All in: Priests, parents, teachers, and lay faithful are called to encourage and support priestly vocations
Seminarians stand as they are introduced to members of the St. John Paul II Shepherd’s Guild during an Advent event on Dec. 21, 2024, at St. Patrick Cathedral. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
KELLER — “The fostering of vocations cannot be considered a marginal activity, but must be incorporated fully into the life and activity of the community,” Pope St. John Paul II said.
Bishop Michael Olson, during a Jan. 25 Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, reiterated that thought, stating, “The ministry for vocation fostering belongs to everyone.”
Such calls are not simply between God and the called, Bishop Olson added.
“It always involves the people of God in the Church,” Bishop Olson said. “It’s only there that prayer and gratitude can come to root for a deeper understanding to receive the light that the Lord offers us and offers those called.”
Vocations ministry
In hopes of increasing vocation awareness and support, numerous priests, seminarians, Serra Club members, and parishioners from throughout the diocese attended a vocations ministry workshop following the Jan. 25 Mass at the Keller parish.
One goal of the workshop is to establish a vocations ministry team at each parish in the diocese.
It’s a goal in line with Pope Benedict XVI’s thoughts on the matter.
“Particularly in these times, when the voice of the Lord seems to be drowned out by other voices and His invitation to follow Him by the gift of one’s own life may seem too difficult, every Christian community, every member of the Church, needs consciously to feel responsibility for promoting vocations,” Pope Benedict XVI said.
“It is important to encourage and support those who show clear signs of a call to priestly life and religious consecration, and to enable them to feel the warmth of the whole community as they respond ‘yes’ to God and the Church,” he continued.
Closer to home, Father Brett Metzler, diocesan director of vocations, reminded attendees the priesthood is not a job in the same way a doctor, teacher, or other careers are, but rather it is a supernatural calling from God.
Fr. Metzler spoke of the need for fostering vocations on a macro level.
“This is [all of us] helping young men who are called to the priesthood to be more open to God’s voice,” Fr. Metzler said. “Because I think way more young people are called to vocation than are saying ‘yes.’ Because they’re scared or there’s not a culture that they can stand up and say ‘yes.’”
Rectifying that requires prayer for vocations both on an individual and parish level, Fr. Metzler said.
“Then second, fostering a culture of vocations [throughout parishes and the diocese] that offsets the anti-vocation culture,” Fr. Metzler said.
From coach to cleric
Trent Barton, a seminarian serving his pastoral year at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Arlington, spoke of how his family and parish encouraged his vocation.
“I grew up very Catholic,” Barton said. “Mom made my brothers and I pray every night before bed. My grandmom’s sister became a nun. We grew up with a love of family and church and were close to priests, so they were never foreign to me.”
Barton, all the same, earned a degree in education from Hardin-Simmons University and went on to become a college coach.
In time, the culture of prayer instilled by his mother brought him around to consideration of a priestly vocation.
“Entering the priesthood took an extreme act of courage, but our Blessed Mother helps and the best way to discern being called to the priesthood is by listening.”
Barton said his initial call gave shock and pause.
“It blew my mind that God was calling me,” Barton said. “I’m not some super academic guy. But I realized that God doesn’t only call super perfect people, and vocations can literally come from anywhere. It’s not just one type of guy who can become a priest. God calls from everywhere.”
Which, Barton said, is where the responsibility to foster vocation falls on all.
“If someone comes to you and says they love serving, talk to them and encourage that service,” Barton said. “Just listen and be there for them.”
Barton joked that while he still loves football, he takes joy in the fact that rather than being responsible for 30 to 40 players, he soon, by God’s grace, will have the opportunity to help thousands of people as a priest.
“I’ve found I’m most happy and fulfilled in becoming who God created me to be,” Barton said.
Priestly example
Fellow seminarian Paul Trinh, serving a pastoral year at St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Flower Mound, said witnessing the example of the priests at Fort Worth’s Christ the King Parish growing up sparked the call of vocation for him.
“Witnessing how they lived out that call from Christ led me to discern and determine I wanted to be a priest with the people of God,” Trinh said.
Father Joseph Moreno of Burkburnett’s St. Jude Thaddeus Parish said, “God is calling many of these young men. The problem is many of them are not hearing the call either because they haven’t learned they have a vocation, or they haven’t learned to listen for it or don’t know how to listen for it.”
Fr. Moreno added priests have a duty to actively involve themselves in priestly and other religious vocations among their parishioners.
Father Raymond McDaniel of St. Philip the Apostle Parish called vocation “our destiny and beautiful opportunity as Catholics.”
Renée Underwood, president of the Fort Worth Serra Club, added that five of the diocese’s current 26 seminarians grew up in Fr. McDaniel’s parish.
“Vocations do not come by chance, nor can we make them by human effort alone,” Fr. McDaniel said. “They come to us out of the mercy of God. If we do not pray to obtain them, they will not be given to us.”
Fr. McDaniel, and others during the workshop, detailed practical ways through which parish members can help foster vocations as well as the importance of access and availability to priests and other church officials for those discerning vocation calls.
Lay support
At the workshop, Underwood explained the purpose of the worldwide Serra Club, which consists mainly of members of the laity, and how it helps foster vocations on the diocese and parish levels.
“We’re committed to working to increase vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious, life and, here in the diocese, we’re fortunate to have three active Serra Clubs,” Underwood said.
Underwood discussed discernment events held in conjunction between the clubs and the diocese as well as appreciation dinners and other events for seminarians, priests, and other religious.
“An advantage as Serrans is that we get to know our seminarians very well,” Underwood said.
Fellow Serra Club member Roseanne Taylor-Hunt spoke of hopes of establishing a presence in every parish in the diocese.
Serra Club “exemplifies the importance of all Catholics to support vocations,” Taylor-Hunt said.
Taylor-Hunt also spoke of discernment events for those who feel called at the University of Dallas and club member efforts toward adopting seminarians and supporting diocesan priests and religious.
Underwood and Taylor-Hunt stressed that the ranks of Serra Club and parish vocations ministry teams need more people.
Patty Bransford, vice president of vocations with Fort Worth Serra Club, stressed the importance of discussing vocations in Catholic schools with students from a young age and the importance of priests and other religious participating in such efforts.
Underwood, after the fact, reported that 152 people from 30 parishes within the diocese attended the workshop. The plan is to host additional workshops to further vocation awareness and support, she and Bransford said.
Fort Worth Serra Club president-elect Bruce Mallory summed the workshop up as exceptional.
“It was hard in advance to know what to expect,” Mallory said. “But, I think everyone involved did a good job of communicating not only the need for all of us to foster vocations but also the steps of how we get there. I enjoyed all the speakers as well, especially the seminarians who brought it down to the relatable of going from this worldly life to answering the call.”