Vocation - a few more thoughts…
Catholic seminaries and the houses of religious orders are echoing with the sound of fewer and fewer footsteps, a process that has been going on for some time now; another one of the far reaching impacts of the culture of that short sighted decade we call the 60s. But not without the help of church men and women who took to the Vatican II call for aggiornamento with a progressive program to rid the Church of its old ways. This they have done, and the obedient sheep followed blahing all the way to and over the cliff. We only have ourselves to blame.
There is a good reflection on all this by Tom Howard in the October 2005 issue of Crisis magazine, titled Ashes to Ashes. I recommend it. He points out a salient fact, that being the seminaries of evangelical congregations are “packed with (young) zealots” who can’t wait to begin their ministry preaching their faith in Jesus Christ as savior of the world. Catholics too actually witnessed to this once. OK, perhaps I’m being pessimistic and overstating things a bit because, yes, there are many good Catholic witnesses to the faith that has been handed on down through the ages. Absolutely, no doubt. Still, facts are facts, and they are represented clearly in the empty pews, rectories, convents, seminaries, and religious orders throughout the United States and Europe. Why the contrast between evangelical youth and Catholic youth? The contrast, I posit, lies not with the youth but with their respective churches.
So, this in large part is why I’ve begun this blog. I want to speak to whomever will listen that the Catholic Church is in need of you, the young, the idealistic, the fiery believer in Jesus. Don’t be afraid to commit yourselves to the Church as she suffers through this time of scandal and confusion. I am writing to get the word out that the monastic life is an unbelievably heroic life of sacrifice in service to Jesus, the Lord of all. Don’t be afraid to give yourself completely, because such a gift will have unimaginable effects on others. You will be a witness with your life to the Truth that Jesus Christ is Lord. Be a monk. Be a mystic. Be a hidden jewel in the hands of God, a gift he will cherish for all eternity.
Don’t just think about it. Do something. Jesus needs you. The Church needs you. Imagine the unimaginable … Jesus waits with open arms …
2 Responses to “Vocation - a few more thoughts…”
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October 8th, 2005 at 2:10 am
Beautifully said. I think part of the problem is making the Church and Christ relevant to the largely secular culture today. How do we do that without duming down or comprimising the message?
October 8th, 2005 at 8:26 pm
I hear you. I understand where your sentiment is coming from, but I think the premise is part of the problem Catholics have been dealing with since Vatican II. Let’s throw relevance out the window! and start living radical lives of committment to the Kingdom. Monastic life is one way to do just that and that’s my reason for writing this blog. The desert monastics never gave a moment’s thought to relevance. They just lived the life they felt drawn to live to the full, and never looked back. That’s the strength of the evangelical movement too. Revevance is not in their vocabulary, at least not as a solution to the problem of the secular Christian divide. Radical commitment, not relevance, is the only way forward; then others will sit up and take notice.