Thank God For Our Diocesan Priests

I just had the great privilege of speaking about ministry to young Catholics at the International Institute for Clergy Formation in New Jersey. The first week (the Institute goes for five weeks, with different speakers and attendees each week) was attended by some fifty or so priests, deacons and seminarians from throughout the country and the world. They were a wonderful and inspiring bunch of holy men, involved in a variety of different ministry situations. Most were diocesan priests.

I must say that I was thrilled and thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to spend time with my brothers in the diocesan priesthood. Theirs is not an easy vocation in these days of declining numbers, in which they feel the effects in far more dramatic ways than those of us in religious life do. And I am aware of how easily in religious life, in which our interaction with our diocesan brothers is often very limited, we can become detached from this reality. This was a welcome reminder. It also was inspiring for me, as I contemplate my own priestly ordination in just a few years, to see the example of men who, despite the many challenges they face today as diocesan priests, are joyful and willing to take time out of their busy schedules to be with each other and to continue to learn ways in which they can be of even better service to the people of God. I should have paid the Institute for the privilege of being there this week, instead of it paying me!

This week also served as a welcome reminder of how important diocesan priests were to my own vocation. Prior to discerning my vocation, I had never actually met a Jesuit. The priests who inspired me in my youth, which is probably the case for most Catholics, were diocesan priests. My idea of priesthood was shaped by the several diocesan priests who taught me, affirmed me and reflected Christ to me in my youth. And though some of my diocesan brothers might respond to the next statement (jokingly, of course) with "where did we go wrong?," I wouldn't be the Jesuit I am today if not for their influence. So, as I reflect on the many graces of this week, I am giving thanks for the gift of our diocesan priests. May God continue to bless their great work!