WSJ article on the US increase in priestly vocations

"A new seminary is to be built near Charlotte, N.C., and the archdiocese of Washington, D.C., has expanded its facilities to accommodate the surge in priestly candidates. Boston's Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley recently told the National Catholic Register that when he arrived in 2003 to lead that archdiocese he was advised to close the seminary. Now there are 70 men in Boston studying to be priests, and the seminary has had to turn away candidates for lack of space."

And the response from CARA at Georgetown:

“We can roughly estimate that about one in 100 Catholic men who say they ‘very seriously’ considered becoming a priest are likely to follow through and be ordained. If the Church could just increase that to two or three in every 100 who ‘very seriously’ consider this, concerns over priest shortages would end.”

Vocations crisis???

Repeat
after
me:
There

is

no
"vocations crisis"
. [full stop]
O.k.
so
repeat
after
me
again:
There
is
no
"vocations crisis"
. [another full stop}
Any
questions?

Tonsure 2011, Denton NE

16 tonsured for the FSSP, 1 for the Redemptorists of Papa Stronsay. Second from right is Chris, second from left is Tony. Source: http://papastronsay.blogspot.com/2011/10/sharing-26000-words-of-gratitude-to-god.html

Again: it's a crisis in religious life, not a vocations crisis

Nuns a "dying breed" -- ?

The Sisters of Iesu Communio

About 1.5 to 2 million young Catholics in Madrid this weekend

UPDATE: New Abbess of Sainte-Cecile, Solemnes

En union de prières avec la nouvelle abbesse de Solesmes.

Le 25 juin 2011, le Père Abbé de Solesmes a présidé le chapitre d’élection d’une nouvelle abbesse et confirmé le choix des moniales : Mère Claire de Sazilly qui exerçait alors la fonction de maîtresse des novices devenait la sixième abbesse de Sainte-Cécile. Âgée de 36 ans, issue d'une famille nombreuse ayant ses racines en Anjou, elle est entrée au monastère à l'âge de 18 ans, précédée dans la vie monastique par deux de ses tantes. Elle recevra la bénédiction abbatiale en la fête de la Nativité de la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie, le 8 septembre 2011.

PAX

+

Abbaye sainte Cécile

~

~

~

Another update, this time a jaw-dropper (click on quote below):

'I graduated from my Christian Brothers high school in 1965, and over the next few years, through various sources, heard about one after another of my former teachers leaving the order. Today, the school is “in the tradition” of the Christian Brothers, with lay teachers only. The sister school, which was run by the Sisters of Mercy, is now “sponsored” by the Sisters of Mercy. I don’t believe there are any nuns on the faculty, and the principal is man. The parish grade school I had gone to, in which most of the teachers were nuns, now doesn’t exist. My old parish and two others now run a single school.

What happened?'

WHAT HAPPENED???

Maronite novice

More here! O=)

A crisis in religious life, not vocations

There is no true "vocations crisis" in the Church, but rather a crisis in religious life -- at least for those communities which have lost sight of why they were founded.

I would like to add that nearly all of the Sisters I have met who wear a lot of religious habit are not all shallow misfits. O:) They are lovely religious for the most part, not without their human flaws, but who would seem to have a good chance at reaching sanctity. Isn't that the whole point?

New Benedictine Abbey in the U.S.

More on this happy event at: Diocese of Tulsa website

Want more priests & religious? Offer your own children!

LU MONFERRATO

The little village of Lu, in northern Italy, is located in a rural area 90 kilometres east of Turin. It would still be unknown to this day if some of the mothers of Lu had not made a decision that had important consequences in 1881.

The deepest desire of many of these mothers was for one of their sons to become a priest or for a daughter to place her life completely in God’s service. Under the direction of their parish priest, Msgr. Alessandro Canora, they gathered every Tuesday for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, asking the Lord for vocations. They received Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month with the same intention. After Mass, all the mothers prayed a particular prayer together imploring for vocations to the priesthood.

Through the trusting prayer of these mothers and the openness of the other parents, an atmosphere of deep joy and Christian piety developed in the families, making it much easier for the children to recognize their vocations.

When the Lord said, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Mt 22:14), we can understand that many are called, but only a few respond to that call. No one expected that God would hear the prayers of these mothers in such a dramatic way.

From the tiny village of Lu came 323 vocations: 152 priests (diocesan and religious), and 171 nuns belonging to 41 different congregations. As many as three or four vocations came from some of the families. The most famous example is the Rinaldi family, from whom God called seven children. Two daughters became Salesian sisters, both of whom were sent to San Domingo as missionaries. Five sons became priests, all joining the Salesians. The most well-known of the Rinaldi brothers is Blessed Philip Rinaldi, who became the third successor of St. John Bosco as Superior General of the Salesians. Pope John Paul II beatified him on 29 April 1990. In fact, many of the vocations from this small town became Salesians. It is certainly not a coincidence, since St. John Bosco visited Lu four times during his life. The saint attended the first Mass of his spiritual son, Fr. Philip Rinaldi in this village where he was born. Philip always fondly recalled the faith of the families of Lu: “A faith that made our fathers and mothers say, ‘The Lord gave us our children, and so if He calls them, we can’t say no.’”

Fr. Luigi Borghina and Fr. Pietro Rota lived the spirituality of Don Bosco so faithfully that the former was called the “Brazilian Don Bosco” and the latter the “Don Bosco of Valtellina.” Pope John XXIII once said the following about another vocation from Lu, His Excellency, Evasio Colli, Archbishop of Parma: “He should have become pope, not me. He had everything it takes to become a great pope.”

Every ten years, the priests and sisters born in Lu used to come together from all around the world. Fr. Mario Meda, the long-serving parish priest of Lu, explained that this reunion is a true celebration, a feast of thanksgiving to God who has done such great things for Lu.

The prayer that the mothers of Lu prayed was short, simple, and deep:

~

“O God, grant that one of my sons may become a priest!

I myself want to live as a good Christian

and want to guide my children always to do what is right,

so that I may receive the grace, O God, to be allowed to give you a holy priest! Amen.”

From the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy

One happy bishop!

I think Sayedna Gregory looks the happiest of all -- is that possible???? (Hint: "yes") New postulants for the first community of Maronite Sisters outside of Lebanon, an historic occasion in the Universal Church. (The other Abounas present look pretty happy too!)

The Isles

Scotland's last seminary is about to close its doors. And members of what could be the last generation of priests in Scotland are offering their thoughts. They are the last priests training in Scotland. Scotus College in Bearsden, the only remaining seminary for Catholic priests in the country, is due to close in a matter of weeks: the end of Catholic seminary life in Scotland.

The Scottish seminarians will now train at Ireland's lone surviving seminary, Maynooth (there were 7 seminaries across Ireland 20 years ago). This year's new class of seminarians is the largest in 10 years: 36 new students.

At the end of September the number of seminarians in Maynooth will be 77 (7 of them transferring from Scotland).

Results from World Day of Prayer for Vocations

I don't know yet. There are lots of people out there praying, but in some places not much may change until parents can say, "God, take my son, take my daughter. Take all my children." And that's just the first step...