Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross
NEWSPAPER DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
April 20, 1972
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT PREPARED BY THE EDITORS OF OUR SUNDAY VISITOR
RELIGIOUS
VOCATIONS
ISSUE
The Anatomy of a
Religious Vocation
by FATHER CLIFFORD STEVENS
E VERY vocation is a mystery.
There is about every human
choice an indefinable element
which escapes detection, and it
is in this deep and personal bond
of the individual with his vo
cation, that the heart of the
mystery is to be found. There is
no way to detect or to define
the action of God upon the
human person, especially in the
intimate part of man’s being
where his secret and personal
choices take place. This is part
of the mystery of human free
dom.
But it is necessary, in this
age of aggiornamento (spiritual
renewal and institutional re
form), when the whole structure
and substance of religious life
is under scrutiny, to examine
what can be called the anatomy
of a vocation; to examine the
vocation, and the religious voca
tion in particular, not as a divine
calling (which it certainly is),
but as a human choice. Theo
logically and psychologically, it
is this human choice that con
stitutes the vocation, and without
a full human choice at the root
of the religious vocation, it is
hard to see how there can be
any genuine growth in the vo
cation.
Asceticism in the past has
often been burdened with what
might be called a “super-super
natural” concept of a vocation,
one strongly influenced by both
Calvinism and Jansenism, and
just a bit of the “God the Pro
tagonist” theme of ancient Greek
literature. According to this
view, a vocation is wholly the
work of God. God “calls” the
individual to a particular role or
place, and the individual need
only second the call. God’s will
is dominant and absolute, the
vocation is given, and the indi
vidual can answer ... or suffer
Prayer For
Vocation
O LORD, grant that I
may know the vocation to
which You have destined
me from all eternity. Give
me the courage to embrace
it generously and to be
faithful to it. From this
moment I abandon myself
to Your holy will . . . Holy
Spirit, guide me in my
choice of a state in life.
Amen.
some loss in his relationship with
God, perhaps even the loss of
his soul.
This view is only too com
mon in much ascetical and de
votional literature and has often
prevented generous and right-
minded individuals from making
a genuine choice regarding their
vocation. Not only that, it has
made totally unnecessary the set
ting forth of ideals and goals
with regard to a particular vo
cation and thus has made impos
sible the exercise of a genuine
choice, since God’s choice makes
a human choice unnecessary.
Often such persons feel trapped
by what they fear is the “will of
God,” arbitrarily imposed, and
under the stress and strain of the
moment they resign themselves to
a way of life they really do not
want. A full intelligent choice,
based upon a careful examina
tion of the life itself has not
been maide, but guided by this
abstract concept of the “will of
(Continued on page 15)
Today's Religious must adapt their language to different age-
groups, mentalities, situations. Here, Sister raps with coeds.
Vocation Crisis: What to Do
1 AST month the publication
iof the annual “Activity of
the Holy See” revealed that
while the Catholic population of
the world increased from 526.5-
million to 533.6-million from
1969 to 1972, the total number
of priests in the world declined
by 4,228 in the same period. The
decline in vocations was pointed
out by the fact that the number
of newly ordained priests
dropped from 4,032 in 1969 to
3,500 in 1971.
Seeking solutions to the
problem of declining religious
vocations, the Vatican has spon
sored congresses on vocations,
the most recent of which took
place in Rome in May of last
year. It was the Fourth Congress
of National Directors and of
Episcopal Delegates for Ecclesi
astical Vocations. U.S. represent
atives were Father John J.
O’Neill, M.S., and Sister Mar
garet Mary Modde, M.S., Here
follows the report of that Con
gress. It appears for the first time
in the U.S., an O.S.V. exclusive.
T HE Second Vatican Coun
cil presented the doctrine of
particular vocations in the gen
eral context of the vocation and
mission of the Church in the
world. It brought out, among
other aspects, their dynamic
character, their derivation from
the baptismal vocation, their de
pendence on a community of
Faith, their destination to the
service of the Kingdom of God.
But this doctrine is far from be
ing clear to all minds, and sev
eral of its aspects require devel
opment. In a world of continuing
changes, a labor of research and
of pastoral application in this
matter, will have to go on all
the time.
The diversification of mod
ern society requires a pluri-
formity of priestly ministry.
Consequently, special attention
should be given to this pluri-
formity in the preparation of
candidates for the ministry. Be
sides, the variety of human com
mitments and the opposition that
arises between them, can bring
about oppositions, either between
priests themselves, or between
priests and certain groups of the
faithful. A further study would
seem to be required today, to
bring out what the presbyterate
represents as a ministry of unity.
The exercise of co-responsi
bility, especially between bishop
and priest, and between superior
and religious, does not seem to
be sufficiently developed yet in
several countries. An absence of
dialogue, and a disregard in
practice of the principle of sub
sidiarity are seriously prejudicial
to vocations. Progress in this do
main seems particularly neces
sary.
There exists the problem of
how to adapt our language to
different age-groups, mentalities
and situations. There exists the
problem of method: it is less
(Continued on page 6)
Vietnam
Changed
My Life
by ROY BOURGEOIS, M.M.
66 ARE YOU for real?” That
-C»-was the incredulous, half-
pleased response I received from
chaplains at southern universities
and army bases. I had written to
them asking to speak to students
and soldiers about why I wanted
to be a priest.
Though surprised because
they said “very few came around
these days to talk about the
priesthood,” they encouraged me
to come. And that’s how I spent
my summer.
I would begin my program
by speaking at the Sunday
Masses, telling the men why I
was there. On Monday morning
I would circulate posters indicat
ing where I could be met. On
my first day at Southeastern in
Hammond, La., two students
stopped by to talk. The next two
days I needed a bit of reading
material, for they weren’t wait
ing in line to come in.
I would also go to the cafe
terias, meet people and offer to
talk to groups in the evening.
One night, typical of many, was
the discussion I had with 35
students in one of the dorms.
What I told them I had been
telling people for the last four
years.
I WAS finishing my last of
four years in the Navy, liv
ing on the shores of Greece. I
had my own apartment, a good
job and I was able to travel
throughout Europe. But I began
(Continued on page 3)
Why I Want
To Be a Nun
What is it that makes a
young girl today want to enter
religious Hfe, particularly if
she has a rewarding and
lucrative career ahead of her?
What is the challenge she
wants to meet? Is she running
away from something, or is
she looking for something?
Turn to page 3 and see why
one young woman says “I
want to be a nun in 1972.”