“Make no small plans”
Building a New Vocations Culture in Canada

Keynote Address
National Conference of Canadian Diocesan Vocation Directors
St. Mary’s University – Halifax, Nova Scotia   June 6, 2006

Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B.,
C.E.O., Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
Master of Scholastics, Congregation of St. Basil

Your Excellencies,
Brother Priests,

Thank you for your kind invitation to deliver the keynote address at the National Conference of Canadian Diocesan Vocation Directors.  This national gathering is one of the first fruits of the Continental Vocations Congress that was held in Montreal in April 2002 and of the World Youth Day held in Toronto that same year.  The winter is giving way to a new springtime of vocations in Canada and the seeds sown during those two great events begin to blossom in our barren land!

Today I address this assembly of Canadian Diocesan clergy and vocation directors as a member of a Religious Congregation – as one who is very interested in and concerned about vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  The Basilian Fathers were born in 1822 and our roots are in the diocesan priesthood of France in the aftermath of the French Revolution.  From the very beginning of our Basilian existence, we have been keenly interested in the formation of priests, and we have enjoyed close relations with diocesan priests and local churches wherever we have been in the world.

You have asked me to share with you my own vocational story.  As I reflect back, I can say that it is a result of the home environment of a large Italian—American Catholic family and the wonderful influence of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, New York where I grew up.  My vocation was nurtured by very fine diocesan parish priests, several great bishops, as well as two outstanding Basilian priests.  It’s not that at one point in my life “I found God” and that was it.  Rather, at one moment in my life, I decided that God would be worth searching for the rest of my life.  I wanted to serve the Church.  I decided to spend the rest of my life taking my baptismal promises seriously in the context of the Basilian Fathers, a community of priests dedicated to the work of Evangelization and Education in the Roman Catholic Church.  The motto of our religious congregation is inspired by Psalm 119:  “Teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge”  – a lifelong lesson, plea and quest.”

For the past twenty years of priestly life, and several years before that in religious community, I have taught, ministered to and worked closely with young people.  Since 1990 I have lectured in Scripture at the Faculty of Theology of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto and for four years at St. Peter’s Seminary in London.  Both opportunities brought me into close contact with candidates for priestly ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. 

From 1994-2000, I served as Pastor of the Newman Centre Catholic Mission at the University of Toronto.  The four-year adventure that was World Youth Day 2002 allowed me to work closely with young people, their ordained and lay pastoral leaders from every diocese, ecclesial movement and church group in this country and in over 150 countries of the world. 

In addition to my current work with the Salt and Light Catholic Television Network in Canada, my religious congregation has entrusted me with the oversight of our seminary formation community – Frassati House – in Toronto for the past three years.  Throughout all of these experiences, I have come to witness first hand the challenges, graces and blessings of vocational, priestly and pastoral ministry in the church today. 

I am particularly grateful for the many experiences of preaching retreats and study days to groups of diocesan and religious priests in English and French speaking Canada and in the United States.  More than any other experience, these retreat moments have revealed to me the heart of the priesthood.

I would like to share with you some reflections on our unique, priestly formation work in the Lord’s vineyard, especially the dimension that is at the “front end of the operation” i.e., vocational promotion.  Consider these reflections as part of the “big picture” of the vocation question, rather than details and specifics.  Other workshops during this fine conference will address the specifics.  I will consider the following areas:

•        the contemporary scene in Canada and in the world
•        the crisis of fatherhood, paternity and sexual identity
•        the crisis of ideologies
•        the impact of Pope John Paul II on this generation of young people
•        the significance of World Youth Days for vocational promotion
•        the Pontificate and teaching of Pope Benedict XVI
•        moving beyond statistics toward a trajectory of hope
•        some biblical and ecclesial lenses for Vocation Ministry today

The world scene

From what kind of world and society will new vocations come forth in the contemporary church?  Pope John Paul II spoke these thought provoking words to the crowd of 600,000+ young people gathered at Downsview Park Toronto on Saturday evening July 27, 2002 during the Great Vigil of World Youth Day:

“The new millennium opened with two contrasting scenarios: one, the sight of multitudes of pilgrims coming to Rome during the Great Jubilee to pass through the Holy Door which is Christ, our Savior and Redeemer; and the other, the terrible terrorist attack on New York, an image that is a sort of icon of a world in which hostility and hatred seem to prevail.

The question that arises is dramatic: on what foundations must we build the new historical era that is emerging from the great transformations of the twentieth century? Is it enough to rely on the technological revolution now taking place, which seems to respond only to criteria of productivity and efficiency, without reference to the individual’s spiritual dimension or to any universally shared ethical values? Is it right to be content with provisional answers to the ultimate questions, and to abandon life to the impulses of instinct, to short-lived sensations or passing fads?”

There could not be more fitting images to describe the awesome background or backdrop of our vocational and priestly formation work in the Church. Young people today are living in a world that is suffering from tremendous pain and loss.  The striking images evoked by the Pope remain engraved on people’s memories.  Terrorism, along with ethnic and religious divisions, generates violence that seems to have no end. Economic insecurity raises collective anxieties.  We are lost, forgetful, without roots, and blinded to the lessons of history. 

The church is suffering as well.  In the American Church, particularly, the scandal of sexual misconduct on the part of priests and religious and the failure of some bishops and religious superiors to adequately respond to this crisis has scarred the church and raised profound and fundamental questions about its moral leadership.  We have all suffered in some way because of this scandal.

Against this background Christians and Catholics need to recover the depth, beauty and vastness of the Church’s mission. This is not a time for hesitation or retreat.  We need to keep the arena large. I have had the privilege of meeting and working with many young men and women who are seeking something vast, something transcendent, to which to commit themselves. 

There are several significant crises before us that form the backdrop of vocations ministry today.  I list but a few below.  

The crisis of fatherhood and paternity

We must take seriously the crisis of fatherhood in the world.  The present challenges to fatherhood cannot be understood in isolation from the culture in which we live.  Many people today ask whether fathers are really necessary or even desirable for the raising of children. In spite of the convictions of some that the absent father's role can be assumed by the mother herself, or by other male influences, the effect of fatherlessness on children is deeply alarming.  And this is affecting today’s candidates for the priesthood and religious life in no small way.  I have witnessed the vestiges of this crisis in many candidates to the priesthood and religious life.

In his 1964 drama, “Radiation of Fatherhood”, Karol Wojtyla suggested that becoming a father meant being"conquered by love," which liberates us from the "terrible" (and terribly false) freedom of self-absorption. To be conquered by love in this way is to be liberated in the deepest sense of human freedom: for only in "the radiation of fatherhood...does everything become fully real."

This is the heart of John Paul II's paternity for so many young people today: in a world of delusions and illusions, he made things "fully real," because his spiritual fatherhood was a reflection of the fatherhood of God.  I am convinced that the young people responded so positively to him because in many cases the old Pope was the father that many of these young people never had and the grandfather they never knew. Pope John Paul II was a great role model for them and for us- teaching what paternity was all about.  He was able to draw such love and loyalty because he embodied paternity in a world increasingly bereft of fatherhood, with its unique combination of strength and mercy.

  Several years ago, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger remarked that, "the crisis of fatherhood we are living today is an element, perhaps the most important, threatening man in his humanity."

The crisis of sexual identity

When the equality of men and women is misread to mean that men and women are essentially the same or interchangeable, we violate common sense. We negate the mystery of sexual difference.  Sexual identity cannot simply be relegated to the demands of political ideology. Sexual differences are real; and they are more than simply physical or simply spiritual. They are grounded in the origins of the human person, for as the book of Genesis says: "male and female God made them."

Another very important issue surfaced last fall in the long-awaited Vatican Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders.  Though contested and flatly disregarded by some, this document is timely in terms of the greater picture of world, cultural, and ecclesial issues.

The instruction is not saying that men of homosexual orientation are not welcome in the priesthood. But it is making clear that they must be capable of affective maturity, have a capacity for celibacy and not share the values of the eroticized gay culture.  We simply cannot underestimate the power and influence of such a culture on people today.  Bishops and religious superiors must ensure that men are not admitted to the priesthood for whom its requirements and demands will be too burdensome or impossible to fulfill.  The question of "affective maturity" in seminaries and formation houses is a very complex one and deserves utmost attention and care.  All priests and candidates for the priesthood need to live lives of celibate chastity, whatever their sexual orientation.  We must live and model  celibacy and chastity that are unambiguous, hopeful, joyful and inviting to others.

The crisis of ideologies

Excessive tensions arising from church politics, gender issues, liturgical practices, language, false interpretations of the Second Vatican Council – all of these influence today's candidates for ordained ministry and religious life in the Church.  Over the past few years, several generous young people discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life have told me that these tensions can lead to a feeling of God’s absence in their lives and in the Church, as well as a clear sign that they donot have a vocation.  This reality must not be dismissed lightly. 

Are we not often stuck today in the Church in an endless argument between devotion and liturgy or in a constant dispute between charity and justice?  This impasse is revealed when devotion is treated as the enemy of liturgy and charity as the betrayer of justice, or when liturgy is reduced to private devotion and justice not recognized as constitutive to the Gospel. 

The grumblings, discontent, cynicism, fatigue, unfair labeling and pigeonholing of others, lack of charity and hope of my generation and older generations rise to fever pitch, and keep us blinded to a new generation of young people who might be much more serious about Church, God and discipleship of Jesus than we are!  Many of my generation do not wish to admit this fact. 

The great tragedy today is that many people in leadership positions in the Church and in religious life are completely out of touch with the younger generation.  With blanket statements often using psychological or sociological jargon, various religious leaders simply dismiss today’s young people as being: “neo-conservative, right-wing, ecclesially dysfunctional, blind, doctrinal, pietistic, theologically illiterate, papal groupies, etc.” 

Ideologues have the ability to silence others with blanket statements, especially when it comes to vocational discernment, and loving Christ and the Church.  How many times have I heard vocation directors and formation directors express fears and even disdain over the pious and devotional practices of today’s generation of young people.  For example many of my generation have responded very negatively to young people’s rediscovery of Eucharistic Adoration and devotion.  Such piety and devotion are not to be downplayed or dismissed, especially in vocational and priestly formation work.  They can indeed become a creative foundation upon which we can build for the future.  Piety and devotion can be springboards to mature faith.

As leaders involved in vocational and priestly formation work in the Church, we should not ignore the crisis, the challenges, the nervousness and the fears that face us here in our own country as we look to the future and the shape of the Church to come.  We must avoid the temptation to run to extremes in times of crisis like our own.  There is a temptation to become fundamentalist and so rigid in doctrine and life that one becomes enclosed, like a hidden garden, or walled castle, so that nobody hears the word except those within.  There is also the temptation to run to the other extreme and become so conformed to the ways and values of the world that sound Church teaching and the truth of the Gospel entrusted to us, will be diluted, distorted and lose its savor.

This world's values are clearly not enough for us -- yet we do not despise them or constantly condemn our culture.  Our culture is the context for mission, and the more we try to analyze and understand it, through the eyes of faith, the less of a problem there will be with our transformation of this culture and the evangelization of those who live in it.  This is our challenge: to belong to two societies at one and the same time; to be in the world and not of it.  How often do we quote the words of John’s Gospel [3:16]: “And God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son.”  Now and then we would do well to consider the world that God so loved.  This world becomes our workshop for transformation and evangelization.

Generation John Paul II

April 2005.  They were incredible scenes that I shall never forget.  Hundreds of thousands of young people streaming into St. Peter's Square…. carrying backpacks, water bottles and iPods, and weeping openly before the body of an old man who preached that restraint was more important than pleasure.  On April 8, 2005, millions more young people gathered in churches, halls and schools throughout Canada and across the face of the earth- many well before the crack of dawn to watch the funeral of someone who told them to serve others before satisfying themselves.

Young people the world over were deeply affected by the death of Pope John Paul II, leaving pastors, pundits and even some parents scratching their heads in confusion. Why would teenagers and young ‘twenty somethings’ feel so close to an old man who told them what to do?  This pope set the bar high, and he lived above it. John Paul II was clear and uncompromising in his expectations of young people, but he was neither condescending nor pedantic in his approach. 

When it comes to religion and youth, the equation goes something like the line in "Field of Dreams": “If we build it, they will come.”  If we don't, they will likely go elsewhere. And too often, elsewhere is a dangerous place.  John Paul II built something for young people, involved them, and loved them in spite of the outward appearances and more often because of them.  

Let us consider six key aspects of Pope John Paul’s incredible impact on young people:

First was the Pope’s repeated message about the radiant splendor of Jesus Christ [Redemptor Hominis] as the unique Lord and Savior of all.  In order to be authentic believers, we must have a deep, personal relationship with Jesus.  Christianity, Catholicism, the Sacraments are not courses, things, ideas, passing fancies, symbols- they are a person and his name is Jesus.  Theology alone, trendy pastoral programs and new age, politically correct jargon will not save us.  Jesus will.

Second was his teaching on human dignity.  Life is an extraordinary adventure, a God-given gift to be cherished, treasured, and protected.  Is it any surprise that so many hundreds of thousands of young people consider themselves to be explicitly pro-life, while their parents are so whimsical and non-committal to the issues of life and death?  

Third, John Paul II helped us to realize that the Church is dying in politically correct places where the Gospel is preached as merely a lifestyle option in a global supermarket of spiritualities without the obligation of belonging to the Church. The Church is thriving where the full Gospel is preached in clarity, charity, piety, devotion -- in its full integrity.  

John Paul II told young people that there is every reason for the truth of the Cross to be called the Good News.  Young people took these words to heart and have carried the Cross around the world for the past twenty years.  We are unlikely to ever forget the scenes and memories of the World Youth Day Cross on its historic, 43,000 kilometer pilgrimage across our own country in 2001 and 2002.
 
Fourth, John Paul II taught us that the adventure of orthodoxy - the challenge of fidelity and integrity, authenticity and solidarity - is what attracts young people today.  Young people don't want to live on the surface.  In a world that constantly panders to the young, a challenging Church, which combines the truth with charity and pastoral care, is a very attractive proposition.  

Fifth, John Paul II issued a clarion call to commitment.  To his young friends he said: "Many and enticing are the voices that call out to you from all sides: many of these voices speak to you of a joy that can be had with money, success, and power.  Mostly they propose a joy that comes with the superficial and fleeting pleasure of the senses."  The alternative call was Jesus' siren song. "He calls you to be the salt and light of the world, to live in justice, to become instruments of love and peace." The choice was stark, self-denying, life-defining, and irrevocable.  It was between, "good and evil, between light and darkness, between life and death."  There were no shortcuts or compromises for John Paul II, only clarity.  And that is what the young are seeking today, not quick answers but Gospel clarity.  

Sixth.  The Pope reminded us that the heroes the world offers to young people today are terribly flawed.  They leave us so empty.  The world today and especially young people have the increasing need of the fascinating lives of the saints and blesseds.  During his Pontificate, Pope John Paul II has certainly helped us to rediscover these heroes and heroines in our tradition- in fact, he has beatified 1338 women and men, and canonized 480 Saints.  How often do we hold up the lives of the saints and blessed as the real heroes and heroines for young people today?  We have so much to learn from them.

Finally, one of the most profound lessons that John Paul II taught us in the twilight of his Pontificate was that everyone must suffer, even the Vicar of Christ.  Rather than hide his infirmities, as most public figures do, he let the whole world see what he went through.  In a youth-obsessed culture in which people are constantly urged to fight or deny the ravages of time, age, disease, he reminded us that aging and suffering are a natural part of being human.  

The phenomenon of World Youth Days

The phenomenon of World Youth Day has become a powerful seedbed for vocations to the priesthood, consecrated life, and lay ecclesial ministries.  Whether it is because those who have already sensed a call choose to attend World Youth Day out of their strong faith life, or because World Youth Day awakens young adults for the first time to the special call of God, World Youth Day can be a moment of life-changing discernment.

Any one of the diverse experiences of WYD may be the occasion for insight into one's vocation. For some young adults, it might be the challenge of the Holy Father to live out the Gospel in a radical way. For others, it might be meeting a particular priest, sister, brother, or consecrated layperson. Some may be touched by the preaching of the catechesis workshops or by participation in the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist or Reconciliation. Some may not know what exactly inspired thoughts of dedicating themselves to God as a priest or consecrated person, but just know that they have this thought on their minds and in their hearts.

Such thoughts may be only temporary. In the emotional "high" of WYD, one may feel an impulse to give everything to God as a priest or religious. The feelings may pass within a month or two.  But many other cases may truly reflect a calling from God. For these young adults, the process may be alternately exhilarating, scary, peaceful, and depressing. Support given by fellow young adults can be enormously helpful at this point.  The World Youth Day Vocation Harvest is underway now throughout Canada and elsewhere.
In working with Catholic young adults, we have a responsibility to broach the subject of priestly, religious, and lay ministry vocations with openness and sensitivity. In a world in which these vocations are little understood, speaking about them in a positive forum can be a way of letting young adults know all the life options which are open to them and to which God may be calling them.

How have our vocational strategies addressed these important questions flowing from the international experiences of World Youth Days?  How often do we raise these reflection questions with young people who have returned from World Youth Days?

1.  Did you meet any young priests, seminarians, and religious at World Youth Day? If so, how were they like you in spirit, attitude, or life? How were they dissimilar to you?

2.  Have you ever asked God what He wants you to do with your life? If yes, what has God said? If not, are there any reasons why you have not asked? 

3.  How do those with vocations to the priesthood or consecrated life in the Church affect your faith life? What support can you give to these men and women who have given their lives to Christ in this way?

4.  How can full-time lay ecclesial ministers participate and aid in the work of the Church?

Through World Youth Days and reinvigorated youth and young adult pastoral ministry in the universal Church, John Paul II unleashed something totally new, unthinkable some 25 years ago!  The reality of that new thing is just beginning to sink into our minds, hearts, churches and religious congregations.  Many still remain resistant to or ignorant of the power and dynamic that has been unleashed in the Church through the phenomenon of World Youth Days.

One of the significant contributions of World Youth Day 2002 to the universal Church and to young people throughout the world was the highly successful Vocations Pavilion at Exhibition Place.  The security personnel informed us that 50-55,000 young people visited the pavilion each day for the week of World Youth Day 2002.  Many Vocation Directors from dioceses and religious congregations wrote to commend us for the vocational dimension of World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.

The Cologne World Youth Day 2005 missed out on a wonderful opportunity to give witness to vocations in not having a similar pavilion last summer in Germany.  I am happy to say that the Australian organizing committee for WYD 2008 is following the example of Toronto, especially for the Vocation Pavilion, the pilgrimage of the World Youth Day Cross, and the magnificent, historic Way of the Cross through downtown Toronto.

Let us ask the Servant of God Pope John Paul II to pray for us and intercede for us, and especially for the young people who found in him a father, a grandfather, a teacher and a demanding friend who loved them.  May those same young people find in us a rock, a shelter, a harbor, a home, and a possible lifetime of service in the Church today.

The Teaching of Pope Benedict XVI

Let me offer a few observations about our new Pope Benedict XVI, this great theologian and humble laborer in the Lord’s vineyard!  Never in the past century has the choice of a pontiff been spoken about in a language so critical, clear and sharp. He has been labeled a conservative.  At the last Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica the day the Conclave began, the Cardinal re-proposed his agenda with the words of the apostle Paul: the goal is that of “being adults in the faith,” and not “children in a state of guardianship, tossed about by the waves and carried here and there by every wind of doctrine.”  He warned about “a dictatorship of relativism which recognizes nothing as definitive and leaves as the ultimate standard one’s own personality and desires.”  Against this “deceit of men,” Ratzinger opposed the principle and said that “we have, instead, a different standard: the Son of God, the true man,” who is also “the standard of true humanism” and “the criterion for discerning between the true and the false, between deception and truth.”

 “We must foster the maturity of this adult faith; we must guide the flock of Christ to this faith.” And it doesn’t matter if “having a clear faith according to the Church’s creed is frequently labeled fundamentalism.”  Over the years, accusations of fundamentalism have been heaped upon this German theologian who today is the head of the Catholic Church.
One of Cardinal Ratzinger’s favourite models was Saint Charles Borromeo, the archbishop of Milan who, after the Council of Trent, did nothing less than reconstruct the Catholic Church, which was almost destroyed in the area around Milan as well, without returning to the Middle Ages to do so; on the contrary, he created a modern form of the Church.

Today the transformations in civilization are no less epochal, in Ratzinger’s eyes. The culture that has established itself in Europe “constitutes the most radical possible contradiction, not only of Christianity, but also of the religious traditions of humanity,” he argued last year on April 1, 2005 at Subiaco, at his last public conference during the reign of John Paul II. And therefore the Church must react with all the courage it can muster, not conforming itself to the times, not falling to its knees before the world, but “bringing, with holy consternation, the gift of faith to all, the gift of friendship with Christ.”  Cardinal Ratzinger ended his opening Conclave homily on April 18 in Saint Peter’s Basilica by invoking a world “changed from a vale of tears to the garden of God.” 

The gap between caricature and reality was evident when the world saw and heard the real Cardinal Ratzinger deliver his remarkable, moving homily at the funeral of his predecessor, John Paul II.  The gap widened more when we heard the Dean of the College of Cardinals address his brother Cardinals at the beginning of the Conclave.  And now the gap slowly disappears when we see the German Cardinal “watchdog-turned-shepherd” wear the pallium, the ring and the shoes of the fisherman, and speak to millions and millions of people through profound words and gestures of kindness, humility, great humanity and crystal clarity.  

His exercise of the papal office is in many ways far more traditional than that of his predecessor, John Paul II, who made a career out of shattering antique norms.  Yet at 79, with nothing left to prove, never facing reelection, and carrying an enormous burden he never sought, Benedict exhibits a remarkable interior freedom by the standards of major world leaders.  Is it any wonder that so many young adults are members of the “Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club?” Many brother priests, theological and scripture colleagues, and “illuminated” pastoral workers have expressed to me utter disgust and disbelief in this phenomenon!

As you may know, Pope Benedict XVI is receiving the Canadian Bishops throughout this year for their “Ad Limina” Visits.  On May 11, he addressed the Bishops of Quebec, touching upon the important themes of pluralism, subjectivism and increasing secularization that are present in Quebec culture.  The Pope said in his concluding address to the Quebec Bishops:

"Apart from the drop in the number of priests which at times makes it impossible to celebrate Sunday Mass in certain places, what is particularly worrying is the place occupied by sacramentality in the life of the Church. The requirements of pastoral organization must not compromise authentic ecclesiology. ... The central role of the priest - who 'in persona Christi capitis,' teaches, sanctifies and rules the community - must not be diminished." 

"The importance of the role of the laity, for whose generosity in serving Christian communities I am most grateful, must never obscure the absolutely irreplaceable ministry of priests in the life of the Church. Consequently, priestly ministry cannot be entrusted to others without effectively prejudicing the very authenticity of the Church's being. Moreover, how will young men want to become priests if the role of ordained ministry is not clearly defined and recognized?

Despite these problems, "the thirst for renewal perceptible in the faithful is a sign of hope," said Pope Benedict, and he went on to refer to  "the positive impact" on young Canadians of World Youth Day, celebrated in Toronto in 2002, and of the Year of the Eucharist, which awoke a fresh interest in Eucharistic adoration.”

The Pope then went on to thank Canadian institutes of consecrated life for the "apostolic and spiritual commitment of their members," highlighting how "consecrated life is a gift of God benefiting the entire Church and serving life in the world." Hence, it must take place in a context of "solid ecclesial communion." On this subject, Benedict XVI invited consecrated men and women "to work ever more closely with pastors, welcoming and spreading Church doctrine in all its integrity."

On May 20, during his meeting with the Bishops of the Atlantic Region, Pope Benedict XVI said:

 “Additionally you have with good reason underlined the fine contribution of Religious Sisters and Brothers to the mission of the Church. This deep appreciation of consecrated life is rightly accompanied by your concern for the decline in Religious vocations in your country. A renewed clarity is needed to articulate the particular contribution of Religious to the life of the Church: a mission to make the love of Christ present in the midst of humanity.  Such clarity will give rise to a new kairos, with Religious confidently reaffirming their calling and, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, proposing afresh to young people the ideal of consecration and mission. I again assure Religious Priests, Brothers and Sisters of the vital witness they provide by placing themselves without reserve in the hands of Christ and of the Church, as a strong and clear proclamation of God’s presence in a way understandable to our contemporaries.”

Last week during his pastoral visit to Poland, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the monks, nuns, seminarians and representatives of ecclesial movements, at the historic Jasna Góra Marian shrine.  The Holy Father said:  

 “At the moment of your religious profession or promises, faith led you to a total adherence to the mystery of the Heart of Jesus, whose treasures you have discovered. You then renounced such good things as disposing freely of your life, having a family, acquiring possessions, so as to be free to give yourselves without reserve to Christ and to his Kingdom. Do you remember your enthusiasm when you began the pilgrimage of the consecrated life, trusting in the grace of God? Try not to lose this first fervor, and let Mary lead you to an ever fuller adherence. Dear men and women religious, dear consecrated persons! Whatever the mission entrusted to you, whatever cloistered or apostolic service you are engaged in, maintain in your hearts the primacy of your consecrated life. Let it renew your faith. The consecrated life, lived in faith, unites you closely to God, calls forth charisms and confers an extraordinary fruitfulness to your service.”

          Benedict’s prophetic words have been accompanied by simple, profound gestures that have endeared him to the younger generation.

Beyond Statistics to a Trajectory of Hope

Many of us in the Church today feel like we are caught in a flash flood that is unexpected, powerful, destructive and filled with much despair.  The refrain sounds all too familiar:  “Vocations are down, scandals are up. Problems are more and more complex, and demands are increasing. Complaints are more frequent and more strident.  No one is listening to us anymore.  And the list goes on and on…

The media exerts a powerful influence on the thinking, the attitudes and the faith of people.   This flash flood bears down with immense force on all of us.  Some view our present situation with great pessimism and grow disheartened, depressed, and even cynical.  Some don't want to admit what is happening and go whistling in the dark, clinging to the illusion that things definitively past can be recovered and the claims of the present ignored. Others look at it all only from the data of sociology, from polls and predictions, and foresee an inevitable, almost deterministic future designed more or less by social and economic forces, a future which is dismal and dark.

For the world of sound bites, hope usually means that we make ourselves believe that everything is going to turn out all right.  We use the word hope lightly and cheaply.  This is not the hope of Christians.  We must be icons of hope, people with a new vision, people that learn to see the world through the lenses of Christ and the Church, and bring to the Church the lessons of the world.  We can do nothing unless we choose to walk with the Church, breathe with the Church, hope with the Church, feel with the Church “sentire cum ecclesiae.”  To do otherwise is simply to choose death.  Polls, petitions, charts, demographic diagrams and elaborate reports are not a substitute for a new, ecclesial vision.  They are not a substitute for leadership rooted in faith in Jesus Christ and energized by the forces of biblical and ecclesial hope. 

We cannot weigh the life of faith and judge the vitality of the church chiefly on the basis of sociological indicators, numbers, polls, and outside statistics, as helpful as they may appear to be.  Rather, we must shape our vision on the firm conviction in the victory of the Cross and in Christ’s triumph over sin and death.

Because we live in this xairos, the “appointed time and hour” of history, we cannot speak of the future of the Church, the future of our parish community, the future of our dioceses and seminaries, the future of our religious orders, the future of our activities of evangelization, indeed the future of anything!  The only real issue for us is Jesus and the future of the Church, Jesus and the future of our parish community, Jesus and the future of our dioceses and religious communities, Jesus and the future of our programs and activities, Jesus and the future of everything!  Too often our look at the future is purely scientific or sociological, with no reference to Jesus, the Gospel or the action of the Spirit in history and in the church.

Biblical and Ecclesial Lenses and Images for Vocation Ministry

What is required of those entrusted with vocation ministry and religious and priestly formation work in the Church today is to think big, and to cast out the nets into the deep.  I remember the famous advice of architect Daniel Burnham to Chicago’s city planners a century ago: “Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood.”  Unfortunately many have made some very small and meager plans for our futures.  We must learn how to think big!  “Duc in altum!”.  Now is not the time to think small, to retreat, to bemoan losses, closures, failures and deaths.  Something new is happening in the Church, and especially in the lives of young people who are the new disciples and apostles in waiting!

The Gospel must be proclaimed anew with confidence, enthusiasm, and with gratitude for its proven beauty.  Jesus understood his sense of mission in terms of “reaching out and drawing in,” which constituted one fluid movement analogous to breathing.  The enterprise to which we are called is far more fundamental than any of our concerns and far more crucial than we can imagine.  There must be a priority, urgency, passion, creativity and hope in our vocational work.  If diocesan synods, priests’ seminars, Religious Congregational Chapters do not have vocations as a very high priority, then something is terribly wrong with this picture!

The Image of the Good Shepherd for Priestly Ministry and Formation

To be effective, our vocational and formation work must be imbued with biblical images, visions and language.  Of all the images of Jesus throughout the ages, what shows his tenderness and compassion more than the Good Shepherd?  What more appropriate image could guide us in our vocational work in the Church?  Even before Jesus’ time, the image was used to describe the tenderness and provident care God shows us.  

Anthropologists have told us that between the hunting and the farming stages of cultural development shepherds stood as people who existed in both worlds and tied them together.  For that reason, shepherds appear in ancient myths and sagas as a symbol for the divine unity of opposites.  What the ancient pagans hinted at, Christian faith has brought into a crisp reality with Jesus Christ as the great reconciler and shepherd.  He is the Good Shepherd, who has come into the center of every great conflict in order to establish unity and peace.

As a model of religious leadership, Jesus shows us that love can be the only motivation for ministry, especially for the priesthood.  He also shows us that there must be no exclusiveness on the part of the religious leader.  If there are sheep outside the fold (even sheep excluded by the fold itself), the good shepherd must go fetch them.  The motivation for inclusion is love, not social justice, not ethical fairness, not mere tolerance, and certainly not insidious political correctness.  Only love can draw the circle that includes everyone.

The rod and staff we carry must be symbols not of oppression but of dedication and service.  These are the hallmarks of authentic leadership in the name of the Risen Jesus.  As we cast down our nets into the deep and seek other fishers of men and women, let us be aware of the urgent needs of the Church and the world for authentic shepherding today.  We need to invite young people to follow Christ, and to be willing to stand courageously in the centre of the great conflicts and ambiguities of our time.  Through their conviction, boldness and faith, they will bring unity and peace to our brothers and sisters.

Daily let us beg the Great Fisherman and Good Shepherd to send the Canadian Dioceses and our Religious Congregations worthy pastoral workers for the Church. We remember with affection and gratitude the stirring words of Pope John Paul II at the concluding mass of World Youth Day 2002 at Downsview Park in Toronto.  These words keep us focused on the importance and necessity of ordained ministry and consecrated life in the Church today:

 “If you love Jesus, love the Church! Do not be discouraged by the sins and failings of some of her members. The harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable fills us all with a deep sense of sadness and shame. But think of the vast majority of dedicated and generous priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do good! There are many priests, seminarians and consecrated persons here today; be close to them and support them!

And if, in the depths of your hearts, you feel the same call to the priesthood or consecrated life, do not be afraid to follow Christ on the royal road of the Cross!  At difficult moments in the Church's life, the pursuit of holiness becomes even more urgent.  And holiness is not a question of age; it is a matter of living in the Holy Spirit, just as Kateri Tekakwitha did here in America and so many other young people have done.”

…and may I add: will continue to do.  To accomplish this mission we need big plans, boundless hopes, endless patience, renewed enthusiasm, new dreams and abundant joy as our valleys of tears are transformed into gardens for God, for the Church, for our dioceses and religious congregations, and for the world.  

Thank you.