Vocations Holy Hour
to be held at every parish
By
NADIA MARIA SMITH
CS&T Staff Writer
Imagine that on one night in every church in the Archdiocese, the parishioners,
led by their pastors, kneel before God in prayer at the same time for
the same intention. It would be a sight to behold — and you can,
in fact, take part in such an event by heading to your parish church at
7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, for an evening Holy Hour.
The intention that you and the rest of the Archdiocese will be praying
for? An increase in priestly vocations.
In a number of events for Bicentennial Vocation Awareness Week, to be
held Jan. 12 through Jan. 20, the Vocation Office for Diocesan Priesthood
is asking all parishes to open wide their church doors and invite the
faithful to pray before the exposed Eucharistic Lord all day. The culmination
will be the Archdiocese-wide evening Holy Hour.
“I don’t see how we could go wrong. The power of that, even
the symbol of that, is extraordinary,” said auxiliary Bishop Daniel
E. Thomas, who assists Cardinal Justin Rigali in overseeing the Office
for Clergy. “When people pray together, the power is untold and
unimaginable.”
As with the national trend, the Philadelphia Archdiocese has seen a decrease
in priestly vocations during past years. New priests are not coming in
enough numbers to replace elderly priests as they retire or die.
One reason for that decline is our materialistic culture, according to
Father Robert Vogan, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Aston.
“Our young people are reluctant to make the sacrifice of religious
life,” he said.
Bishop Thomas said he believes the breakdown of the family is also crucial.
“We have to pray for families because vocations begin in the family,”
Bishop Thomas said. “We have to pray for families to have an openness
and to encourage a vocation in the Church.
The Bishop added that “there is also no question that the [clergy
abuse] scandal has affected the Church, and that it has gravely diminished
the image of the priest.”
Catholics have to be made aware of the urgency for such prayers for vocations,
said Father Vogan, whose parish will be hosting a Holy Hour presided over
by Cardinal Rigali.
There is no question that the Archdiocese has been blessed with a great
many priests that have kept it vibrant and active, but that will change
“as the numbers of priests dwindle,” Father Vogan said.
He hopes the day of Eucharistic adoration throughout the Archdiocese will
bring home to Catholics how necessary it is to pray for holy priests,
and that it will also inspire them to pray for priests more often.
Father George Majoros, pastor of Maternity B.V.M. in Philadelphia, said
spending time before the Eucharist is vital for both priests and laity
because it helps us to “grow in greater friendship with Him, and
to realize that without being rooted in a relationship with Him, nothing
can grow.”
Eucharist adoration, in particular, is an important form of prayer because
it is the extension of the Mass, Bishop Thomas added.
Without the Eucharist there is no Church, and without the priest there
is no Eucharist. So it is necessary to come before the Eucharist —
which humankind obtains by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the
hands of a priest — to ask the Lord to give the young men He is
calling “the grace to respond positively to the Lord’s call
and convert their hearts to say yes,” Bishop Thomas said.
“There is a marvelous line from St. John Chrysostom,” he continued.
“He talks about sitting before the Blessed Sacrament, and said often
times it is like sitting in the sun. If there are clouds, we really don’t
think we are getting any sun, and then we get home and realize we’ve
been burned from [its rays]. … It’s a beautiful analogy because
no matter what we feel or don’t feel, the power of sitting before
our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is transforming us.”
Catholics of the Archdiocese are asked to approach the Holy Hour at 7
p.m. on Jan. 15 with just that faith and trust.
CS&T staff writer Nadia Maria Smith can be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.