Some have the impression that Jesus was a marginal preacher who only had twelve men and several women following him. Some believe that not many listened to his message until it was too late, until they had him nailed on a cross. The Gospel however records that Jesus commissioned seventy-two men to go out in pairs to preach the Gospel. Who were these men?
These men had been transformed by the message Jesus preached and had even remained willing to follow him after hearing Jesus’ harsh words such as, “let the dead bury the dead,” and “no one who sets his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.” These men were willing to leave everything behind and venture into an unknown path trusting only the words and instructions of Jesus.
Like them, countless men and women have dedicated their lives wholeheartedly to the mission of Jesus Christ, which is the mission of the Church. Presently there are 415,000 priests and 693,000 women religious in the world serving 1.25 billion Catholics. Just this year, 548 men will be ordained priests of Jesus Christ in the United States. To learn more about this year’s ordination class, click here.
The number of priestly ordinations worldwide has increased from 4,600 in 1970 to 6,800 in 2010. The number of seminarians worldwide since 1985 has increased by 15,000 to 58,000 men currently studying to become priests.
Just as some wrongly believe that Jesus only had twelve men and a few women following him, some believe that today not many people choose to follow Christ in a radical, self-giving way. Many men, in the thousands worldwide, continue to answer the radical call of Jesus Christ, the same call the seventy-two disciples received and answered.
The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. We must ask the Master to continue to send laborers for his harvest. We are blessed in my own mission diocese of Savannah that on Saturday, June 4th, Deacon Brian O’Shaughnessy and Deacon John Wright will be ordained priests at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah at 10am. These men have not been afraid to answer the call and will be sent to preach the Good News.
The impact one laborer can have is as immeasurable as God’s grace. I often recall Saint John Vianney who was sent to the remote village of Ars, France in 1818. John Vianney ministered during the aftermath of the French Revolution, one of the most difficult periods of Church history. Thousands of priests and religious had been executed or had abandoned ministry. Monasteries were suppressed, the Church threatened, cathedrals turned into Temples of Reason, stables or markets, and the faith ceased to be taught in whole regions of France. Yet by trusting in God’s grace and diligently working in Ars, the little piece of God’s Church entrusted to him, Saint John Vianney helped transform the soul of a whole nation.
God continues to call many to serve in the Church, including men and women to serve as priests and religious. He invites each one of us to respond generously to His call, whatever it may be. By responding, we can set the world on fire.
Picture is mine, all rights reserved. Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Savannah, 2016.
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