Stewardship of Vocations: A Hope-Filled Response to Shrinking Vocations
“The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out labourers for his harvest” (Luke 10:2). These words of Jesus speak directly to the concern over declining priestly and religious vocations in many parts of the world. Yet they are not words of discouragement. They are a call to prayer, invitation, and shared responsibility within the whole Church. [1]
Prayer for vocations is indispensable, but parishes and families must also become places where a young person can hear, name, and courageously explore God’s call. Vocations do not emerge in isolation. They are nurtured in homes where faith is lived,
in parishes where priests and religious are known and loved, and in communities willing to encourage a young person who may be discerning a call to priesthood or consecrated life.
This is why I believe that Stewardship of Vocations should be a regular and visible part of parish life. The present shortage of priests and those in religious life is a serious concern, but it can also be an invitation to renew the Church’s culture of vocation. Families and parishes, from which vocations arise, can help create an environment where God’s call is heard and generously answered.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., was among the bishops who recognized the urgency of this pastoral need. When Father Andrew Kemberling came to St. Thomas More Parish in July 2000, Archbishop Chaput specifically asked him, in his letter of appointment, to promote vocations.
After much discussion, we decided to include vocations as part of the St. Thomas More stewardship program. We recognized that vocations are a stewardship issue because the people of God—their gifts, faith, generosity, and willingness to serve— are among the Church’s greatest spiritual resources.
Every baptized person has a vocation: a unique and irreplaceable role in carrying out God’s plan. The Lord calls people to marriage, single life, priesthood, the diaconate, consecrated life, parenthood, service, and holiness in the ordinary circumstances of
daily life. At St. Thomas More, however, the Stewardship of Vocations phase gives particular attention to fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
At St. Thomas More, Stewardship of Vocations is one of the six interrelated phases of our stewardship model: Stewardship of Prayer, Faith, Talent, Treasure, the Earth, and Vocations. These are not separate projects carried out in isolation. Together, they form stewardship as a way of life—rooted in gratitude, responsibility, generosity and mission.
Stewardship of Prayer teaches parishioners to listen for God’s voice. Stewardship of Faith gives them the courage to respond to that voice. Stewardship of Talent and Treasure call each person to offer God-given gifts in service to others. Stewardship of the Earth forms reverence for God’s creation and responsibility for our common home. Stewardship of Vocations helps the community recognize, affirm, and nourish
the particular call that God gives to every person.
In this integrated vision, promoting priestly and religious vocations is not merely the responsibility of a pastor, a diocesan vocations office, or a once-a-year campaign. It is the shared responsibility of families, parishioners, ministries, and the entire worshipping community. A parish that prays, lives its faith, shares its gifts, gives generously, cares for creation, and personally invites its young people to discern God’s call creates the spiritual soil in which vocations can grow.
Each year, usually during the first or second week of November, St. Thomas More holds its Stewardship of Vocations phase. Along with prayer for vocations, the parish speaks openly and positively about priesthood and religious life. This makes vocation discernment a normal and welcome part of parish conversation rather than a subject left unspoken.
We use the “Called by Name” process, inspired by the words of Isaiah: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). [2] Parishioners are invited to nominate people whom they believe may have the faith, generosity, character, and openness to consider a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.
Those who are nominated are remembered in prayer in a special way and are gently encouraged to consider and nourish the possibility of God’s call. The purpose is never to pressure anyone. Rather, it is to ensure that a young person does not set aside a possible vocation simply because no one has ever said, “Have you considered that God may be calling you?”
The fruit of this culture of prayer, encouragement, and personal invitation has been remarkable. St. Thomas More Parish, though founded only in 1971, was blessed with at least twenty-five priests, twelve deacons, and five religious sisters by the time Father Andrew Kemberling was assigned to another parish in July 2014. The accompanying photograph and wall display bear witness to what can happen when a parish deliberately regards vocations as a shared responsibility. The concern about shrinking vocations cannot be answered by statistics alone. The answer begins with a renewed culture of vocation: families that pray, parishes that speak joyfully and regularly about priesthood and consecrated life, priests who invite, and parishioners who recognize spiritual potential in the young.
In time, and through the grace of the Holy Spirit, communities that faithfully ask the Lord of the harvest and actively encourage those whom He calls will see more labourers serving in God’s Kingdom. The experience of St. Thomas More offers a practical and hopeful lesson: vocations flourish when they are prayed for, named, supported, and entrusted to God.
