A Cause for Joy Vocations to the Ministerial Priesthood Archdiocesan Effort to Promote Vocations At the Last Supper, Jesus Christ commissioned the apostles to continue the work He had begun in His public ministry. For two thousand years, ordained priests have carried on the mission of Christ, especially in their sacramental ministry. Without the priest, there is no Eucharist and without the Eucharist, there is no Catholic Church. God has called men to serve as ordained priests throughout the Christian era.
Statistics reveal, however, that our nation is experiencing a vocation shortage.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has enjoyed a wealth of holy and faithful priests over the years, but even here there are fewer priests to serve the faithful. We may think that this problem is unique to our times, but the vocation concern is not a recent problem. People of every time and place have struggled with God's call to serve Him as an ordained priest. Remember the rich young man in Saint Luke's gospel. Christ invited him to be His disciple, but he could not part with his possessions.