Scripture
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him.”
Saint
St. Alphonsus Liguori was born near Naples in 1696 to a noble and military family, however due to poor eyesight he went into studying law. After 8 years of practicing law, he heard an interior voice saying: “Leave the world, and give yourself to me.” After some family resistance, he was ordained. St. Alphonsus was later ordained a bishop, was a prolific writer and is now a Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of vocations.
Personal Testimony
Our country is in a vocations crisis. A third of our priests are already retired. U.S. diocesan priestly ordinations decreased by nearly 50% from 1970 to 1990. Our priests are getting older and we didn’t have any priests ordained in our diocese this year, which sadly isn’t uncommon in other dioceses in our country. Our diocese is the middle of a 2-year Real Presence, Real Future initiative to determine the best path forward to increase the presence of the Church throughout the Diocese of Columbus. When the diocese proposed to consolidate and share resources across parishes, it understandably came as a shock. However, when you look at the numbers and trends, you can see why they came to this conclusion. With fewer priests leading more parishes, who’s going to pick up the slack? More than ever, our church needs the laity to step up and serve.
Invitation/Challenge
- Is our Lord calling you today?
- What is he asking of you?
- How will you respond?
Prayer
Our Lord in heaven, through the intercession of St. Alphonsus Liguori, give us the courage to answer your call and renew our fervor to live out our vocation.