A CRISIS IN THE PRIESTHOOD
WHO WILL FEED HIS SHEEP?
If you have faith, nothing bad will ever happen to you. Well, Jesus had a lot of faith. And look what happened to him. It was because of his faith that had happened to Him has a happy ending. But it was at a cost. All of us have crosses to bear. Jesus told us, if you want to follow me, be my disciple. Take up your cross. United with mine. And together those two pieces of wood can become the crown of righteousness. No, our faith doesn't tell us that we won't suffer. Our faith gives us the strength and the grace we need to be able to endure it, and to keep the faith, no matter how stormy the seas around us may become.
We know that Jesus, who walked on water and calms stormy seas, who turned water into wine and wine into his blood. He's got this. Whatever it may be. We just have to trust in Him. And that's faith. But when we hear that phrase, the harvest is plenty. But the laborers are few. There's another meaning. It has been the clarion call for vocations to the priesthood throughout the centuries.
And nowhere is the need more urgent than at this present time in our own country. And to show you just how much, I'll use two reference points. We'll start with 2025, where we find ourselves today and go back 65 years to 1960. In 1960, in the United States, there were 42 million Catholics, 42 million Catholics, being served by 60,000 Catholic priests.
Now, in 2025, there's 70 million Catholics being served by 35,000 Catholic priests. The number of Catholics has grown by more than 25 million. The number of priests has decreased by more than 25,000.
Things are moving in the wrong direction
Things are moving in the wrong direction. Perhaps that explains why, in the 65 years, 3000 Catholic churches have closed in our country. Not because there aren't enough people, because there aren't enough priests. And that explains why even today, on this 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July the 6th, 2025, there are 3496 Catholic parishes in the United States that can't have mass this morning because there is no priest to come to the altar to bring them the Eucharist. What explains the change? Well, we certainly have seen a great cultural shift in these last 65 years.
And our Catholic faith in this country has not necessarily flourished in that harsh environment. Marriage in the family under attack, the culture always wanting to redefine them, if not outright destroy them. We have people having smaller families. In 1960, a small Catholic family might have 6 or 8 children, and a mother might give her spleen at the very idea that one of her children might be called to the priesthood.
But now, at an age where people prefer, in most cases, to raise pets rather than people, we see that if they're only going to have a few children, we might actively discourage one of them being taken off the market as marital material. We pray for vocations, but we often pray that they come from someone else's family. We would all staff if we didn't have food on our table, and the means of hydration.
If we lost this many priests in the last 65 years, what will it be like 65 years from now?
When we call for the priest? Will someone come and give our mother last rites? When we need a confession where there will be someone to hear it. When we show up in a field, whether it be someone that can make bread and wine become Jesus body and blood, only we have the answer to that question.
Is God calling for less people to be priests? Doubtful. Is God calling for les people to shepherd his flock? Impossible. But when he calls, we have to answer. That might be the difference between the culture of today and not just 60 years ago, but back when Jesus sent forth the 12 and the 72, He chose them. He called them by name, and He sent them.
And that's what happens to all of us when you decide to activate and to live out the call of our baptism. That's why we say at the end of every mass, go and announce the gospel of the Lord. We come here to hear about it, but then we have to go out there and do something about it. So yes, my friends, the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few and getting fewer.
So let's make sure that when we pray for vocations, it isn't just from someone else's family.
ALL ROADS CATHOLIC MEDIA
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