A Future Priest

Homily for the Baptism of the Lord, Year A
There are few things in life that are guaranteed, but today, I have something for you that’s pretty certain – maybe not 100% guaranteed, but pretty close. Here in this church today, there is a man or boy who is being called to the priesthood. Here is this church today, there are men and women being called to religious life, to the married life, and to the single life. And among all those callings, I believe that a future priest is sitting in this church right now. How can I be so confident? Because God’s track record is pretty good in calling shepherds – he always provides ministers for his church. I can be so confident because I put my faith in God. Unfortunately, I can’t be so confident about whether those men being called to the priesthood will respond.

For me, the call came first when I was a senior in high school. On my senior retreat, a teacher asked if I had ever considered the priesthood. My brain moved almost too quickly to respond, of course not, I have my whole life planned out, and I am going to be a geologist. Well, you know how the story ended, but the greatest lesson I learned in the process is that it really required more listening than anything else. My journey to the priesthood was centered on me listening for what God had to say, listening for God’s guidance on how he sees my future. Now, I never heard a voice from heaven, like Jesus did at his baptism, but I did feel a peace and a deep draw to live the life of a priest. It took over three years from my senior retreat to get to the point where I felt comfortable that I was, in fact, hearing God’s call. Now, I can’t imagine myself living any differently.

In the three-and-a-half years since I have been ordained a priest, there have been a total of 8 men ordained for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, including myself. In that same time period, 9 priests have retired, and 13 have died; of those 13, four were in active ministry in parishes at the time of their death. For many men these days, it is taking longer to hear God’s call to priesthood, which often comes after successful careers in the business world. Of the three men ordained priests for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis this past summer, the youngest is 42 and the oldest is 50. With fewer priests, most of us take on multiple assignments or multiple parishes, and it is rare to find a church with more than one priest on staff.

But this is not a story of doom-and-gloom; it’s not a time to wallow in the throes of a vocations crisis. But it is a challenge – the reality of fewer priests today is a challenge to all of us to make it easier to hear God’s call, whether that call is to priesthood or marriage, to religious life or as a single person. Our challenge is to clear the skies of our world and our culture so that when the voice comes from heaven it won’t be drowned out by the thunder and lightning of commercialism, power, greed, and selfishness. Our challenge is to create a culture in which religious vocations are respected and honored, not just because of what they do, but first of all because they are callings from God. And I am confident that a future priest is here among us, at this mass, at least one; with God’s grace, possibly many more. Do you see him? Is he sitting in your pew? Will you share the sign of peace with him before we receive communion? If you think you see him, then why not ask, “Is God calling you to be a priest?” You could be a part of God’s call, just as my high school teacher was for me.