the lack of vocation: a failure to call or a failure to listen? 4th Sunday of Easter C

Today, the 4^th Sunday of Easter, is called the Good Shepherd Sunday because it is the Sunday when the gospel about the Good Shepherd is read, the Sunday when in the gospel Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd.  Traditionally this is also the Sunday when priests are asked to include in their homilies an invitation especially to the young people of the parish to consider the religious vocation – the vocation to the priesthood and the vocation to the religious life.  Thus logically this is the Sunday which the venerable Pope Paul VI declared fifty years ago as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  This is the Sunday in the year set aside by parishes and religious communities all over the archdiocese as the Sunday where we gather to pray for the increase of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.  That is why after this mass, for those of you who may not have any appointments, those of you who have time to spare, are invited to join our archbishop and our auxiliary bishop, and all of us here priests and nuns to a Holy Hour, to a one hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, to pray before the Good Shepherd and the Lord of the Harvest for the increase of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.

Fifty years ago, the Pope, the venerable Paul VI felt that the situation regarding priests and religious are getting dire.  Fewer young people are entering religious houses and seminaries.  That was in 1964.  Today in 2013 the situation is even more dire.  In the Philippines for example each priest is to serve 7,837 Catholics and each religious brother and sister is to serve 5,413 Catholic faithful.  That is why there are times when it is really difficult to find priests to officiate weddings and funerals.  That is also why religious sisters nowadays have to hand over responsibilities in the schools to lay men and women because of a lack in personnel.  

Globally however there is a slight increase in the number of ordinations to the priesthood, when we compare for example the year 2000 and 2009 – a slight increase in the continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America from 405,178 to 412,236.  But in Europe the trend continues to go down and down.  The statistics however for religious sisters is not encouraging.  In the year 2000 there were 801,185 religious sisters worldwide.  In 2010 this went down to only 721,935.  Added to this is, though these are well hidden under their veil, the hair of many of our religious sisters are already grey. 

Our need is great but we are not given enough, and many times the church suffers.  The question is, has the Lord stopped calling?  Is he not providing enough workers for his church?  Is the Lord not sending women and men to the vineyard?  Does the Lord call no more?

I believe that the Lord continues to call.  The problem is most of us are not paying attention. 

Two weeks ago, since the seminarians have all gone home and some are in the parishes we had the seminary rented for added income.  For a few days a group of special children and their mentors stayed with us, and this is what I learned from them.  Many of the children are autistic, some have down syndrome, and most of them generally lack focus.   The training consisted of three things – help them to focus, so that they can listen, so that they can achieve something.  So the mentors have this small one foot by one foot board which they place on the floor.  When the child becomes restless he or she would be made to stand on that board, gani mahimunong sia.  Kon nagapahimunong na gani sia, ti makapamati sia.  Kon nagapamati na sia his or her chances of achieving something becomes possible.

In a way this is also by analogy the situation of vocations today.  God calls but we are too distracted.  God calls but we are not paying attention.  God calls, but there are just too much static, too many disturbances.

Permit me to share what I think are some of the distractions to the call of Jesus:

Our values have changed a lot.  We have become too secular as a community and as a society.  For example our religious fiestas are slowly losing its religious slant and it is becoming a tourist attraction and promoted as such - something we can make money of.   Do you know that the rise of OFW workers coincided with the sharp decline of priestly and religious vocations?  Sang nagdamo ang OFW, nag-diutay ang pari.  We are in a world where the priesthood and the religious life are no longer seen by society as attractive.  We are in a world which does not find meaning in the life of a priest or a nun.

But mind you it is not only the young who do not find meaning in the life of priests and nuns.  Today I would encounter more and more parents resisting the desire of their sons and daughters to enter the religious life – especially parents who see in their sons and daughters the potential, the chance for a better life. 

And also do you know that the rise of smaller families means the decline of religious vocations?  Religious vocations tend to be more welcomed in a larger family than in a smaller one.  Families now are a lot smaller compared to those in our time.  With the RH Bill that will become smaller still.  And that would mean a further decline in the religious life.  I think this is not a problem of Jesus not calling.  It is a problem of those called not listening - too many distractions, too much static, too many better alternatives.  That is why I think we should provide more opportunities for the young to pray, to keep quiet, to stand on that one by one board so that we can finally focus and learn to listen to the voice that calls us.

 Vocation is a two way street.  Jesus calls but people have to focus and listen in order to respond.