Does the Church Have a Vocations Crisis? Many Are Called, But Few Are Listening

Last week was Vocations Awareness Week — the annual weeklong fest of dorm room debates here at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, about whether the country has a vocations crisis.

The vocations crisis would seem to be a well-reported phenomenon — since the 1950s fewer and fewer men and women have been joining religious communities and diocesan seminaries.  But at the same time, fewer and fewer people have been attending Mass — and fewer have been getting married, getting baptized, and requesting hospital visits, also.

So does the Church really have a vocation crisis on its hands?

Ask any vocations director — such as the one here on campus — and they will likely say the Church has too few priests and religious, but it’s not because no one is being called. The vocations crisis is actually a listening, a relationship, and a heart crisis. At least that’s what many vocations directors have told me for numerous articles over the years. (For some reason, editors always assign the vocation stories to the young guy.)

The Other Vocations Crisis

First and foremost, there is another crisis vocation directors are coming to terms with. Father Angelus Montgomery, as vocations director for the CFR’s, told me for a report for The Pillar: In fact, today, there is a crisis of the heart

“We talk about a vocation crisis, but we really have a human crisis, a crisis of the heart,” Father Angelus said. “Most guys calling me have experience of brokenness, hurt, sin, shame, struggle being in the world so most of my experience of being a vocation director is actually helping young men become disciples, experience healing in their lives and pointing into the right places so they can experience healing and then giving Jesus space and time to reveal his plan to them.”

Any vocation is a response to God’s invitation, something he calls each of us into. However, that requires a response and an openness to hear God’s call.

That means turning to the Lord and helping young men and women develop robust prayer lives.

Eucharistic Adoration

Consider the story of the Diocese of Wichita. When they diocese started offering perpetual Eucharistic adoration at its parishes, they saw a dramatic increase in the number of men applying to seminary.

“As a diocese, we have always seen a connection between the number of adoration chapels, the number of people praying before the tabernacle in our diocese, and the blessings of vocations we’ve experienced,” Father Chad Arnold shared with the National Catholic Register.

Yet prayer today is difficult. With the distractions of the world and lures of earthly pleasures, many vocation directors such as Sr. Emily Marsh of the Daughters of St. Paul say that young people are struggling to pray.

“It’s hard to have an interior life with all the distractions of the world and technology which has increased anxiety and mental health struggles,” Marsh told The Pillar. “There are still young people listening and desiring to know his will. It is just hard for them to hear.”

“God never stops calling and people never stop responding.”

As for the women religious, some communities like the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia (popularly known as the Nashville Dominicans) are booming. Their vocation director, Sister Mara Grace Gore OP shared with me for an article for The Pillar that today, women and men are drawn to religious communities deeply rooted in the tradition of the church.

“Many women have found that communities that have deep roots are ones that have this authenticity that is attractive,” Gore said. “When young people encounter a living tradition that is generations old, there is this attraction to it.”

So how do we foster vocations?

At Benedictine College intentionality and the spiritual life are emphasized for discernment. Brother Maximillian Mary Anderson OSB runs the House of St. Joseph, a discernment group for college men.

Every week, the group meets for dinner and discusses a book, often about the spiritual life and how it relates to discernment. Through this community, the guys are encouraged to participate in what Brother Max has dubbed “next step discernment” which entices men to never be idle and take active steps to discern a vocation whether that be speaking to vocation directors or attending come and see retreats.

As for the ladies, women religious are frequently seen walking around campus. They host different discernment talks and retreats.

Between the college, St. Benedict’s Abbey and the local parish, there are three daily Mass times daily confession and perpetual adoration at the parish — making the college an optimal place to dive deeper into the spiritual life and thus learn to listen to the Lord’s invitation.

There is a culture of discernment at the college — a culture that is much needed today.

Young people are yearning to find meaning in their life, searching for purpose. That purpose cannot be found on social media or at house parties — it comes through listening to the voice of God.

That small, subtle, gentle voice is life transforming — if we listen — but it is hard to hear the Lord in a busy, individual driven world. Thus, these places that foster a culture of discernment, that walk with young people as they pursue a relationship with Christ and learn to hear His voice.

Image: Church of England and Wales Flickr, 2016

By Jack Figge