The Year of the Priest and Our Future “In Vestments”

This guest post was written by Cassandra Poppe from Intercessories Family Ministries and Our Lady's Children

----------------------------------------------------------

Believe it or not, there are solutions to the Church’s declining vocations market. I was reminded of this recently when one of my friends bemoaned, “We need more priests!” She tossed her hands up and sighed, “But, hey. What can we do?” She shrugged it off as a problem beyond solutions, and turned to watch her children play on the swings. Her apparent helplessness startled me. Couldn’t she see? The solutions were right before her, as evident as the Kool Aid stain on her shirt. Two possible solutions! I myself have four. And my sisters also have two solutions, with another one on the way. Indeed, the only solution to the vocation crisis is our very own “nest eggs” – our children.

Please note, not every child was created to become a priest or religious. However, being Catholic parents and shareholders in the Church, we must be willing to make this sizeable donation to the Church, should God request it. To scoff at the thought of such a donation, or to deny Him what is rightfully His will hurt not only the growth of that particular nest egg, but will also drastically effect the overall profit of the Church and all its shareholders in the future. I love the Church and want to see it prosper, and the only way it will thrive is by willingly investing some of my own nest eggs in the process.

There was an article in the Rockford, Illinois diocese paper awhile back that stated a fascinating statistic. Over the past five years, one fourth of graduating Catholic homeschooled males in that diocese chose to enter the seminary over worldly educational institutions. That number, to me, is staggering! Any financial investor will tell you that a 25% return on an investment is excellent. Now imagine, with this rate of return, the wealth of vocations that could come if more Catholic families invested in their young nest eggs using strategies similar to the ones used for these young men. As an insider on this particular strategy, I will slip you a few tips on how to get in on this great investment plan.

Any parent interested in investing in the future of the Church should begin with prayer. Pray that the Lord open your hearts to His will, whatever it may be. Pray that all pride can be put aside, should the day come that your son, on the day he finds he is the first draft pick for a professional football team, says, “Forget it! I’m going to be a priest instead!” Could you accept his decision as a blessing from God? Would you realize the spiritual windfall God has given to your family through your son? Or would you be tempted to cling onto him and bury him in the ways of the world?

Show your children your respect for consecrated men and women. Get to know them so that your children can see the things that they do within their specific callings. Teach them to appreciate the nun’s habit and the priest’s collar. They are signs to the world that they have chosen something far better than the world. They have chosen God! Always speak of priests in awe, and remind your children that a priest is not just a man in charge of a big building. Bread and wine change into the actual Body and Blood of Our Lord through the hands of the priest!

Attend a weekday Mass for an increase in vocations. St. Michael’s in Van Buren, Arkansas actually has a Mass every Friday morning for this specific intention. Attending such a Mass shows your children that vocations are something very important to you and will prepare their hearts to say, “Yes!” if the Lord calls them.

Family time spent celebrating the faith is the greatest deposit you can make into your nest eggs. Pledge to make regular deposits of faith into their hearts. Live the liturgical year. Persist in family prayer. And allow the Lord to call the hearts of your children to Him, should it be His will.

I have put my money where my mouth is and this plan works! 25% of my nest eggs have steadily expressed a firm commitment to become a nun for five years straight. Please pray for her. 50% of my nest eggs are very open to the possibility, but are in no hurry to make a decision. And the other 25%? Well, he wants to be a pirate. Please pray for him as well. After all, with your prayers, he too could become a great future “in vestment”!

Thank you to Cassandra Poppe from Intercessories Family Ministries and Our Lady's Children for today's article!

photo by Catholic Church (England and Wales)

Read more...

Finally Understanding Married Life as a True Vocation

Today's Guest Article is by Deborah from Journey of a Soul

-------------------------------------------------------

Married women of this modern culture are encouraged to do everything we can to avoid the role of wife and mother. We add tremendous amounts of other "fulfilling activities" to our schedules in order to meet the expectation that "you can have it all!" Serving our families is considered demeaning work and we are encouraged to use all of our gifts and talents outside the home.

Modern women may be more educated, more liberated, and more independent than our counter-parts of 100 years ago, but in essence we are the same. Our predecessors had the same talents and creativity, the same drive and ambition. They had the same desires and the same fears. They may not have had as many options as women of today, but they faithfully raised the next generation. In fact, married women of 100 years ago put all of their gifts and energy into that one over reaching task and no one said, "You're too smart for that."

When my husband (a widower) asked me to marry him I freely chose to become his wife and a step-mother to his 5 and 8 year old sons. I was 30 years old and almost finished with my master's degree but chose to put it aside for a higher call. I said "yes" to marriage and to what I believed was God's will for my life.

For 14 years, I've tried to live out this gift of marriage and motherhood faithfully. I didn't let it bother me when other women (working full time), with whom I worked part time, seemed to be on the fast track to career success. I knew what I would have to give up in order to have a "full time career" and that was not my calling. However until these last few weeks, I wasn't truly aware of how special this gift of marriage and motherhood is. I've always respected other mothers and felt satisfied that I was sacrificing career for family but did not value the sacramental nature of marriage. Instead I would hear about a woman like Sarah Palin or a CEO of a major corporation who had a family and a career and think "Wow, now there is a woman who is truly successful!"

Since attending a recent vocations retreat, everything has changed in my understanding of marriage as a vocation. In addition, I continue to meditate on the whole concept of what makes an ordinary person into a saint. Through studying the life of St Therese, I've realized that the way to sainthood is not by being or doing what I see other women do. It's surrendering to the little way that God has put before me. It's the little "yes" I say all day long following the big "YES" I said on the day I got married. It's doing the dishes and folding the laundry. It's giving extra kisses and encouraging words to my husband and children. It's surrender and sacrifice as Mother Theresa said "doing little things with great love."

Today I've been thinking about what Mary did to earn the title "Queen of Heaven." Surely she was the greatest woman who ever lived and to think that I have been given the awesome privilege of having the same earthly role as the Mother of God! Mary's little way to sainthood was to completely embrace her role as a wife and mother. Why would I ever think that role is not quite as special as some other title like "Dean of Students" or "Governor of Alaska?"

All of that said, it's still a battle and I do need help because everything in our culture fights against this belief that Mary's Little Way is the path to sainthood and the glamor and excitement of other pursuits is forever tugging at my soul. So I will continue to pray and hide myself in Christ and trust that through the intercession of Mary and all the Saints, I too will journey faithfully to the end, joyfully surrendering my will to His.

Today's Guest Article is by Deborah from Journey of a Soul

photo by Crazybananas

Read more...