Religious Vocations and the Pandemic
One has to wonder if some of the confusion and fallout of the Coronavirus will fall on the priesthood itself. With parishes shut down for so long or turned into shadows of their former selves, there is very little talk of a vibrant priesthood or healthy religious life. What young person would want to join what they have very little contact with? Although we know there were many deficiencies in the Church at the height of the pandemic, there were also inspiring, and heroic actions carried out by not just a few of our sacred clergy. Many of them turned out to hear “open air” confessions seven days a week, arrange adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and console so many.
Due to aging and declining numbers, many priests are either overworked or struggling with being turned into functionaries, having to implement secular rules imposed on them and their people during this pandemic, which have driven divisions into their own communities.
On the larger scale of the Church, even more divisions abound, the pagan culture runs roughshod over religious instruction and practice, churches are being burned down, and the voice of the enemy echoes off the very walls of our Church. Inside the Church, it seems as though the priests who uphold orthodoxy are the ones getting ostracized and disciplined while the dissenters run rampant over Church doctrine with impunity.
The priests and religious have a vital mission of saving souls, and that mission is being encumbered at every turn today. Where will we be a generation from now if we don’t have competent and zealous sacred vocations to serve our Church?
It is our duty to be the Faithful Echo of the Church’s traditional esteem for its own religious who sacrifice their lives for the good of the flock – for us! Remember: no priest, no Eucharist. No religious, no religious instruction and encouragement.
We must pray regularly in thanksgiving and support for the good priests and religious who are generously serving on the front lines of the Church today. They have a tough job and need our spiritual support! Not only that, but we must also remember to pray constantly for an increase of vibrant and orthodox vocations to the priesthood and religious life. God will always provide shepherds for His flock, but only when the flock itself prays for them, humbly acknowledging our need for their essential services and roles in getting our souls to heaven!
Take a moment today to do two things:
- Call to mind a holy priest or nun who helped you at some point in your spiritual journey and say a prayer of thanksgiving for that generous soul (whether living or deceased); pray that his or her good example may continue to have an impact on the lives and souls of many others; also
- Pray the Prayer for Vocations below and “beg the lord of the harvest to send workers into his vineyard” (Matthew 9:32-38). And pray that He will send not just any religious vocations to us – pray that He will send us saints!
Prayer for Vocations
Heavenly Father, Lord of the harvest, call forth vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life from our diocese and our families. Inspire men to imitate Christ the Eternal High Priest in sacrificial service to Your Church.
Move the hearts of men and women to offer themselves wholly to You in poverty, chastity, and obedience. Send them as laborers for Your harvest.
Inspire the faithful to support them with prayer and sacrifice. Raise up holy families who foster openness to Your call. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Your Fellow Rosary Warrior in Christ,
Thomas McKenna
Founder and President
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