Holy Hour Reflection
by Father Jeffrey Cabral

The following is the text of a homily given by Father Jeffrey Cabral at a Vocation Holy Hour at Holy Rosary Parish in Taunton, MA on November 14, 2005.

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men!” And that’s what Peter and Andrew, James and John, did. They heard the call of the Lord, dropped everything and followed Jesus. They were not the sort of people who anyone would suspect of being overly religious. They were common, everyday people, fishermen. They were not the sort of people anyone would suspect could convince others to change their lives. They were common, everyday people, fishermen. They were not the sort of people that anyone would suspect could take the position of leadership in the conversion of the world. They were common, everyday people, fishermen. But they were called. They responded. And God worked His wonders through them.

Yes, my brothers and sisters, the first priests called by Jesus Christ were fishermen, and ever since that day by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus continues to call men to the priesthood—common, everyday people, fishers of men.

We gather here this evening, my brothers and sisters, to follow the command of our Lord…to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out more workers, to send out more fishers of men, into His Harvest. We need to continually pray to our Lord for more vocations to the priesthood…that more young men may be open to hearing God’s call and to follow Him and to serve Him and His church.

Sadly, today, there are less and less men entering seminaries. There are less ordinations than in years past. Not enough ordinations to cover the number of aging priests who retire each year. There is even less people attending Sunday Masses. The pastoral planning now ongoing within our own Diocese of Fall River has made us acutely aware of these facts. Nevertheless, the lack of priests to celebrate Eucharist worries us a great deal and invites us to pray and more actively promote priestly vocations. For there to be the Eucharist, we need the priesthood. If there are no priests, we will have no Eucharist. Thus, the priesthood and the Eucharist are intricately linked…which is why it is so good that we are all here tonight, before the Eucharist, before the Blessed Sacrament, before Jesus Christ Himself, to pray for more priestly vocations.

But, although prayer is important, it’s not enough. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did not just simply pray. He invited. He called. He challenged. That is our task tonight, my friends. We simply must not just pray, but we too, like Jesus, must invite young men to consider the priesthood, call them by name, and challenge them to be modern-day fishers of men.

Time and time again, statistics have indicated to us that men respond to a priestly vocation because of an invitation made by someone else. If you talk to older priests, they will sometimes say that the religious sisters in parochial schools challenged the boys to consider the priesthood. Well, the sisters have long left our parochial schools, and nowadays the laity and yes, priests themselves, must invite our youth. Research has shown that an invitation from a priest is one of the most effective ways of having a man consider the priesthood. Of seminarians ordained in 2003, 78% said that a priest had invited them to consider the priesthood. 78%! However, a 2001 survey indicated that only 30% of priests actively invite men to consider the priesthood. Tonight, I challenge both my brother priests and the laity here, as well as challenge myself, to go and do as Jesus did…to invite, call, challenge, to plant that seed of the priesthood in a young man’s heart. Personally, I was invited, called, challenged as a high school student from my own parish priest. Many times he encouraged me to consider the priesthood, or in his own words, “Jeff, you’ll make a great priest someday!” Although, at the time, I was unwilling to listen, the seed was planted and eventually came to fruition.

Tonight, we are asked to plant those seeds. We can plant them within our own parish communities. We can plant them within our school communities. But most of all, we can plant these vocational seeds within our families.

Families are the primary source of vocations. It is in the family where the practice of faith is impressed upon young people and where attitudes toward life are formed. I ask parents who are here tonight, to recognize the need to teach your children to make choices grounded in Gospel values, to practice your own faith, and to pray with your children.

To our dear young people, I ask you to be open to God’s call in your life. Many are called, but few respond. If God is calling you, don’t put Him on hold…don’t put him on call-waiting…but like those first Apostles, like our Blessed Mother Mary, respond immediately and follow Jesus.

May God bless our Diocese of Fall River with many faithful priestly vocations during this year of Operation: Planting Seeds.

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…so pray to the Lord of the Harvest… and invite…call…challenge…and plant some seeds.