New Cardinals and Renewal in the Church

Yesterday was an great day for the entire Church as Pope Benedict elevated 22 new men to the College of Cardinals.  It was also a wonderful day for our College as among those given this title, which carries great honor and heavy burdens (the red of their cassocks symbolizing the blood they are called to be willing to shed for the faith), were two former rectors of the North American College.  Edwin Cardinal O'Brien and Timothy Cardinal Dolan led the College from 1990-1994 and from 1994-2001 respectively.  Following the Consistory, there was a reception here at the College for Cardinals O'Brien and Dolan.  I helped to work the event where we hosted somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500-2000 people who traveled to Rome to share in this special event.

One of the great things about the consistory last year and yesterday was having the opportunity to speak to some of the great people who traveled to Rome from the US.  They are always happy to speak to seminarians and are particularly impressed at seeing or hearing that we have 230 men here studying to become priests.  I was able to speak at length with one couple who asked me how the numbers were looking.  After informing them that our numbers were the highest they have been in years and that many seminaries around the country are seeing similar trends, they proceeded to ask what I thought the reason was for such an increase.  I told them that much of the renewal in the Church and especially in vocations has come from the leadership of great leaders in the Church, including the two men who brought us together for the consistory.  Their faithfulness to the Church and their love for God has spread to the men who were formed at the College during their time as rector.  Those priests who were formed during their time at the College have now been in ministry for up to 20 years and have brought what they learned here back home.  Some of the keys to their success has been the joy with which they live out their priesthood.  They are sure of their call, they know WHO it is that they are serving and the are joyful in the way they live their lives.  (See Point #5 in Cardinal Dolan's address to the College of Cardinals http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/cardinal-designate-dolans-address-to-pope-benedict-and-the-college-of-cardinals/)  I also added that Blessed Pope John Paul II had a lot to do with the renewal of vocations in the Church.  He worked tirelessly for the promotion of vocations and also guided the Church in developing a new schema for priestly formation.  In a homily this morning here at the College the priest mentioned that we are "in a golden age of vocations in the Church".  What a great time too, because the world needs us more than ever.

Although we cannot discount the efforts of Blessed Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals and others who have put much into priestly vocations, we also cannot fail to realize that none of this growth would be possible without the guidance and power of Jesus Christ ("Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth." - 1 Corinthians 3:7).  At this point I would like to make reference to a thought I had a while back, but that did not make it to a blog.

Whenever a person is extremely cold, say due to falling into frigid waters, the body performs in a fascinating way.  The first areas of the body to get frostbite are the fingers and toes, then the hands and feet and it continues to make its way up the arms and legs.  Why is this?  The body, sensing danger, brings blood from the extremities, which a person can live without, into the core to protect the vital organs.  Aside from trying to impress you with my knowledge of something medical, I tell this story to point out that it is natural for something in danger to sacrifice less important things.  The sacrifice of these less important things happens in order to put all effort towards protecting what is vital, the very heart of the matter. 

We have all heard for some time now that there is a shortage of priests and religious.  Though the tide is slowly turning, we are still in need of more priests in most places in the world.  The main point to which I wish to call attention is what the Church and the faithful have turned to during the dangerous time of a decrease in the number of priests, seminarians and men and women in religious formation.

A low number of seminarians is by no means a good thing.  However, if we look prayerfully back on the stressful times that saw less and less men answering the call of Jesus to “come and follow me,” we can see some good things that happened.  Just like the body protects itself in times of danger, the Church also protected itself.  What did the faithful turn to in order to rectify the shortage of priests?  The answer to this question will also be the answer to the question of what is most important to the life of the Church.

The one thing that strikes me as being most important in the life of the Church and for vocations to the priesthood and religious life is a renewal in the belief in and adoration of Christ's true presence in the Blessed Sacrament.  I know in the Diocese of Lafayette the Serrans, who do so much for vocations, lead a Holy Hour each month to pray specifically for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  The Eucharist is the most precious gift that God has given us and we are right to renew our focus on Christ in the Eucharist during these difficult times.  One of the major changes in priestly formation in the past couple of decades has been the demand of all seminarians to make a daily Holy Hour a priority.  Following the lead of many holy men who have taken on this practice over the years (most notably in recent history has been Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen) the Church has demanded this of Her priests because She knows how crucial it is to their ministry.  As ministers of the Eucharist, we must spend time each day in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord to gain strength and insight for our mission.  Imagine a husband and wife never spending time together to get to know each other...they would not have a very healthy marriage.  Just the same, a priest takes the Church as His bride.  His most important and honored work is the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  This celebration becomes much more meaningful to the priest and to those whom he serves if the priest has a greater realization of what it is he is doing, of who it is he is making present.

Please continue to spend time in prayer for priests, seminarians, religious and those in consecrated life.  Know of my prayers for all of you.  Through prayer, we remain united and able to take on the challenges of the world today.

In Our Eucharistic Lord,

Patrick