Rich Leonardi has a great interview with the Cincinnati Director of Vocations, Fr. Kyle Schnippel (of Called by Name fame) at Catholic Exchange. He also blogged about it briefly here, and I think the title of the post says it all - "Faithfulness attracts others". Perhaps the greatest attractant for priestly vocations is a happy, holy, faithful priest as an example to follow; the same can be said for vocations to the different forms of consecrated life and the diaconate as well. For me, the money quote is:
Fr. Schnippel: It is pretty simple, actually: happy priests attract other priests. A priest who is content and fulfilled in his ministry, who loves his people and his parish (even with the warts) will have that joy come across in what he does and how he interacts with his parishioners. Then, when a young man thinks about the priesthood, the image of a happy man who is making a difference in other people's lives will come up. Faithfulness attracts others, because people recognize that it is not about him, it is about him leading others to Christ, whom he knows and loves. It very much squares with my experience. Parishes with good, strong pastors, who have a clear identity of who they are, attract more vocations than a parish that is run by a team without strong leadership from the priest.
Tags:
|