Holy Hour Reflection
by Riley Williams

The following is a reflection given by seminarian Riley Williams at a Vocation Holy Hour at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville, MA on March 16, 2006.

In the book of Jeremiah, we read “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer. 1:5), affirming that each of us is called by God and given a unique vocation. We are gathered this afternoon to make special petition to God that He call more young men to the priesthood and awaken within those who have been called a realization of it and the strength to follow it.

Many today will wonder why one would feel a call to the priesthood. In the last few years especially we have seen that the office of the priesthood is hardly one untouched by worldly filth. But the hidden message which we can draw from every negative news report is this: that while anyone can put on a Roman collar, it takes much more to be a priest of Jesus Christ. No one can take this role on himself; rather, it is a way of life followed only in response to a call from God and after much prayer and reflection. Sadly, though, too often in the din of the modern world the whispering voice of God is lost, drowned out by a hundred other anxieties and concerns. That is why it is so important that we raise our voices together, not only to call to God our Father for more priests, but also to call to young men who might be considering a vocation. While a voice came down from Heaven in the Gospel this past weekend to confirm the faith of Peter, James and John, we must allow the voice of God to come through us in order to inspire more young men to consider this way of life. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find any priest or seminarian out there that can say with honesty that he has arrived at the place he stands without the inspiration and help of countless people: his parents, friends, fellow pilgrims on the journey of life. Speaking personally, it is doubtful that I would be standing here before you today were it not for all these people and more. Foremost, of course, is my own family, but also the many priests throughout our diocese who have helped me; the priests and parishioners at this my home parish who have shown me in word and example how to follow Christ; the priests and teachers at St. Francis Xavier Prep. in Hyannis, where I first thought of a call to the priesthood, and later Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth. Besides these, countless others helped me, not necessarily by any extraordinary ways, but rather in ordinary ways that yielded, with the help of God, extraordinary fruits.

It is not, nor has it ever been, easy to be a Christian. While in times past those who professed the name of Christ faced the persecutor’s sword, they are today met with the cold indifference of a world that believes it no longer needs God. A vocation to the priesthood may seem to some to be nothing more than a life wasted, one spent preaching a message to ears that no longer wish to hear. But the truth of the matter is that now more than ever the world needs Christ. Like a patient lost in their own misery, it refuses the salvation that He offers, choosing rather to sink ever deeper into hopelessness and despair. It will fall to the priests of the next generation to take up the task- from those who came before- of leading the pilgrim people of God, to take the hand of an age that has lost its way and help it back to the right path, guided by the conquering light of Christ. The priest, like his divine Master, must not avoid sin and evil but rather seek it out, that he may convert it to good. But this vocation, which at its heart is truly one of sacrificial love, cannot sprout without seeing the example of others in being disciples of Christ.

So today, if you remember nothing else, keep this in mind: you matter! The word of encouragement that you give to a young man, the silent prayer offered up before Mass, the candle lit at the shrine of Our Lady for more vocations to the priesthood, can each be an offering with results far greater than those you can first, or may ever, imagine. Especially to you parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles out there- do not underestimate the importance that your suggestion can have to a young man that he considers the priesthood. One of the deepest causes of the vocations crisis is indeed a lack of support in the family for this calling. Yes, it is a sacrifice, one that does indeed reach beyond the man considering the vocation; but if any sacrifice is worth making, wouldn’t this be it?

Support vocations wherever you may see them. For who can say, but that one day the young boy you see at Church on Sunday morning may one day give the blessing as your son is married; or that the one you see playing soccer on the school field might celebrate the Mass at which your granddaughter receives her First Holy Communion; or that boy you see riding his bike down the street may one day offer the final commendation over the coffin at your own funeral.

So encourage vocations wherever they may be. Not every seed we sow may sprout, but as the parable says, those that do bear much fruit can more than make up for the effort spent. So let us go forth, and be untiring in sowing seeds for the garden of the Master.