Only Paul Tossed from Horse;
Most Vocations Nurtured Quietly

WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.--Some vocations to the priesthood happen like St. Paul's conversion: a spiritual lighting bolt strikes, dramatically directing a young man's life towards ordained service to the Church.

But most priests never have had the spiritual experience akin to being knocked off a horse on the road to Damascus. Most, note a recent study by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Vocations, had their vocations nurtured quietly, in parish schoolyards and classrooms, or on a basketball court or in a theater production in which priests were involved.

"Every vocation has an element of grace. But every vocation has a human call. If no one asked me, I don't think I could have received the call," said Father Thomas Harold, director of vocations for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., describing his own journey to the priesthood, which culminated in his ordination in 1991.

Growing up in St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in West Hempstead, N.Y., it was easy to consider priesthood as a vocation, Father Harold said.

The parish "was part of our everyday life" for the young people in the neighborhood, filled with sports programs and activities, and involvement of priests who regularly interacted with young people, he said. In his day, young people would spend long hours hanging out in the parish yard.

"The priests always were available to the youth in the parish. Each had a different kind of appeal," said Father Harold.

The parish fit the description, according to the bishops' study, of those parishes that have generated multiple vocations over the past 20 years, a time during which the Church in the United States has experienced a drop-off in ordinations overall.

St. Thomas is among the 20 percent of U.S. parishes which have generated multiple vocations in recent decades.

Among them is Msgr. James Lisante, current pastor and a parish native son who was ordained in 1981.

As a boy growing up in the parish, Msgr. Lisante recalled, he was exposed to "dynamic, charismatic priests who were happy in their own lives." He recalled two in particular: Msgr. John Seidenschwang and Father Charles Murphy, both of whom served as associates at St. Thomas during his boyhood. The two priests are now deceased.

As a young man, Msgr. Lisante was heavily involved in parish life, from organizing a "WMCA Good Guys" Radio Dance (a promotion by a New York rock station) and a parish theater group. He also was an altar server who visited the local seminary.

"There was plenty of action for young people," recalled Msgr. Lisante. And, he emphasized, parish priests were willing to recognize and invite young men to consider priesthood.

Salesian Father John Serio, president of Salesian High School in New Rochelle, N.Y., said his own vocation was nurtured by three essential human elements: the faith of his parents; the example of a family friend, the late Archbishop Edward O'Meara of Indianapolis; and the life of St. Thomas Church.

The parish, located in suburban Nassau County on Long Island, was a center of social as well as religious life, recalled Father Serio.

"It was the center of the neighborhood. It was part of our everyday life," he recalled, noting that the seeds of his vocation were nurtured by a sister in the parish school who encouraged him to join a youth auxiliary of the Salesian order.

Like his other fellow priests from the parish, he credited the work of associate pastors for creating an atmosphere conducive to priestly vocations.

"They would be around school. They taught religion to one grade every week. They were present," he said.

Father Harold, who was a teaching brother in the Marianist order for a number of years, said that when he wanted to become a diocesan priest he knew exactly whom to talk to: Msgr. Seidenschwang. That was the case, he recalled, even though he had been out of touch with his old parish priest for many years.

"He was the first person with whom I shared the idea of becoming a diocesan priest. But the roots of that happened much earlier," he said, noting he can recall three conversations with priests at St. Thomas who encouraged him from an early age to consider the priesthood. One such conversation took place when he was only 11 years old.

According to Father Serio, any vocation encouragement has to include the personal, human touch.

"Kids in a parish need to see priests who are happy in what they are doing," he said.

Msgr. Lisante said the tradition continues at St. Thomas today. College-age men from the parish are regularly invited to attend "Operation Andrew" sessions, a diocesan program begun by Father Harold which brings them together with diocesan priests for dinner and discussions about vocations.

"Our attitude is, 'let's invite,"' said Msgr. Lisante.

After all, said Father Serio, the Church, in an era in which the number of ordinations to the priesthood has considerably diminished, can't wait for lightning bolts to substitute for personal invitations.

"Once upon a time people might have come on their own," he said, noting other eras in which vocations to the priesthood were more encouraged by the wider culture. But now, he emphasized, "people have to ask the question."