From Archbishop Dolan, 4 tips for fostering vocations

The newly-installed Archbishop of New York City, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, uses this Year for Priests to give us laity four distinct ways of promoting vocations:

The first, said Archbishop Dolan, is by emphasizing the vocation of marriage and family. Citing data from a Pew Research Center study, Archbishop Dolan stated that only about 50% of Catholic young people are approaching the sacrament of marriage.

“Taking care of the first crisis will take care of the second,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Vocations to the priesthood and religious life come from lifelong, life-giving faithful marriages.”

Secondly, Archbishop Dolan spoke of re-creating a culture of vocations.

“There were no good old days in the Church,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Every era in Church history has its horrors and difficulties.”

“We need to recapture the climate/tenor/tone/ambiance in the Church where a boy or man isn’t afraid to publicly say, ‘I want to be a priest,’ and where his family, relatives, neighbors, parish, priest, sisters, teachers and even non-Catholics are robustly supportive.”

Thirdly, Archbishop Dolan said that the laity need to not be afraid to ask their priests to help them be holy.

“For a faithful Catholic, a priest is essential for growth in holiness because he gives us the sacraments, and without the sacraments we can’t be holy,” said Archbishop Dolan. “When you ask us to help you be holy, we realize that we must be holy, and you remind us that there is something unique in the Church that only a priest can do.”

Finally, Archbishop Dolan said that priests must be reminded that they are here to help the laity get to heaven.

“A priest is an icon of the beyond, the eternal, the transcendent,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Heaven gives us hope and meaning in life.”

Archbishop Dolan's pastoral voice is featured prominently in this excellent vocations video by Grassroots Films I published on AmP yesterday.

Video: The most awesome Ordination video you'll ever see

I try to avoid vulgar language on AmP, so I'll restrain myself and simply say this video "kicks butt".



I love it for many reasons, including:

• It bears the unmistakable marks of a Grassroots Films production {update - link fixed.}
• It prominently features the pastoral voice of Archbishop Timothy Dolan
• It uses the multimedia arts to powerfully convey the spiritual reality it portrays

Show your friends, especially your non-Catholic ones. It might help them better understand the beauty and majesty of a life given totally to Christ and His Church.

Hope: Record Aggie Vocations

Sorry to post back-to-back disturbing stories, let's not forget that God is always at work and mercifully bestowing His grace to us. Sometimes this takes a concrete manifestation in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, as it happening in "Aggie Catholics" neck of the woods.

How are vocations doing in your parish, community and diocese? Let's share our stories!

Study: Young Nuns and Priests are more traditional

Signs of hope (doubly necessary on a Monday):

A new study of Roman Catholic nuns and priests in the United States shows that an aging, predominantly white generation is being succeeded by a smaller group of more racially and ethnically diverse recruits who are attracted to the religious orders that practice traditional prayer rituals and wear habits.

.... The new study, being released on Tuesday, was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, for the National Religious Vocation Conference, which is looking for ways for the church to attract and retain new nuns and priests. It was financed by an anonymous donor.

“We’ve heard anecdotally that the youngest people coming to religious life are distinctive, and they really are,” said Sister Mary Bendyna, executive director of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. “They’re more attracted to a traditional style of religious life, where there is community living, common prayer, having Mass together, praying the Liturgy of the Hours together. They are much more likely to say fidelity to the church is important to them. And they really are looking for communities where members wear habits.”

More from the New York Times.

And lest we forget, "traditional" is often just a fancy way of describing someone who believes what the Church teaches.

Cool: Year for Priest T-Shirts!

AmP reader Phil:

Hello, I thought I would send you an e-mail about some Year for Priests T-Shirts that I have been designing. These t-shirts are apart of my online apostolate Digital Catholic, where I design Catholic Wallpapers and Catholic T-Shirts. I am just trying to spread the news about the Year for Priests in hopes of getting more people involved in praying and supporting our priests!

I can support that:

Year For Priests T-Shirt by digitalcatholic
See other Tridentine T-Shirts

Photos: Pope ordains 19 priests today in St. Peter's

[AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia]

CNA: "Fifty thousand filled St. Peter's Square to pray the Regina Coeli with Pope Benedict XVI at noon on Sunday, following Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica where he ordained 19 new priests for the Rome diocese. The Pontiff asked the faithful to pray for vocations and for his imminent journey to the Holy Land."

15 sedevacantist nuns rejoin the Catholic Church

Tales of hope ought to be widely told:

Last July, 15 nuns from a schismatic convent in Washington state rejoined the Catholic Church. They left the motherhouse of the Religious Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI), located on the outskirts of Spokane, to form a new congregation: the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church. They formally renounced their state of schism, made a profession of the Catholic faith, became a private association of the faithful under the care of Spokane Bishop William Skylstad, and recognized the legitimacy of the popes from Paul VI through Benedict XVI.

Their former order, which still has approximately 35 sisters, holds to the sedevacantist position that popes elected since John XXIII are invalid and that Vatican II was a heretical council.

Welcome home.

An update on Chase Hilgenbrinck

During the summer I did a story on Chase Hilgenbrinck, a brave young man who sacrificed fame and fortune on the soccerfield to discern a call from God. ESPN's page two visited him at seminary and published a story on what Chase has been up to lately.




Looks like he's doing alright.

This Christmas, listen to the Norbertine Fathers chant. I did.

I'm so excited about listening to these gregorian chants preformed by the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michae's Abbey as Christmas approaches.

You see, I have some personal history here. As a young boy growing up in Southern California, for three years I participated in their St. Michael's Summer Camp ("Where All Boys Have Fun!"). Aside from full days of soccer, swimming, camp fires and hiking, we would also attend daily Mass and even make it to confession.

But even more uniquely, the older (and best-behaved) boys were invited to participate in the chanting of evening prayer with the Norbertines before bed each night. Being allowed to stay up an extra hour and listen to the solemn, beautiful tones of the same Norbertine Fathers who had earlier been leading us in song, charging up mountains and taking point on the basketball court was one of the most moving and formational experiences of my young faith.

These men were real men, and real men prayed.

Here is the description for "Chants for Three Masses of Christmas":

The album includes the proper chants of the three Masses of Christmas (Midnight; the Mass at dawn and the Mass of the day) as sung at St. Michael's Abbey in Orange County, California. After all the centuries, these chants retain their sacramental quality, their supple vigor and the ability to dispose the soul for the contemplation of God and His Mysteries.

It's reassuring to know that I still have much to learn from the Norbertine Fathers. Praise God for them.

(Oh, and for the high-school aged out there, they also run a renown college prepatory school.)

What seminarians are reading: "Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood"

The author, I'm proud to say, is a teacher of mine.

From the Dominican Friars blog:

"If you want to know what seminarians are reading in their spare time these days, one needs to look at a book by Fr. Basil Cole, O.P. — a professor of Moral and Spiritual Theology at the Dominican House of Studies. His recent book The Hidden Enemies of the Priesthood has become something of a rage among seminarians around the country.

Recently, when preaching a retreat for seminarians from all over the country, Fr. Basil learned that many of them were not only reading but recommending to each other his book. He later learned that the former Archbishop of St. Louis, Raymond Burke, purchased and distributed copies for every seminarian in his Archdiocese. The publisher’s first printing of the book ran out some time ago, and it seems the second will do the same. In addition, Dr. Jeff Mirus of CatholicCulture.org gave a very favorable review of the book."

Br. James Brent, OP conducted a helpful interview with Fr. Cole, which I recommend reading. A sample:

What are some of the enemies of the priesthood that you discuss in the book?

Fr. Basil: Two major enemies come to mind: ignorance of the dignity of the gift of priesthood, and pride as the queen of the seven capital vices. Most spiritual authors and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach there are only seven capital vices. Thomas teaches that the seven are lieutenants of the queen. Ignorance of the Queen as the “anti-form” (my terminology) of the vices tends to obscure the deepest enemy of the priest. He may think one or other is his problem but the real problem for all is pride, which governs as it were the other vices.

What are some of the remedies for these ills that you discuss?

Fr. Basil: Contemplation, humility, the prayer of petition done with humility, patience and persistence,together with mercy toward one’s peers and formators.

Read up, young men, and be assured of our prayers!

Priestlessness vs. Sunday Obligation

CanonLawBlog.com:

A news story out of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska describes an upcoming "priestless Sunday" wherein priests will be away from their parishes to serve remote missions, leaving their parishioners without Sunday Mass that weekend. I can see arguments for and against this unusual action and I don't think that outsiders are in a position to conclusively support or reject the basic idea.

One point in the news article, however, needs to be corrected: After noting that Communion services will be celebrated in most parishes left without pastors, the article asserts that such services are "not Mass but will satisfy the Catholic obligation to attend Mass."

That's wrong. (See why.)

Drudge notes "Men becoming priests at mid-life"

Internet news rainmaker DrudgeReport.com noted this article by Pantagraph: "Men becoming priests at mid-life". I'm happy that this trend is gaining visibiliy:

In what he calls his past life, the Rev. Geoffrey Horton worked at a Bloomington-Normal insurance company, coached a women’s softball team, owned a home and invested in a 401K.

Although life was good, Horton, 43, felt something was missing. In May, he found his calling as a newly ordained Roman Catholic priest.

“I became a priest for the only reason anyone should ever become a priest, because I felt that’s what God was asking of me,” said Horton, currently assigned at a church in Peoria.

There's much to comment on hear, as well as about the topic in general. But sadly, current obligations dictate that I have to shut down blogger and prepare for a busy upcoming week for now. So have at it!

Conversion Story: Mark Rutherford

Priest to hold "online" nun beauty pageant

Someone completely missed the reason why nuns wear habits:

An Italian priest says he is organising the world's first beauty pageant for nuns to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.

Antonio Rungi says The Miss Sister Italy online contest will start on his blog in September.

"Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

He is asking nuns to send their photos to him, saying that internet users will then choose the winner.

Father Rungi stressed that nuns were not being invited to parade in bathing suits, saying it will be up to them whether they pose with the traditional veil or with their heads uncovered.

"This contest will be a way to show there isn't just the beauty we see on television but also a more discreet charm," the priest, who lives near the southern city of Naples, told the Corriere della Sera.

"You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad? This isn't the case anymore," he said, pointing out that many young nuns had arrived to Italy from around the world.
He added that the idea of staging such a contest had been suggested by nuns themselves. (BBC News)

I'm all about addressing false stereotypes of nuns, but a beauty pageant isn't the best way to do it.

Picture: Awesome Vocations Poster

From the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh (click for full-size version):

update: More information at the Roman Catholic Vocations blog.

Ph/t: WDTPRS.

Interview: 3 Priorities for Promoting Vocations (especially among young women)

This is the sort of person one should listen to on this topic, a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia (commonly known simply as the "Nashville Dominicans"), which are the powerhouse vocations community for religious sisters in the United States:

There are three high priorities in fostering vocations to the religious and priestly life, said a Dominican sister with 15 years of experience in vocational work.

Sister Catherine Marie Hopkins is now the executive director of the Dominican Campus in Nashville where the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia own and operate Overbrook School, St. Cecilia Academy and Aquinas College.

Recently named a member of the U.S. bishops' national advisory council, Sister Hopkins suggests the three highest priorities in fostering vocations: education, sacramental devotion and youth ministry that exposes young people to both prayer and evangelization.

Her personal vocation story, briefly:

Q: You worked for 15 years as vocation director for your order. What was the key to finding your own vocation? Did your own experience help you to aid other women in discerning theirs?

Sister Hopkins: The key to finding my own vocation was the realization that God had the plan and I just needed to discover exactly what that plan was. It began with inner turmoil at the thought that God could ask such a thing of me, but I very quickly found out that if he were calling, everything that I needed in order to respond would be provided by him as well.

That brought me tremendous freedom and my turmoil was replaced by a very strong attraction. [Read on.]

Also do checkout their daughter community, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I had the privledge of studying with some of these young women. I also came across them many times on the campuses of other, secular institutions. They are such a public, living witness in their full Dominican habits, rosaries, smiles and backpacks full of books!

The latest Reality TV phenomenon? A french seminarian.

Not sure how I feel about this:

The French love of reality programmes encompasses the music talent show Star Academy, match-making for lonely rural farmers and a polite version of Wife Swap - On a echangé nos mamans. But now the French Catholic church has jumped on the bandwagon with a show about priests that has become an internet phenomenon.

The diocese of Besançon in eastern France has launched Prêtre Academy - Priest Academy - to mark its first ordination of a new local priest for three years.

In episodes available online, viewers can watch the new recruit, Franck Ruffiot, 30, demonstrate how he prays, pay a visit to trendy contemporary artist friend and explain his feelings in a diary room. Two slightly older priests, Michel and Christophe, are followed in their daily lives.

The online show began as a marketing drive to reach young people as the church struggles with declining numbers - each year 500 priests retire or die in France while only 100 recruits join the clergy. But the short episodes showing the priests' somewhat mundane local lives have become a kind of light-hearted cult viewing online, with the first two instalments netting more than150,000 hits and the final episode due this week. (UK Guardian)

Purient interest or authentic fascination?

I want you .... for priestly service

Okay, I'm waiting for the vocations poster (a la Uncle Sam):

Four weeks into his new job, Fr. John McLaughlin says that that his position as the first national vocations director for the Archdiocese of the Military has so far been “a pleasurable experience.”

“The military personnel have been very welcoming,” he told CNA, adding that he has “met great service people” who are interest in the priesthood.

Early this month, Father McLaughlin, 50, left St. Monica Parish in Methuen, Massachusetts to become the first national vocations director for the Archdiocese of the Military, located in Washington, D.C. The Associated Press reports that in the new position, the priest will travel to bases around the U.S. “speaking to troops about following a commitment to their country with commitment to their religion.” (CNA)

Seriously - make it, and I'll post it.

Cardinal Mahony ordains 12 men to the priesthood in LA

And has some, well, good things to say to them.

It's a small encouragement to me. One of my friends is considering becoming a seminarian in LA.

Picture: Curt Jester's hilarious vocations poster

Better than the ones I'm used to seeing....

Go see the other ones (and complement him on his snazzy new template while you're at it!).

Media: Vocations video from America's largest college seminary

St. John Vianney is the largest college seminary in the USA (150+ men). I have many friends studying there now. Some of the students and priests have just released a high-quality video introduction to "SJV":

Part 1:

Part 2:

Feel free to pass these vidoes along (with a tip to AmP, if you please).

More about the project: One of my friends tells me that it was put together over the course of this school year, to explain what a college seminary is and promote vocations, especially to men in highschool.

Video: 1964 Dominican Vocations Film

What better way to start your day?

Some of these clips were filmed at the Dominican House of Studies, where I attend classes and work now:



Excerpts from "And the world looks at us", a 1964 Dominican Province of Saint Joseph vocation film written by Fr. Dominic Rover, O.P., and narrated by Dana Elcar. The original film was 28 min in length. The scenes included here were filmed at St. Stephen Priory in Dover, MA, the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., and St. Dominic Church, Washington, D.C. From the archives of the Dominican Theological Library at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C. - DHS Priory YouTube Channel

Of course, this isn't just history.