We are told by the mainstream media that there is a priest shortage which will cripple the Church and that empty convents will never be occupied again. These same media organizations float that idea that only non-celibacy can save the day. Increasingly, the numbers of young men entering the seminary to become priests and young women entering religious life are telling these media gatekeepers that they are wrong. In my book, The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism, the facts are clear: those dioceses that are orthodox in nature and taht defend the teachings of the Church generally find themselves with a number of young men entering the seminary; those dioceses which are not and do not, find increasingly empty seminaries. Why this phenomena? Perhaps Archbishop Edwin O'Brien said it best, "A man may give his life for a mystery, but not for a question mark."
The newly ordained and those discerning a vocation are embracing the teachings and traditions of the 2,000 year-old Church. Many have commented that seminaries have a much more orthodox look and feel than was evident even ten or twenty years ago. The numbers of ordinations and seminarians from dioceses whose shepherds have upheld the teachings and traditions of the Church speak for themselves. For example, in 2005 the Diocese of Rochester, New York, one of America's more heterodox or liberal dioceses, had six men preparing for the priesthood in the seminary. However, the orthodox Archdiocese of Omaha and the Diocese of Lincoln, which combined are only half the size of Rochester, had sixty four men studying in the seminary. What a difference firm teachings make.
Many have lamented at the lack of nuns or those young women contemplating a vocation. While some orders haven't added more than a handful of sisters in years, others are bursting at the seams. Yet, in those newer orders (or older orders where orthodoxy is embraced), they too have seen numbers jump. One particular order, the Sisters of Mary of the Eucharist, located near Ann Arbor, Michigan, has simply run out of room in their convent as more and more young women enter.
As indicated earlier in the quote from Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, young people discerning a vocation want some certainty. They have seen all the uncertainty that the world offers. In the Church they see a 2,000 year-old body established by Christ with clear teaching and clear succession (Matthew 16:16-19.) The Church offers hope to a world that is being increasingly narcissistic. The call to a religious vocation is not limited to the young. Many men and women in middle age and even older are entering into the priesthood and religious life. The world didn't answer their hunger so they are taking that hunger and feeding the world with the truth of the Church that was established by Christ (Matthew 16:16-19.) In their young lives, those newly ordained or those who have recently entered religious life have read about and even seen other churches come and go. They are following the advice of St Paul who told the early faithful about the Church being the "pillar and foundation of truth." Increasingly, they understand the words of Christ: the best way to build your foundation is on a rock. Indeed, the tide is turning.
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