RECENTLY a new priest joined our presbyterate. In one of the most memorable liturgies that I have ever participated in, Jim McKeon was ordained a priest. Those present were moved, inspired and excited by the liturgy, and felt part of something that expressed an essential reality of our Catholic faith.
I'm sure that all there were prompted to reflect on the importance of the priesthood in our Catholic way of life. In recent decades there have been a number of factors that have influenced attitudes to the priest: the rediscovery of the role of the laity, the development of other ministries in the Church, changing standards of professionalism and scandals. These have tended to cloud the importance of the priesthood, despite the lives of many committed priests whose witness has not succeeded in preventing these influences shaping public understanding of the priesthood.
The priesthood is central to our Catholic way of life, and it provides a unique presence of Jesus within the Catholic community. Jesus is present in many ways, each of them important. His presence in the ordained minister is one of leadership, which finds expression in proclaiming the Word and celebrating the sacraments.
There are Catholic communities that have had to live without the presence of such leadership. However, such communities lack an important aspect of our Catholic way of life. The decreasing number of priests has also affected our attitude to priesthood. Planning has sometimes been built around dividing the number of priests into the number of parishes and making changes accordingly. I believe such an approach can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to look ahead to the number of priests we need to care for our communities and work to draw younger and older men to the priesthood. We need to have faith that this can be done. We all have a responsibility in this area. Someone said to me recently that in terms of vocations to the priesthood all the "ask-ers" are gone. Those who used to bring the priesthood before appropriate candidates are either not there to do it or have changed their attitudes to priesthood.
The religious sisters and brothers who promoted vocations are no longer in our schools to fulfil that role. Many parents, who in a previous time would have encouraged their sons to the priesthood, now have reservations and at times would discourage them.
Some priests who have been influenced by changing attitudes to priesthood are less confident about inviting appropriate candidates to the ordained ministry. I believe that if we are to have the ordained ministers we need, we must all become "ask-ers". If we are convinced of the importance of this ordained ministry in our community, we must all be ready to keep it before likely candidates. This takes a conscious effort, and we need to resolve to do it.
|
