I Will Make You Fishers of Men

Seventy-eight percent of the men being ordained to the priesthood in 2003 said that a priest initiated the conversation with them about considering this vocation. The Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops received this information through its annual survey of men scheduled to be ordained. This impressive percentage was a response to the question, ''Who initiated a conversation with you about considering the priesthood?'' In conjunction with this survey, vocation directors of dioceses and communities of religious men were asked to complete a secondary survey.

Two years ago, in the 2001 vocation directors' survey, religious and diocesan vocation directors were asked to offer an estimate of what percentage of their presbyterate or community actively promotes and invites young men to consider priesthood. The information from that survey indicates that only 30.8 percent of priests in this country invite young men to consider the vocation of priesthood. If 78 percent of the men being ordained this year were influenced by the 30 percent of priests, what would happen if all priests in the United States were to invite men to consider priesthood?

What inhibits priests from inviting young men to consider priesthood is a matter for speculation. During a recent diocesan clergy day workshop on the topic of priests and their role as inviter, my brother priests quickly offered me a list of reasons why it is difficult. Some of the reasons include:

• Low morale in the presbyterate
• The fear of rejection
• The demands and hard work in being a priest
• The lack of support from others
• The recent clergy abuse scandals
• The fact that priests are too busy to think about adding a vocation program to their ministry.

In Ecclesia de Eucharistia, our Holy Father renews within priests their great ability to model priesthood when celebrating the Eucharist.

The centrality of the Eucharist in the life and ministry of priests is the basis of its centrality in the pastoral promotion of priestly vocations. It is in the Eucharist that prayer for vocations is most closely united to prayer of Christ the eternal high priest. At the same time, the diligence of priests in carrying out their Eucharistic ministry together with the conscious, active and fruitful participation of the faithful in the Eucharist, provides young men with a powerful example and incentive for responding generously to God's call. Often, it is the example of a priest's fervent pastoral charity, which the Lord uses to sow and to bring to fruition in a man's heart the seed of the priestly calling. (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, no. 31)

Prior to entering the seminary, a high percentage of this year's newly ordained were actively involved in the celebration of the Eucharist. Sixty-five percent of the priests ordained this year were eucharistic ministers. Seventy-three percent were altar servers. Sixty-eight percent were lectors in their parishes. Many of our future priests are right in front of us, and their service has demonstrated the desire to serve the Church. Such proximity to the Eucharist and to priestly ministry affords the Church a prime opportunity to extend the invitation for these men to consider the priesthood.

These are difficult years in the Church, and young men face many obstacles today. Yet these days could not be any more difficult than the days of the early disciples. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read how the disciples fled in fear, hid in trembling, questioned each other and themselves and waited in the upper room until they were granted the gift of the Spirit of God. This same Holy Spirit guides the Church today and speaks to the hearts of young men who are searching for the way, the truth and the life.

Priests have a responsibility for inviting men to consider priesthood. The section of canon law that deals with the formation of clerics requires support for these vocations:

The duty of fostering vocations rests with the entire Christian community so that the needs of the sacred ministry in the Universal Church are provided for sufficiently. This duty especially binds Christian families, educators, and in a special way, priests; particularly pastors. Diocesan bishops, who most especially are to be concerned for promoting vocations, are to teach the people entrusted to them of the importance of the sacred ministry and of the need for ministers in the Church, and are to encourage and support endeavors to foster vocations, especially by means of projects established for that purpose (Canon 233).

Our support system for priestly vocations was much more apparent when the Catholic school system had a larger number of Sisters who invited young men to consider priesthood. Mothers played an important part in inviting their sons to consider priestly ministry. Now, however, the ordination class of 2003 gives us a different picture of the primary inviters. Priests stand as the leading and primary inviter with 78 percent of this year's newly ordained saying that a priest invited them to consider the priesthood. In a distant second place, 26 percent of this year's class said that a friend invited them to consider priesthood. Religious sisters are third at 16 percent, mothers are fourth with 15 percent, and parishioners have invited 14 percent of the men being ordained this year.

The impressive impact that priests have on young men to consider the vocation of priesthood should not go unnoticed. Pastors should commit themselves to this mission and challenge their brother priests and others to do so. Bishops have been called to this same responsibility and should challenge their pastors to do so.

Some of the qualities necessary for today's priest include:

• Charity toward others
• Social maturity
• Prayer and spiritual depth
• Leadership and collaboration skills
• Active participation in Church and a grasp of the Church's teachings
• Frequent celebration of the sacraments and the desire to proclaim the Gospel
• Self-discipline
• Integration of talents, gifts and abilities
• Psychosexual maturity and capacity for celibacy
• The ability to reflect Christ

The challenge is clear: we need all of our priests to foster priestly vocations. The Spirit needs to come alive in our presbyterates and men's religious communities to the point that priests take the time and effort to invite men to consider the priesthood. Priests can take simple steps in inviting a man to consider priesthood. In doing so, he invites this man to pick up the Cross and follow Jesus. Of the many ways to do this, a few of them would include:

• Ask if he ever thought about the priesthood
• Invite him to consider the priesthood
• Tell him why you believe he might be a good priest
• Discuss one's vocation story
• Pray with him
• Encourage him to attend Mass regularly
• Encourage him to become ministerially involved
• Follow up with a note or a phone call
• Invite him to contact the vocation director
• Pray for his vocation
• Keep in contact with him.

- FATHER BURNS is executive director of the Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.