The Irish standard., 1915-05-29
THOUGHTS ON VOCATIONS
TO THE PRIESTHOOD

comrades. The priestly vocation is so
sacred that from the very first mark
of its presence in boys heart care
should be taken to shield him in order
that Gods grace be allowed to bios.
som of itself.
The great Belgian Cardinal, whose
best work in the opinion of many is
that on the priesthood, emphasized
another fact very clearly. With the
coming of the springtime the end of
the school year seems nearer to the
schoolboy, to whom the winter has
always long and dreary aspect, and
with the boys quickness of imagina-
ton. he looks beyond the end of the
school year, not to the studies which
begin in the fall, but to the ideal of
life his heart shelters and hides away
possibly from every one. It is then
that gentle watchfulness is valuable
In helping the boy to clarity his de-
sires and put his little house of dreams
In order. One hardly needs to quote
Tennyson's 'Locksley Hall' to prove
that everything in the springtime
brings Gods presence nearer the
heart of old and young. All around
us In the springtime are the signs of
the eternal activity of God. The harsh
winds of the winter grow feebler, and
soon the fragrance of the grass and
the soft scent of the flowers will fill
the air. All around us creative agen-
ctes are at work under the mighty
and unseen hand of Him by whom
all things are made. Youth must feel
the expansion of the springtime. The
two have much In common; and then,
If ever, is vital time in many a
young life in it's decision for the
future.
Many of our seminaries and relig-
1ous houses announce their entrance
examinations during the springtime,
and parents and priests should work
hand in hand in encouraging those
who through fear may hold back from
making application to enter the same.
Our religious orders in the country
may not be receiving their full share
of vacations; but the number of their
members in the United States is al
most half that of the secular clergy,
and this certainly may be taken as
sign that the monastic ideal is grow
Ing stronger every year. There is one
error which should be dissipated-
that the church is receiving sufficient
vacations to the priesthood. Granting
that there are sixteen million Catho.
lies in the United States, surely no
one will affirm that seventeen thou
sand priests land not all these on the
missions) are sufficient to care for the
spiritual wants of such a vast num-
Der. We should be in poor way if
there were only that many physicians
for an equal number. It has been
proven conclusively in England that
physician under the insurance act
with one thousand on his panel can
not attend properly to them all. Ply
sicians are only needed in major and
minor emergencies, while the priests
place at the side of his flock is con.
tinual from one years close to an.
other.
If 1t be true, as Cardinal Mercier
has said, that many vocations are lost
to the church through neglect to fos-
ter them at the right moment in the
boys life, his second reason, namely,
the lack of books which explain vo-
cations in boys own language, is
truer still. There are, it must be
admitted, several practical guides to
the choice of state in life, but most
of the works on the priesthood are
written either for priests or for those
who, already in the seminaries, have
passed the stage when the whole ques-
ton of Gods call seemed hazy and
inexplicable.
A good many years ago remember
hearing the late Archbishop Ryan ex-
plain In his clear and beautiful way
the meaning of the priestly vocation
to a graduating class of young men.
1t consisted, he said, of many ele.
ments-some essential and others not.
But the essential things were two
first, the desire; and, secondly, the
adaptability. 1t was more difficult, he
said, to give rules for the recognition
OF the desire than to place boundary
lines to the adaptability to the priest
hood. For the thorough understand
ing of the desire, he recommended a
good confessor, who is always worth
many books on the subject of voca-
tions. 1t is in this sacred relation
ship that the surest means are to be
found for analyzing these most init
mate feelings of the boys heart.
Whether 1t be wise to foster this
desire, even in it's uncertainty, or to
hinder 1t, depends entirely upon each
individual case; but where the vo-
cation proves to be true one, the
young priest in the first full realiza-
ton of the priceless gift God has
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