By Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, OFM
I am talking about visits to parishes to promote vocation. In recent years, I have been going with several seminarians to different parishes on Sundays to promote vocations to the diocesan priesthood.
Since those who have been in the seminary for a long time have already been assigned to train in parishes, the ones who are free to go with me are the orientation and philosophy students. Although they have not been in the seminary for very long, only one to three years, their experience of discerning and deciding on a vocation to priesthood is still fresh in their minds, and they shared their experiences with me in a lively and affectionate manner.
Beforehand, I will contact the parish priest and ask him to arrange for me to celebrate a Mass on Sunday with a large crowd. Immediately after Mass, parishioners are invited to stay for a vocation service that lasts no more than 30 minutes. Why is it so short? Because on Sunday mornings, we have a lot of things to do, and if it is too long, I am afraid that not many people will be willing to join us.
Experience tells me that half an hour is best. So, how many people will come? As far as I can remember, the smallest number of participants is more than 20. If we can stay in the chapel immediately after Mass without the need to go to other rooms, the number of participants can be as high as 100 to 200!
The gathering began with two of the seminarians sharing their vocation stories, each for no more than five minutes, giving a brief account of how they discerned and responded, followed by an approximately 20 minute question-and-answer period.
What questions do brothers and sisters mostly ask? What are they more interested in knowing? There are three main areas. The first is about personal matters. Many of the questions asked by the brothers and sisters are: “Have you ever been in a relationship? “How did you give it up?” “How do you know for sure that God has called you?” and so on. The second aspect is related to the family, such as: “How did you tell your parents about your desire to lead a consecrated life?” “Did they object?” “If so, how did you face them?” The third aspect is related to the life in the seminary like, “What is the daily schedule? “What time do you get up? What do you do during the day?” “Is it difficult to study philosophy and theology?” “What happens if you don’t pass your exams?” “What are the circumstances under which you will be expelled?”
What about the answers given by the seminarians to the questions that the parishioners ask, which show that they are very concerned about the vocation to priesthood? After a few rounds of “performances”, I have seen a marked improvement in them, and it can be said that they are now well versed in the art of answering questions, no matter what they may be. However, I noticed that the parishioners were not so much concerned about what they answered, but more about the sincerity and frankness of their answers.
Each year during Pentecost, the diocese makes a second offering to the Holy Spirit Seminary, to support the work of formation, and invites the faithful to pray for priestly vocations. The visits paid by seminarians and myself to the diocese are intended to give concrete access to the recipients of the donations and intercession, as well as to offer a chance to increase the understanding of the current state of the seminary. In this way, donations may not necessarily increase, but prayers will certainly be more fervent.
A parish priest once apologised to me, saying, “I don’t have many young people in my parish, so you may be disappointed if you come all the way here.” I would always say to such parish priests, “No, I won’t be! Because our target is all our brothers and sisters.”
