U.S. Shortage of Catholic Priests

Here are a few comments not based on sociological and statistical analyses, but from one of the 10 newly ordained priests ordained for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles this past year.

From the days of our Lord Jesus the harvest has been plenty and laborers few. The crisis of priestly vocations cannot be illustrated solely by statistics of retirement, attrition and recruitment. Rather, the crisis needs more accurately to be located in Western cultures that do not esteem or nourish commitment, sacrifice and faith. In other words, maybe we are receiving the number of priests that we deserve.

True Christian renewal in Catholic parishes, especially as centered on the Eucharist, will inevitably nourish and support vocations in the church. Quick fixes of changing vocational and formational requirements, such as celibacy, will prove illusory. Most priestly and lay vocations originate from active, alive Christian families and parishes.

The sounder, but more challenging, path is the interior one: a church willing to give birth to new vocations by investing personal and communal resources in reform and spiritual growth. By its fruit you shall know the tree.

FATHER LARRY BECK

Glendora