Called to serve

by Editor · April 25, 2007

Two South African bishops this week raise two quite different and yet intimately linked problems concerning vocations.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, in his homily to the Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life in Bronkhorstspruit, said that the shortage in �religious vocations spell an impoverishment of the local Church�.

Bishop Edward Risi this week points out the difficulties experienced by many priests in involving sufficient numbers of parishioners in the active life of the Church.

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations Pope Benedict touches on both areas.

He stresses the importance of quality in religious vocations, which, as he has said before, may well come at the expense of quantity. The pope also called on consecrated and lay Catholics to serve the Church in communion.

This, he said, will lead to greater numbers of quality vocations. As the pope in his message rightly points out: ��whoever lives in an ecclesial community that is harmonious, co-responsible and conscientious, certainly learns more easily to discern the call of the Lord.�

The Holy Father�s call also acknowledges that the religious life is not for everyone. It follows a specific call, and is entered into only after a long process of discernment. One important consideration (and possible obstacle) in this process, especially within the context of African culture, is that of mandatory celibacy.

Most Catholics do not receive God�s call to enter holy orders, and some who do receive the call feel disqualified by its attendant burdens. Yet all committed Catholics have a baptismal vocation within the Church.

There is a calling for everybody in the Church, according to their talents and time.

The opportunities to serve in the Church�s many apostolates and ministries are boundless, ranging from performing administrative or financial advice on diocesan and parish level to catechesis to the maintenance and cleaning of the parish church.

There are also many Catholic charitable organisations�run by Church institutions or by groups of lay Catholics�that welcome the pro bono contributions of specialists in many professional fields and that of volunteers who help deliver their services.

And we might add to the many areas of beneficial ministrations the promotion of the Church�s social communications apostolate by encouraging the use of Catholic media

All areas of voluntary work for the Church constitute a holy service to the community that is the People of God, and so to God himself.

Another vocation for lay people concerns the interpersonal support for those aspiring to the consecrated life in the seminaries and novitiates, and for those already in holy orders. They need our prayers, but also the extension of concrete friendship�especially our secular priests who do not enjoy the benefit of living in a religious community.

With the number of clergy and religious dropping, engagement by the lay people in the activities of the Church is becoming increasingly indispensable. But this means also that the laity will demand greater levels of influence in the running of parish and Church.

Those in holy orders and those outside must find ever more ways to cooperate fruitfully�which, of course, is already happening in many places.