Priests

Dear Brothers:
Welcome to our Diocesan/Vocation Web Page. We hope to provide you with the latest information on vocation awareness activities in the Diocese and around the Midwest.

Thank you for all your help in the work of sharing in the ministry of Jesus and being an echo of his voice calling others to the priesthood.

May God bless your efforts.
Father Chris

Vocation Research
How important is it to call to priesthood?
Psychotherapist and author Robert Furey, who works at St. Michael's community in St. Louis, told me of his findings. He has talked with many, many priests. In their stories he has usually found that these priests relate the time and place when another person called them to think about priesthood. It was as if God sent a personal prophet to relay the call. He has not found this in other vocations he has studied. You might be that personal prophet for another. Let the Spirit guide you.

Ask and you shall receive!
I wasn’t in a parish long before I learned how to waste a lot of time. I used to think if I put something in the bulletin I would get tons of responses. So, I put in the bulletin all kinds of requests for this and for that. Guess what? No response. Then I thought, “Well, if I invite help from the altar, I’ll get lots of help. Dumb idea! Nothing happened. So eventually, I asked one-on-one for help with teaching, liturgy, finance, etc. WALLA! Results. “Ask and receive.”

“Ask and receive” works for vocations too. Bulletin announcements are not effective. Pulpit invitations are o.k. but not convincing. What is most effective for vocations is one-on-one, personal asking and inviting. Direct asking is the difference between the lame, “Come on over sometime.”, and the powerful, “We are having a family gathering on the 14th, sure would be nice to have you join us. Can you make it?” The first invitation is worthless. The second is convincing.

“Ask and you shall receive.” A quick course in how to invite to priesthood or religious life: First of all, invite. “Have you ever thought of being a priest or religious?”
Don’t worry about the answer. If the person says “yes”, you say, “Good because you have great gifts.” Then you speak about the gifts they have that impress you. If they say, “no”, don’t be thrown off or discouraged. You just say, “Well, you know, I think it would be good to think about it because you have some great things going for you. Then, you once again speak of the talents which they possess.
Talent for priesthood and religious life is everywhere. It is up to us on the local level of our family, and parish to see the talent before us, to reveal it to those who have it, and invite them. A great project for Lent would be to invite at least two people to consider a vocation to priesthood or religious life. Now go for it!