A Parting Message

It was in a large gathering of youngsters in Italy that the Salesians asked the youngsters the all important question: "Why is it that so few of you think of joining the Priesthood, Brotherhood and the Sisterhood?" The answer they received was an unexpected one, it was "Nobody asked us, nobody encouraged us, and we didn't know how to go about it."

The Salesians realized that they had made a mistake in the West, they had made the mistake of thinking that their huge institutions would speak for themselves. We need to learn from our Lord Jesus who himself felt the need of approaching people personally and extending to them a personal invitation to follow Him. "Come and See", said the Lord to Andrew and the other disciple in the Gospel of St. John, chp. 2. "Follow me and I will make you fisher of men", said our Lord to Simon Peter our first Pope. "Follow me" said Jesus to the corrupt tax collector, Mathew.

Jesus will say in Scripture, "Many are called, but few are chosen". I believe very strongly that what Jesus really meant is this, "Many are called, but very few have the courage, the faith, and the trust to say Yes to the Lord; so we have a few who are chosen". Jesus will further say, "The harvest is so rich, but the laborers are so few. Hence, pray to the Lord of the Harvest, to send laborers into his harvest." Hence the need of deep prayer especially in the family in discerning this privileged calling to work in the Lord's Vineyard.

The all important question is how do I know whether I've got a Vocation? I think the question we need to ask first is, "What are the different ways the Lord calls?" In the Scripture we see, the Lord choses whom he wants. We have the disciple Paul, who had to be struck down from the horse to realize that Jesus is Lord and Saviour and hence his decision to serve the Lord alone. We have the young boy Samuel being called, when he did not even know the Lord……..

How does the Lord call today??? I put this question to the many groups I speak to in schools, youth groups, and sometimes in the parishes. The common answers are: in dreams, some further say - in my dream I would find myself saying Mass or preaching, some will add through prayer, while reading the bible, inspired by a teacher or my parents, through an accident……… all these answers are correct, though each have their own limitation. It is very interesting speaking to youngsters about a religious calling. Most of them will smile and call out someone else's name as a worthy candidate. Very few believe that the Good Lord could be extending a personal invitation to them.

The reasons for this are many. One of the important reasons is the very small families that we have nowadays. Hum do, humare do (we two, ours two). Or in some cases, hum do, humare ek (we two, ours one). The cost of living, and competition for jobs has gone up so much, and faith in God has come down so much that accepting more children as a gift from the Lord is unacceptable.

Another important reason is the lack of prayer in the family and to add to this the lack of love for Priests, Brothers and Sisters. We can be very uncharitable to our Spiritual leaders in our conversations sometimes especially in the family.

To add to this we have the exposure to life which is mind boggling. Be it the TV, Internet or the written media. "Live life king size, is the running motto". The need to experience as much as possible without getting caught is another big temptation. Morality today appears to be on the wane. How can a religious Vocation flower in such settings? Herein, we can truly say, "Many are called, but few are chosen".

We also need to add that the demands that Religious Life makes can discourage many a youngster.

Fortunately, ours is an awesome God who is even today calling youngsters to serve Him exclusively. He puts this desire in their hearts right from a young age. Where there is prayer in the family, love and unity among the parents and love and respect for Priests, Brothers and Sisters, in that family a vocation will nurture. The family is the nurturing ground, good families (even though we have our regular fights, misunderstandings) will bear good fruit. The mere desire of the youngster to come to church and serve at the Lord's altar are very positive signs.

Our Father Don Bosco was crazy about Vocations. In his life time, even by 1877, he had promoted nearly 6000 priests to his congregation and also to the diocese. Don Bosco would often say: "A Priest, Brother or Sister is the greatest gift that the good Lord could give to a family. When a person leaves to join the religious life, the Lord himself takes the place of that person in the family."

It is true and I know it for a fact. The Lord takes care of the family, much more than we could even dream of doing ourselves. The good Lord can never be outdone in generosity. Great is the joy of parents of having one of their sons or daughters full time in the service of Jesus. It actually keeps them healthy, happy and always grateful to the almighty for this special gift.

Don Bosco would further say to the Rectors in a conference which he gave in 1877 "As of now, fostering vocations is the main objective of our Congregation. The unusual scarcity of priests which worsens every year is presently our gravest threat… first seek those who may be inclined to join our Congregation, but do not push anyone into it."

It is no secret that in the West the number of vocations is on the decline. The Western Church today is looking to the East, and especially India for its healthy revival. It is no secret that the Western people love the Priests and Sisters coming from India, if you don't believe me kindly ask our Parish Priest Fr. Colbert who has recently returned from the USA, the people there wanted him to stay. "In earlier times the Western Missionaries came to preach the good news and to baptize in the name of the Lord; it is time today" the Holy Father would say "that the Indian priests now come back as Missionaries to the West. The Indian Church has received much and much is demanded now in return." India, even today is looked upon as a land of deep spirituality. Looking at the Salesian world which numbers approximately 17,000 Salesian Frs. and Bros. working in 129 countries, of these 2,500 Salesians hail from India, working in 9 provinces.

When a social worker asked Mother Teresa, "Mother what is the difference between you and me?" The most humble Mother said, "Both of us are the same, except that when you work, you work for something, whereas, I work for someone."

When what I plan for myself matches with the plan the good Lord has for me, then we will be truly happy in life. If the Lord calls you to it, then no matter how difficult it gets, he will see you through it! If the Lord has put the desire in any one of your hearts to be a Salesian Priest or Brother or Sister, have the humility to say Yes!

God bless you!

Fr. Brian Moras sdb