époque où la persécution n'est pas tant une question de conflit physique que d'apathie? Si tel est le cas, alors nous devons écouter d'autant plus les chuchotements de la voix de Dieu, nous incitant à proclamer hardiment les vérités que nous croyons. Comme les apôtres Pierre et Jean, les gens peuvent essayer d'ignorer ce que nous avons à dire sur notre foi (cf Actes 4,7) mais nous devons toujours être prêts à témoigner de notre foi. Comme Pierre, nous devons courageusement dire aux autres que Jésus, la pierre méprisée par les bâtisseurs, est devenu la pierre d’angle (Actes 4,11). Jésus a besoin de nous. Il faut que chacun de nous réponde avec joie aux murmures qu'il partage avec nous, afin que nous puissions partager les nouvelles de notre foi avec ceux que nous rencontrons et afin d’encourager les autres à faire de même.
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