VOCATIONS
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
The famous Poet, William Wordsworth penned those immortal words, “Too much of the world is with
us, late and soon.” How true in this day of radio, TV, Internet and iphones. So much of the world is
with us it drowns out the still voice of the Holy Spirit calling men to the Altar of God, the God who is
the joy of our youth. A vocation placed on ‘hold’ is more often than not a vocation lost. Sometimes a
vocation is lost because of a wife who will not support the man in his attempt to answer God’s call.
Perhaps a wife having fallen from the faith tolerates a husband who continues to practice his faith but
cannot support the idea her husband will become a Deacon or Priest. Sad, but so very often this is the
case. We can talk to the man about having to choose between God and his wife but this generally falls
on deaf ears. As sad as is a lost vocation prior to ordination, a lost vocation after ordination is tragic;
tragic for the church, tragic for the people who need a Priest and tragic for the man who originally
accepted the call of the Holy Spirit. A man who dishonors God by not living his vocation condemns his
soul to hell and deprives others of God’s saving Grace.
A ‘vocation’ to the Priesthood, to the life of a Deacon, religious Brother or Religious Sister is always an
invitation without compulsion to accept. Man is free to reject a vocation. Once having accepted the
vocation the man is not free to pull away and reject the responsibilities of his Office. A man cannot with
certainty say he has a Priestly vocation until accepted by the Bishop, but once he stands at the Altar for
the first time as a Priest he must do so per omnia saecula saeculorum until he stands at the Altar in
Heaven. How does a Priest lose his vocation?
Strictly speaking, it is a misnomer to speak of a Priest ‘losing his vocation’. The vocation is a call from
God that is never withdrawn. The man who does not accept the call or the man who having first
accepted the call only to reject the responsibilities of his vocation continue to have a vocation as God’s
gift to them.
The world, the flesh and the Devil may have such a hold on the man he may not be able to receive the
Graces given with the gift but the call from God remains.
What makes a Priest unfaithful to such an exalted calling from God? There are too many reasons to list
all of them in this short letter but I can touch on a few of them.
Often men prefer the company of a woman to the company of God. Of course, most Priests are
married but not all women are good for the man who is a Priest. He must have a wife who is faithful to
God, serves the Lord in her own life and views the office of Presbytera (wife of a Priest) as an
opportunity to serve God, the Church and her fellow man. Another reason is the cares and anxieties of
the world. Many Diocesan Priests are ‘worker Priests’ that is they have part time secular employment or
even full time employment while they establish their parish. These men function as a Priest in their
secular employment but they are not dedicated workers in a Parish. Generally they are Chaplains, Social
Workers, Teachers or care for the sick. The Diocesan Priest has all the same family pressures and
anxieties of the lay people who are married and often he allows his Priesthood to be overshadowed by
other concerns until finally he has no Priestly function or ministry. He becomes a ‘Priest without an
Altar’. He may offer the Mass in his own bedroom-chapel but he has no people and has no time for
people. Eventually the home chapel will give way to the new baby or that needed office space. How
does this start?
The first thing to go is the Divine Office. The man does not take the time for the Divine Office or cuts it
short or tells himself there are not enough hours in the day to do everything so the Office is the first to
go. He rationalizes the situation by saying I am being a Priest because I am a chaplain, teacher etc. A
Priest in parish ministry may say the demands of the parish are so great he has no time for the Divine
Office. What he is really saying there is no time to live the life of the Priest.
Family responsibilities, work responsibilities, parish responsibilities do not permit the failure of not
praying the Divine Office.
There is no obligation to offer Mass daily but most Priest who are serious about living the life of a Priest
do offer the Sacrifice daily.
There is no obligation to pray the Scriptures but a man who is serious about being a Priest prays the
Scriptures daily in addition to the Scripture Readings in the Divine Office. St. Jerome says, “Ignorance
of Scripture is ignorance of Jesus Christ.”
The next sign of a Priest going astray is in his failure to pray the prayers found in the Breviary before and
after the Mass. A small thing? Not really, when we view the larger picture.
The Monastic has not the option of being a worker Priest and does not have a family so he avoids some
of the temptations that have done in so many fine Diocesan clergy. The very things that attract men to
the Diocesan Priesthood are the very things that make their life more difficult. The very things that
attract a man to the Monastery make his life easier in comparison to the Diocesan clergy.
There are many other things that could be said but during this month of August I ask all to pray for the
men who have accepted the call and for those men considering the call to the Altar. The Priesthood and
Monastic life are all that is important to me. Nothing else even comes in second. This is the way of all
good Priests. Most men are good Priest but we are all human with human failings and we too fall short
of the gift given us so we need your prayer support.
Mentally bowing to the light of Christ within you I remain a repentant sinner, worker in the vineyard of
Christ and
His unworthy Priest,
Bishop Brian Kennedy, O.S.B.
aoc@peoplepc.com
http://www.athonitebenedictinefathers.com
| Athonite Benedictine Fathers Monastery of the Holy Face of Jesus Toledo, Ohio Open Letter to Priests and men thinking about a vocation to the altar of God from Bishop Brian J. Kennedy, O.S.B. |
