The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-07-08
LETTER OF THE MOST REVEREND ARCHBISHOP
VocATIoNs TO THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD

His Church.
Without it's priests, the Church we're
without speech or ministration: it
were chaotic mass without order of
government, without bonds of united
membership. Two things are vital to
| the Church, each one indispensable in
| its own sphere-Christ, as it's interior
| life, the priesthood, as the means of
action in it's exterior life. The priest
hood we must have, if the Church is
to live with us, to work for us; if we,
collectively and singly, are to reach
back to Bethlehem and Calvary, and
thence appropriate to ourselves the
graces of the Incarnation and the Re-
demption.
In very deep sense the priesthood
is the Church. AS the Church is near
and dear to us, so is the priesthood.
AS we desire the aggrandizement of
the Church, so we desire that of the
priesthood. No true child of the
Church is there, who does not take into
most serious concern it's priesthood,
who does not believe it the highest
SAOlL Will IuC
designs of the divine love and mercy
that which tends towards the replen-
ishment of the priesthood, and it's
greater efficiency in the furtherance of
the Kingdom of God upon earth.
Beloved Brethren, to-day | propose
to you the holiest of religious works
the recruitment of the priesthood of
Christ's Church. 1t is Gods work: it
is our work. AS God wills that the
Church live, so He wills that there be
in it's service, priesthood adequate to
put into fruitful execution the mission
once confided to it's charge. God, we
may be well assured, does His part:
but, while doing this, as in His usual
dealings with humanity, He calls for
our cooperation, allotting to us per-
sonal share both in work and in re-
suits. Priests the Church will ever
have, whether our cooperation is
granted or denied, since the Church is
appointed to abide through the ages !.
land yet, where and when human co
operation slackens, there and then the
priesthood is lessened and the Church
wanes in growth and power.
The truth we must proclaim-in this
very Diocese of st. Paul, where other
wise conditions are favorable and re-
ligion wears a beauteous aspect of
strength and promise, vocations to the
priesthood are too infrequent. All
conditions considered, there should be
here not only sufficient number of
| vocations for local needs, but such an
abundance, such an overflow, that aid
could be lent to dioceses in America,
where the Church is still passing
| through the weakness of infancy, and,
| beyond this, to religious orders,
to the missionary fields of the
! universal Church. Yet the fact is
that even for itself the Diocese of St.
Paul lacks suficiency of priests 1t
lacks this .sufficiency for the tasks
opening before it in the present time: !:
and if in the present time; how much
more so will it lack it in coming years,
when the general development taking
place around our homes will have null
tiplied the needs of religion, unless now
we seriously set ourselves to measures
of preparation in view of meeting those
needs. Many years are required that
a youth obtain the education requisite
for a fruitful priesthood: to have in
coming times a sufficiency of priests,
adequate to all the needs of the day, we
must begin at once the work of prep.
/ - Go
to God and to the Church.