Learning to be Quick to Listen

The call to priesthood, a divine invitation to a life consecrated to God, echoes through the ages, remarkably mirroring the immediate and radical "yes" offered by Peter and the apostles to Jesus. When Christ walked by the Sea of Galilee and called out, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," Simon Peter and Andrew "immediately left their nets and followed him" (Matthew 4:19-20). This decisive abandonment of their former lives for an unknown future with the Messiah serves as a profound archetype for every man discerning and ultimately embracing a priestly vocation . As Bishop Robert Barron often illuminates, this is not merely a career choice but a reorientation of one's entire being towards Christ, a willingness to drop everything that hinders the pursuit of God's will. This immediate and unreserved response is deeply rooted in the very nature of divine calling, as understood in the Catholic tradition. The Catechism of the Catholic Churc...

In a survey of Catholics age 14 and older, about 12 percent of males and 10 percent of females said they considered a religious vocation at least "a little seriously," a study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found. The findings, released October 9, give church leaders a vast array of data on which to base positive messages about religious life for teenagers and young adults, said Father Shawn McKnight, executive director of the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which commissioned the survey. "When you consider 12 percent of all male youth and 10 percent of all women ... just a very small percentage (committing to a vocation) would make a tremendous difference," said Father McKnight. "The survey offers solid evidence, credible evidence to base our judgments on how to promote vocations," he added. Broken down, 3 percent of male respondents and 2 perc...