Over two hundred forty vocation directors from the United States, Canada, Australia, England, and Scotland gathered last week for a conference sponsored by the National Convention of Diocesan Vocation Directors in Long Island. The newbies like me attended a three day session before the formal conference began to learn from experienced vocation directors. It was encouraging to meet so many priests, most of them young, who have been given the responsibility of encouraging men and women to open their hearts to answer’s God’s call.
Archbishop Jorge Carlos Patron Wong, Secretary for Seminaries of the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome, presented Pope Francis’ vision for seminary formation. The Pope has charged Archbishop Patron Wong to create a “culture of encounter” among seminarians preparing for the priesthood. Consistent with the Pope’s own actions throughout his Papacy, this means that future priests must be prepared with a missionary spirit that moves towards having an encounter with others. The archbishop stated that “seminarians must first become good men and faithful Christians, only then will they be apt to become good shepherds.”
The conference created many opportunities to build fraternity among the attendees. I had the opportunity to reconnect with friends from seminary, exchange ideas, meet other vocation directors and learn about programs offered by the many vendors present. Having a good sense of humor is a desired quality in priests and in men considering the priesthood, so at these gatherings laughter is never absent.
The primacy of prayer in vocation work was stressed and practiced throughout the conference. Every day the schedule included a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament, communal prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass. Prayer is the fabric that underlies all vocation work. From prayers offered by the people of God so God may send holy priests, to the individual prayer offered by a young man who is considering the priesthood, we are all invited to pray. We are blessed in our diocese with the frequent praying of our diocesan vocations prayer at many parishes and the ability to pray for our seminarians by name every day.
Prayer is where our relationship with Jesus unfolds and is strengthened. From this relationship flows our identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters, and this identity moves us into action. If there is no prayer, our identity will be weak and we will not know in what direction to point our lives. When it comes to discerning God’s will, there is one person who desperately wants to tell us God’s will in our lives: God Himself. We must seek Him in prayer and strengthen our relationship with Him there. All pressure or anxiety regarding the finding of one’s vocation disappears when one leads a life of prayer since it is there, in prayer, that God pours out His love and manifests His will.
Cardinal Edwin O’Brien asserted that “men will give up their lives to a mystery, not to a question mark.” Prayer keeps the mystery of Jesus Christ always fresh and never allows it to turn into a murky, questioning reality. Prayer lifts up our minds and hearts to God who joyfully fills our lives with His loving presence, allowing each one of us to respond to His call.
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