Where vocations thrive.

Among Catholics in North America, few refrains are more common than the lament over the lack of vocations to the priesthood. The shortage of priests seems so acute that the faithful in even some large areas confront dire predictions such as, "There won't be any priests here at all by 2020." To those who ask, "Why?", the answer has itself become a refrain: the culture is the cause. A compendium of cultural trends--hedonism, egocentrism, materialism, secularism--could only operate to defeat the demands of a celibate male Catholic clergy.

Thus runs the stock explanation. On its terms, the effect--lack of priests--is irreversible, since the cause--dominant cultural influence--is irremediable. This diagnosis counsels resignation, but evokes despair. Actually, neither is warranted, because the explanation contains critical flaws. As an enterprise in empirical analysis, it is no more than partially true; as a purportedly logical argument, it is simply question-begging; i.e., it assumes as given that which still requires demonstration.

For a proper perspective, two points deserve emphasis. First, considered in full context, North American vocations are not lagging. Secondly, the response to a culture inimical to a life of religious consecration should not confine itself to surrender. Moreover, the two points intersect: those religious orders and diocesan seminaries that contest the culture, rather than bow before it, are precisely the ones that enjoy an increasing influx of candidates for ordination. It is instructive to note that not only are certain congregations flourishing, but that these vibrant ones conform to a certain type of religious dedication. Those of this type cohere around a central core of ineradicable Catholic doctrine and distinctive Catholic devotion.

Which are these congregations, and what is their common denominator? Since their denominator is the determinant of their strength and growth, it should receive primary consideration. This common bond comprises three essential features: reverence for the Eucharist, devotion to Mary, and obedience to the Magisterium.

Reverence for the Eucharist derives from profound belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Devotion to Mary flows from prayerful acknowledgement of her virgin motherhood of God's own Son. Obedience to the Magisterium entails staunch loyalty to the Pope, who as the successor to Saint Peter, remains the Rock upon which the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church can steady itself in these tempestuous times. Accordingly, instances abound of the cause and effect relation between an order's traditional priestly formation and its flourishing priestly vocations.

Legionaries

In their vocational appeals, the Legionaries of Christ, for example, proclaim "a spirituality centred on love for Christ, consecrated to Mary, faithful to the Pope." The results are as remarkable as they are reassuring. Toward the end of 1998, the North American Director of the congregation could report that "over 50 young men joined our North American seminaries this fall--and 27 Legionaries were ordained deacons, on their way to being ordained priests this Christmas." [1] Such numerical growth inevitably has led to institutional expansion. "Not too many Christmases ago, we only had a house in Connecticut to worry about. Do you realize we now have four seminaries to look after?" [2] One of these additions is the novitiate in Cornwall, Ontario. The Canadian house of formation is part of a Legion of Christ spiritual empire that, in the fifty years since its papal approval, has extended to 100 cities, in 19 countries, with vocations from 27 nations, for a current strength of 440 priests and 2200 seminarians.

Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter

Although it has operated for a shorter duration, and on a smaller scale, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter shows a similar pattern of tradition-rooted growth. Since being granted papal approval by the Vatican in 1988, the Fraternity has grown to 105 priests and 140 seminarians working in ten countries in Europe and North America (latest figures from The Wanderer, Oct. 28, 1999). Its North American complement, which currently includes a Canadian contingent of five priests and nine seminarians, is due for a dramatic increase, with the ordination of eight seminarians to the diaconate in 1999, and as many as twenty priestly ordinations in the next two years. [3] Moreover, "A number of diocesan priests and members of other religious communities have taken the first steps towards joining the Fraternity." [4]

To its raison d'etre of liturgical solemnity combined with papal fealty, the Fraternity adds the third staple of Marian devotion. The Fraternity's founding document, its constitution, proclaims that the Priestly Fraternity

"is under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Priest par excellence and thus of each priest... who moulds all priests in the image of her Son...(and) leads them to discover the profound motives for their celibacy a condition for the blossoming of their priesthood. " [5]

Just as the Legionaries of Christ have progressed from one North American seminary to four, so has the Priestly Fraternity prospered. As Father Charles Ryan, FSSP, writes from Ottawa, "At a time when most communities are closing down seminaries, we are ambitiously undertaking the construction of a new seminary to be built in Lincoln, Nebraska." [6]

Companions of the Cross

The Companions of the Cross, originating in Canada, are of more recent vintage than the Legionaries of Christ, and their founding coeval with that of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. The Companions, both in their growing numbers and enduring orthodoxy, are a contemporary Canadian apostolate addressed to the current needs of the Church in Canada.

The beginning of the Companions of the Cross was modest, almost casual. In early 1984, the eventual founder, Father Bob Bedard, a veteran priest of the Ottawa Archdiocese, initiated a weekly support group for a small number of seminarians. Although he envisioned nothing more at the time, the impetus soon developed for the formation of a new community of priests. By late 1985, Archbishop J.A. Plourde of Ottawa gave recognition to the fledgling organization as, under Canon Law, an "informal association". As its ranks increased so did its status; on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11, 1988, the Companions officially became a "public association of clerics." They then numbered twenty men; by now the figure has all but tripled. The community draws this manpower both from priests who join from other ministries, and from its own growing candidates from eight Canadian provinces, as well as from the United States and the Philippines. With its resources, the institute, inter alia, staffs parishes, conducts m issions, and is "involved in various forms of youth ministry." [7]

The strength, confidence, and resolve of the Companions of the Cross rest on "four main pillars." As they proclaim, "We are Eucharistic, Charismatic, Marian, and Magisterial." [8] They consider that their "main call is to embrace the new evangelization that the Pope and bishops have called for." Their fourfold response, first as Eucharistic, emphasizes "prayer before the Blessed Sacrament exposed"; second as Charismatic, entails "use of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit"; third as Marian, is "consecrated to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary"; and fourth as Magisterial, remains "loyal to the Pope and the official teaching of the Church." [9] The following passages elaborate the commitment of the community to its "four main pillars" of spirituality:

"We are a Eucharistic community, believing the sacrifice of the Mass to be the principal source and summit of the Christian life. We also promote exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in each of our parishes, the latter perpetually, if possible.

"We are Charismatic. We seek actively to use the Corinthian gifts in ministry. We seek the wisdom of God and His power. We place emphasis on spontaneous praise, which includes singing in the Spirit and appropriate gestures. We engage in spiritual warfare when it is indicated. We hold the ministry of inner healing to be very important.

"We wish to make a proper place for Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, in the living out of our call. We are consecrated through her to Jesus, her Son and our Lord. We engage in and promote devotion to her in different ways, especially the Rosary.

"We are loyal to the Pope and the Magisterium, the authoritative teaching office of the Catholic Church. We want to be fully Catholic in every possible way--nothing more, but nothing less." [10] (See also C.I. article, July/ Aug 1997.)

Community of St. John

During a retreat at a Cistercian abbey in France, on December 8, 1975, a priest, Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, O.P., and five of his students, including another priest, consecrated themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thus began, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Community of St. John. From this modest beginning, "membership in the Community of St. John has exploded-- that's the only word to use for an order that has grown from six men at the end of 1975 to today's total of 350 brothers in 52 houses scattered in 17 countries around the world." [11]

With its founder being a Dominican, it is not surprising that the order's apostolate centres around preaching and teaching. The forms, however, are varied and, significantly, address themselves to contemporary needs. The Brothers teach at seminaries and universities, and they staff chaplaincies at Newman Centres on several American college campuses. One of the latter is Texas A&M, at Laredo, Texas, where the order also offers classes to the public, runs a retreat centre, and conducts a jail ministry. Although the Community of St. John serves some parishes in France, where its motherhouse is located, it does not operate parishes in the United States.

This last point illustrates that the religious institutions under examination here, although commonly thriving, do display some incidental differences. For example, whereas the Companions of the Cross are evangelical in their approach and pastoral in their apostolate, the Community of St. John is more philosophical and educational. As Newman Centre chaplains, however, the Brothers of St. John, according to Fr. Dominic Peridans, Prior of their Laredo community, "circulate as monks on campuses." [12] A pastoral benefit, albeit indirect, may thus ensue," since the presence of monks in the academic world seems to be sparking an interest in vocations." [13]

Given the thorough secularization of most post-secondary education in this country, the Community of St. John's university chaplaincy role alone would warrant its extension into Canada. Surely our Canadian students would profit from the presence of "monks on campus who are given to imparting "those truths that are revealed in Sacred Scripture, elucidated by the writings of the Fathers in general and of St. Thomas Aquinas in particular, and taught by the Magisterium of the Church." Comprehensively, the Brothers bind themselves to "three covenants" found in the Gospel according to St. John. These are first, "the Covenant with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament", with specific reference to John 6:59; second, "the Covenant with Mary", with specific scriptural reference to John 19:27; and third, "the Covenant with Peter in the person of the Holy Father" with specific scriptural reference to John 21:15,16 [14]

The three covenants of the Community of St. John, as the amplification below attests, correspond to the distinguishing features of the other congregations in this study:

"The Covenant with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament expresses itself in (the) 'reverent celebration of the Mass, and the periods of silent adoration before the tabernacle which are a daily feature of the Community's life.'

"The Covenant with Mary regards the Blessed Virgin as mother and guardian of faith, hope and love...the divine milieu of the contemplative life.

"The Covenant with Peter in the person of the Holy Father means that the members live in filial obedience to the Pope." [15]

Society of St. John

The Society of St. John, which is distinct from the similarly named Community of St. John, began five years ago, with a small group of priests, deacons, and seminarians making an exodus from Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's Society of Pius X and its seminary in Minnesota. They sought, and have received, canonical recognition from the Church, with Bishop James Timlin, the Ordinary of Scranton, Pennsylvania, having accorded them official status in his diocese. [16] Like the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, some of whose responsibilities the order has assumed in Pennsylvania, the Society promotes the Tridentine Latin Mass and professes its loyalty to "The Magisterium of the Church, her Fathers and Doctors," as well as its "ecclesiastical discipline." [17] In the spring of 1999, two of its priests, along with one from the similarly traditional Institute of Christ the King, addressed a gathering in New York City. On that occasion, "All three spoke of the vocation crisis in their orders: they cannot take in all the m en who wish to join them." [18]

All of the above religious communities are rather recently founded, with the Legion of Christ, in existence for less than sixty years, being by far the oldest. All are firmly grounded on a base compounded of their Eucharistic, Marian, and Magisterial commitments. All are, in proportion, amply stocked with recruits. They differ only in varying emphasis upon one apostolate or another. The Legionaries, along with myriad other apostolates, are the most missionary. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter assigns priority, as does the Society of St. John, to the revival of the Tridentine Latin Mass. The Companions of the Cross fill the ranks of parish priests. The Community of St. John, philosophical in approach and pedagogical in function, strives to balance the contemplative and active lives.

The Oratory

All of these institutes began as small groups formed around mentor priests. Yet another congregation had just such an inception over 400 years ago. It is similarly Eucharistic, Marian, and Magisterial. In its tradition-based seminary, it continues to attract and train not only its own memoers, but also candidates for the diocesan priesthood. In Canada, at the same locale in Toronto, it directs "a complex parish in a large modern city", with particular attention to "the exactness and splendour of its liturgical celebrations." [19] It seeks to combine the contemplative and active apostolates, and, like its modern counterparts, it arose at a time of trial, doubt, and disarray for the Church. St. Philip Neri's Congregation of the Oratory formally began in 1575. Its ranks would come to include John Henry Cardinal Newman, the greatest nineteenth-century convert to Catholicism, and the present-day Toronto Oratorians, who have thrived under the leadership of Father Jonathan Robinson.

The Oratorians, therefore, are hardly new, but the Church's need for men of their kind remains as compelling as when they first started. For these profoundly prayerful priests of orthodox spiritual formation, "great importance is attached to a love of the Eucharist and the Blessed Sacrament; a primary place is assigned to prayer in union with Our Lady; and we practice a filial obedience to the Holy Father and to his teaching, (which) enables us to live faithfully and deeply the living Tradition of the Church." [20]

To the refrain lamenting the lack of priests, therefore, there is a most fitting response: "Adore the Eucharist, honour Mary, obey the Pope, gain vocations." It works for any religious order, male or female, contemplative or active, domestic or international, preaching or teaching, just as it would work for any country, diocese, or parish. (See also Catholic Insight's article on the Toronto Oratory in October 1995.)

Missionaries of Charity 

No one could have seen this more clearly, stated it more succinctly, or applied it more effectively than Mother Teresa of Calcutta. For her, in addition to her manifest loyalty to the Pope, recitation of the rosary before the Blessed Sacrament meant "loving Jesus with the heart of Mary." As she has written of her Missionaries of Charity, "In 1963 we were making a weekly holy hour together, but it was not until 1973, when we began our daily holy hour that our community started to grow and blossom." [21]

The Church has need for vocations; it follows that it has need for religious communities such as those in this inquiry. What, in turn do they need? Spiritually, they need the prayers of the faithful; canonically, they need the welcome of bishops.

Footnotes:

(1.) Letter from Fr. Anthony Bannon, L.C., October 22, 1998

(2.) Letter from Fr. Anthony Bannon, L.C., November 25, 1998

(3.) Newsletter of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, May 1999, p.1

(4.) Newsletter of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, June 1999, p.1

(5.) Newsletter of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, May 1999, p.1

(6.) Letter from Fr. Charles Ryan, FSSP, February 5,1999

(7.) Magazine of tile Companions of the Cross, Winter 1999, p.17

(8.) Vocational pamphlet of the Companions of the Cross

(9.) Pamphlet of Koinonia Entreprises, an affiliate of the Companions of the Cross

(10.) Vocational pamphlet of the Companions of the Cross