Discernment of Vocations

Friends

    Peace be with you. 

    During the month of January, we, priests, focus on vocation awareness. This means we tend to talk about our vocation, priesthood, though we should never neglect the important vocations of religious life, sacred marriage, the diaconate, or our shared vocation to holiness gifted in the sacraments of initiation. Still, ever since Fr. Conway died, I feel like there has been a real heaviness in people’s hearts about how we priests are feeling. I do want to acknowledge with immense gratitude the amount of heartfelt concern people had for me and my brother priests. I have felt your prayers and support so deeply since that happened and, especially when it was most important, during the week and a half it took from the announcement until the funeral. Thank you! I wish there was something better I could say to let you know just how grateful I am but I can’t find the words so Thank you will have to do. I hope you felt my prayers for you too. I’m sure it was a very jarring experience to have someone commit suicide that you love and/or who is in a vocation that you’d never associate with taking one's own life. As one person said to me, if a priest could do something like that, what hope is there for the rest of us? 

    I don’t want to minimize the fact that priesthood can be a rough life. Most people would assume the difficulties come from not having a wife and kids at home but that’s not what I’ve found stresses most priests out. I would say the two biggest stressors are running a parish and obedience to the magisterium. In every parish I’ve ever been assigned, there have been parishioners who want to have oversight of how the parish spends its money. I have to remind them (or inform them) that there’s a reason my title is “Father”. As the pastor, I work with the finance council to use the financial gifts of the parish how I believe best builds up the body of Christ but I’m ultimately the one who makes those decisions. I do answer to the Archbishop and the Pope so it’s not like I’m a dictator. And I don’t want to spend all day worrying about money when there are souls to save and the world, as we know it, is passing away. Another stressor has to do with obedience by which I mean the tension between knowing that there are too many parishes in the Archdiocese of Dubuque and knowing that I want to be able to be pastor of St. Patrick’s in Cedar Rapids until I retire. I really like it here. I love the parishioners. Oh, don’t get me wrong, St. Patrick’s has its own unique stressors but the benefits far outweigh the struggles. But, if the Archbishop or the Pope calls tomorrow and asks me to move or asks me to adjust the way I celebrate Mass, I am obliged to obey. 

    Which brings me to why men should still become priests. First and foremost, because God is calling them. For me, that call came through a desire to celebrate the Mass well. For others, the call comes from being intellectually drawn to the teachings of the church. For still others, it comes from finding solace in prayer the world cannot give. I want to emphasize that priesthood is a great life. It can be hard but I also get to be the conduit through which Jesus absolves people of their sins. Before people come into my confessional, they are being pulled by the demons to a life of suffering and, afterwards, God not only forgives their sins but He forgets the sins they have committed. That’s amazing! I also get to stand at the altar and allow Jesus to speak through me to provide for people His real presence, not because of any greatness in my character or my holiness of life, but entirely because of God’s mercy. I've been welcomed into people’s lives and families who would have no other reason to do that other than because they see Jesus in me as a priest. I get to baptize babies and watch those same babies get their first communion and, if I’m exceptionally blessed, watch them get confirmed and, God willing, watch them take my place as a priest. 

    If you want to talk to me about becoming a priest, please give me a call or an email and make my day!