Priesthood in a New Frontier

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 9/23/04)

Next week, I will devote several days to considering the theme "Priesthood in a New Frontier" at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocations Directors in Anchorage, Alaska.

What is this new frontier?

In the Diocese of Arlington, our new frontier is all around us — it is the next generation of Catholics. They are young, ethnically diverse and hungry for a deeper faith. Since 1999, the number of registered Catholics has climbed 16 percent to over 394,000; Catholic school enrollment has increased by seven percent; our Catholic multicultural communities are growing, including Hispanics, Vietnamese, Koreans, Philippinos, Africans, Portuguese and Chinese. To meet this growth, our diocese is opening schools, expanding parishes and planning for the future.

To pastor future generations of Catholics, our diocese needs vocations to the priesthood and consecrated (religious) life. We need healthy, balanced individuals who know how to relate to all people, who are open to the truth of the Gospel, and know how to proclaim the Word in a way that is welcoming.

I am encouraged by what I see. Earlier this summer, Father Augustine Tran was ordained as the diocese’s first Vietnamese priest. This fall, four seminarians are beginning their studies for the priesthood. Next year, I may ordain as many as five new priests and seven deacons for this diocese.

The foundation of fostering vocations is prayer. Encouraging, nurturing and supporting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life involves all of us, beginning with parents who prepare, develop and protect the vocations that God stirs up in their home, or "little church." In enriching the faith of their children through worship and prayer as well as by strong moral values and a deep religious spirit, parents provide their children with a compelling witness of Him who said, "I did not come to be served but to serve."

Today, approximately 1,100 members of our St. Theresa Vocation Society and Junior Society, are praying daily for our seminarians as well as for men and women who have entered religious orders. A diocesan Holy Hour for Vocations is held four times a year at different parishes and is open to for all to attend.

Over 100 high school boys and girls and men and women are involved in four discernment groups, which I have the privilege of meeting at various occasions throughout the year. The weekly "Vocations Spotlight" in the HERALD is an opportunity for members of the diocese to become acquainted with and pray for future priests and religious connected with this diocese.

Several all-night Eucharistic Vigils and Vocational Encounter Weekends are offered by the Hispanic Vocation Committee each year. Annual discernment retreats, "Nun Runs," seminary visits, pilgrimage day trips, cookouts, hikes and service projects are among the many activities sponsored throughout the year by our Diocesan Office of Vocations.

I encourage you to become more involved in nurturing vocations in our diocese. More information is available at www.arlingtondiocese.org or by calling the Office of Vocations at 703/841-2514.

Finally, priests are truly key to encouraging vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life because, to echo Pope Paul VI, people are affected more by witness than by teaching. A priest who is committed, faithful, joyful and prayerful in the exercise of his ministry is worth 10,000 words, programs and projects. Together, my brothers and sisters, let us continue to truly affirm, support and sustain our priests in their life-giving ministry and our religious in their witness to poverty, chastity and obedience, enabling them to feel and to reflect the wonder of God’s choice and the privilege of serving the people of God.

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