Culture of Vocation
Fr. James Gallagher, C.S.C.
Originally posted on 4/11/2010

There is a good bit of talk in the Catholic Church and in the secular media about a “Vocations Crisis”. There are growing numbers of Catholics and shrinking numbers of brothers, sisters, and priests. The reality of these numbers is true and it is a cause for concern, yet the reality of the crisis is not always well represented. The crisis is not that there are no vocations to the priesthood and religious life today, the crisis is that the vocations to the priesthood and religious life are not being nurtured and encouraged as well as they could be. The crisis is not just one of numbers; it is a crisis of culture. There are many who are being called, yet for a young person today it can be very daunting to acknowledge such a thing and pursue it.

The task of many who are working in the area of vocation promotion is to help build up a “Culture of Vocations”. This is the work of encouraging all young Catholics to remain open to the possibility that they are called. It is also the work of encouraging all Catholics to invite and encourage those in whom they see a potential vocation to consider the religious life or priesthood. There are aspects of our popular culture that promote values and ideals that dissuade anyone who might consider getting actively involved in the Church, much less give their life to service of the Church. Such forces create an environment that causes young people to think that the religious life will ask too much of them or will have them miss out on what normal people should experience. This then leads young people who have thought about the religious life or the priesthood to either dismiss the thought out of hand or to hesitate or avoid the reality that they may be called.

The good news is that much work has been done to begin to create a culture of vocations to point to the transcendent and profound good that comes to the individual and the world when an individual embraces his/her vocation. Some parishes and colleges are developing vocation programs or youth programs to encourage young people in their faith, helping them to realize that a relationship with Christ is a beautiful and powerful thing that is worth developing despite what the popular culture may say. Parents and peers are opening up to the reality that their child or friend may have a vocation and support them in it. There is a growing sense that when an individual is called, it is not something strange or oddly different, but quite natural and fulfilling for that individual. This growing culture that is open to religious and priestly vocations is helping to create an environment in which young people can feel comfortable in acknowledging that they may have a vocation and will support them in their desire to find out if Christ is truly calling them to follow Him.

Where this subtle shift in culture is happening there is a discernable growth in young people stepping forward to acknowledge their sense of call and pursue it. Part of the work to be done then is to continue to build up this culture of vocations, this culture that encourages all people to pursue their relationship with Christ and encourages individuals to remain open to the call to the religious life and priesthood. There is also work to be done on the part of religious communities and dioceses to encourage this cultural shift, share the joy and fulfillment that is to found in the consecrated life, and to provide solid and inviting programs for discernment and formation. As the Director of the Office of Vocations, I can assure you that Holy Cross is well engaged in all of this work.

It has long been a part of the culture in the Congregation of Holy Cross to share our lives with those with whom and for whom we minister. In the school Blessed Basil Moreau established in France he created an environment in which the religious who served there were involved in aspects of the lives of the students who studied there that went beyond their time in the classroom. This sense of active engagement has stayed with Holy Cross through the years. It has also been the understanding in Holy Cross that the work of promoting vocations is not merely the work of the Office of Vocations, but the work of all Holy Cross religious. In this Holy Cross has worked hard to share freely the joy we have found in this life and to encourage others to join us in it.

Much work has also been done over the years to develop welcoming and sturdy programs for formation. Today we have two programs that are successful in helping men to consider if they are called and in turn preparing them for ministry.

The Old College Program provides a wonderful opportunity to undergraduate men who are considering a call to the religious life and the priesthood. They are able to live with peers who are asking similar questions to the ones that they are asking. The structure of the environment supports them as they seek to grow in their relationship with the Lord and in their understanding of the religious life and priesthood. Also due to the fact that the Old College building is located at the heart of the University of Notre Dame campus and that the young men are students at either Notre Dame or Holy Cross College, they are mixed in with the rest of the student population and are not isolated from their peers who are not discerning a vocation. It provides a structured but open environment for them to do the work of discerning how God may be calling them without feeling like they are being sent away to do so.

The Candidate Program is situated at Moreau Seminary at the edge of the University of Notre Dame campus and becomes the environment for the men of Old College to take their discernment to the next level or as an entry point for men who already have a bachelor’s degree. Again this program provides a structured environment for men to do the work of discerning how God is calling them. The level of commitment increases each year but starts at a level where they can do the work of discerning how God is calling them without feeling as though they must sign their life away in order to begin. The Candidate Year provides those discerning a vocation to Holy Cross the opportunity to learn more about Holy Cross, to develop their life of prayer, and to decide with the guidance of the formation staff whether God is calling them to proceed to the next year.

The decision to enter the seminary is an intimidating one but more men seem to be willing to make this jump, especially into the Congregation of Holy Cross. This is due in part to our Church which is seeking to create a greater culture of vocations as well and two solid formation programs in Holy Cross which seek to make that move a little less intimidating and more natural as they seek to follow God’s call.

It is encouraging to see more young people opening themselves up to the possibility that they are being called to the religious life and priesthood. Yet there is still much work to do in building up a culture in our Church and in our world that encourages all people to actively engage in their faith and remain open to how God may be calling. This work needs active participation on all levels and by all of the faithful. As this work is done, it will go a long way in addressing the crisis of vocations as well as many of the other troubles in our world.