Vocation: The Response of a Hungry Heart
By Fr. Karl C. Bissinger

This is the homily Fr. Bissinger preached at parishes throughout the diocese during the summer of 2006.

In the Bible, we often encounter people who experience hunger and thirst. In the Book of Exodus, God liberates the Israelites from Egypt, and they wander in the desert for forty years. During this period, the Hebrew people are hungry and thirsty. So, God feeds them with Manna, which is a miraculous bread from heaven.

For five weeks during the summer at Sunday Mass, we have read the story of the Multiplication of the Loaves (Jn 6:1-16) and passages from John’s Gospel we call the “Bread of Life Discourse” (Jn 6:24-35, 41-45, 51-58, 60-69). When Jesus comes face to face with a hungry crowd, he feeds them by multiplying a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. Then, he continues to instruct those gathered and tries to expand their understanding as he explains that he has come not so much to satisfy their physical hunger, but to nourish their spiritual and existential hunger. Finally, the disciples must make a decision about how they will respond to this man who claims to be the “True Bread from Heaven” (Jn 6:32,41,51,58) and the “Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35,48).

Bishop Coleman asked me to do again as I did last summer: to tour the diocese and visit different parishes each weekend to preach about vocations to the priesthood and religious life, but as a newly ordained priest, especially about vocations to the diocesan priesthood. I believe the Bread of Life discourse and the choice that Jesus’ followers face speaks to us about the religious vocation.

Many people ask: “How is it that you decided to become a priest?” Or, if we call the priesthood a vocation—a calling, a calling from God— “How did you hear God’s call?” And, this is a fair question.

I entered the seminary when I was 29 years old, but I honestly believe that God had been calling me to the priesthood all my life. So, in a way, my vocation story covers almost three decades of time; and, in a way my vocation story is my biography. However, I became aware of my vocation through a combination of internal movements and external prodding.

I was raised in the faith and received the sacraments; my parents brought me to church every Sunday and to CCD; and, I served as an altar boy at St. Joseph’s Parish in Fall River, where I grew up. As my familiarity with the faith increased, so did my love for Christ and the Church.

But, it was as a young adult, starting during the five years that I served as a linguist in the Navy, that I heard God’s voice in the inner dynamic of my heart—which is sometimes called the religious sense. All people feel it when they reach a certain level of maturity and sensitivity. It’s what Bruce Springsteen expresses when he sings “Everybody’s got a hungry heart,” or the rock group U2 in the song “But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

However, even about 1600 years before Rock and Roll was invented, St. Augustine, the great bishop and doctor of the church described the same sentiment like this “You have made us for yourself, O God; So, our hearts are restless until we rest in You” (Confessions, I.1). And, even the Apostle Peter felt this longing and found the fulfillment of it in his friend Jesus. And, in response to Christ’s challenge, Peter tells him “To whom else, Lord, shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!” I felt this same desire, and it made me want to experience and to have concrete contact with God.

Over time, after I finished college and gained more experience as I tried different jobs and even had a girlfriend for a while, I continued to grow in knowledge of my faith and my trust in God. I still felt a hunger in my heart, and I started to believe and to trust that God, through this longing, was calling me to the priesthood. I finally presented myself to the vocations director and to the Bishop and asked to be admitted to the seminary and to become a candidate for holy orders.

It took me many years to answer God’s call. I had my moments (or, you could say, years) of hesitation. But, I finally got the message. And, I have just completed a year of great happiness!

I have found it an unimaginable joy to baptize infants and claim them for Christ, to preach the Gospel at Mass, to offer up the Body and Blood of Jesus with a new and intimate relationship to the Eucharist, and to hear humble confessions and offer pardon and peace in the sacrament of reconciliation. On top of that, I have discovered healthy and supportive friendships with my brother priests through fraternity and collaboration with them.

It is true that I have had to make some sacrifices, but I believe that I have found what is called in the Gospel “the pearl of great price” (Mt 13:45-46), which compels us to sell all we have in order to acquire this one precious treasure!

However, it is not my purpose simply to tell my story during the second summer of my priesthood. I want to pose a challenge to the single young men and women: Maybe God is calling you to the priesthood or the religious life! And, to everyone else: Perhaps God is calling a young man or young woman that you know!

Now, I am not so much a vocations recruiter, because it is God who calls men and women to the priesthood or to the religious life. I’m not going to twist anybody’s arm, trick them, or try to convince anyone they have a vocation if they don’t. Every true vocation requires freedom, whether to a holy orders, marriage, the religious life, or single life. It is a personal decision, the discovery of the purpose for which God has created each of us. And, you will recognize it yourself, if you feel this hunger in your heart.

You don’t have to be as holy a person as Mother Theresa or John Paul II to say “Yes” to Jesus’ invitation, but you do have to be willing to let God make you holy, to live in a way that is challenging, that is different from (and sometimes at odds with) the way of life the world offers young people today. However, the way of the world often leaves us restless, still looking for purpose and meaning, and still with an unfulfilled hunger of heart.

I also want to ask and appeal to everyone to support and pray for vocations. As moms and dads and grandparents, you could mention the possibility of the priesthood and religious life as a valid option for your children. Speak a word of approval and encouragement about the good work that priests and religious do.

As I said, it took me many years to answer God’s call, but I believe that I have found the pearl of great price! God could be calling you or someone you know to experience the very same thing! A priestly vocation is a special gift from God; it is almost unimaginable what He entrusts to us!

Upon reflection, I have realized that not only does God feed my hunger through this vocation, but I, in turn, get to nourish others through my ministry of the word and the sacraments.

So, please pray for vocations; pray for those who have already responded to the call that they may persevere and grow in their vocation, and please pray for all priests and religious that we may live our vocations faithfully and worthily. And, please pray, if you haven’t made up your mind already, that God may help you to know the vocation that will satisfy the hunger in your heart!