Bulletin for June 10

Dear friends in Christ,

Greetings from Ireland! Our group of 54 parishioners is in the middle of our pilgrimage to the Emerald Isle and while we are missing our friends back at CtR, we are enjoying this beautiful and faith-filled country. We will try to bring some of the cool weather home with us!

Today, you in Houston and our group in Ireland, along with everyone in every Catholic church in the world, hears the familiar story in the First Reading from Genesis of Adam, Eve and that dastardly serpent. The harmony of the garden, which God has created, has been ruptured by sin, and death now encroaches on life. But even after their sin, God approaches his people. Let that be a lesson for all of us. God still desires to come to us even when we sin. Will we turn to Him?

Last weekend, Cardinal DiNardo ordained four new priests for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Praise be to God! We send our congratulations to the new priests, and we look forward to their service. While we will not be assigned a new priest at CtR, we rejoice in their ministry that they will offer to the people of God. They are definitely needed in various parishes around the Archdiocese. 

Each year, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), a Georgetown University-based research center, compiles a snapshot of the men who are being ordained as priests this spring for U.S. dioceses and religious orders. The report is commissioned by the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and I always like to share with you some of their findings. About 78 percent of an estimated 430 ordinands in the United States responded to the survey this year. Last year there were 590 ordinations, so this steep drop lets us know we have more work to do in promoting vocations. The good news is that applications for seminary enrollment are up. 

Among the findings of this year’s class is the following: The average age of men ordained to the priesthood in 2018 is 35. The majority are between the ages of 25 (the youngest possible age for priesthood ordination) and 39. This follows the trend over the past few years of ordination taking place in the mid-30s. (By comparison, I was 32 when ordained and Fr. Ralph was 30 years old.) I saw in the report that one new priest in the country is 70 years old! Data shows that on average most of the ordination class has been Catholic from birth, but 10 percent became Catholic later in life. More than four in five report that both parents are Catholic and 35 percent have a relative who is a priest or religious.

In other findings: About two-thirds of the responding ordinands (65 percent) report their primary race or ethnicity as Caucasian/European American/white. Compared to the U.S. adult Catholic population, ordinands are more likely to be of Asian or Pacific Islander background (11 percent), but less likely to be Hispanic/Latino (20 percent). One in four were born outside the United States, with the largest numbers coming from Mexico, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Colombia. On average, respondents born in another country have lived in the United States for 12 years. Between 20 and 30 percent of ordinands to diocesan priesthood for each of the last 10 years were born outside of the U.S.

Here’s an interesting note: Between 39-47 percent attended a Catholic school for at least a portion of the education, which is a rate higher than that of all Catholic adults in the United States, and yet another good reason for us to support Catholic schools. More than half (51 percent) of them attended their parish’s religious education programs, for an average of seven years each, which is yet another good reason for us to support our R.E. departments and make sure our children are registered for classes. In addition, ordinands are somewhat more likely than other U.S. Catholic adults to have attended a Catholic high school and they are much more likely to have attended a Catholic college (42 percent, compared to 19 percent among U.S. Catholic adults).

More than 60 percent completed college before entering the seminary. One in six (16 percent) entered the seminary with a graduate degree. The most common fields of study for ordinands before entering the seminary are theology or philosophy (18 percent), liberal arts (14 percent), and business (14 percent). Both Fr. Ralph and I entered the seminary in the same way, with our undergraduate degrees from college already in hand. By contrast, the two men currently in formation from our parish both entered directly from high school. Just goes to show you the Lord calls different people at different times!

Ordinands of the Class of 2018 have been active in parish ministries. Nearly 75 percent served as an altar server and 57 percent have been a lector in their parish previously. And here are two numbers that stand out to me – more than seven in 10 report regularly praying the rosary and participating in Eucharistic adoration (73 percent) before entering the seminary. That shows the power of prayer, not only for those discerning the priesthood, but for those of us who wish to encourage them.

Speaking of that encouragement, on average, the ordinands say they were about 17 when they first considered a vocation to the priesthood and that they were encouraged along the way to consider a vocation by an average of four people. And in what is a real eye-opener for me: 86 percent say they were encouraged to consider the seminary by someone else. In 70 percent of the time, it was their parish priest. That’s why I can assure you both Fr. Ralph and I are actively encouraging young men to discern God’s call. Others who have a great influence on future priests are friends (48 percent), parishioners (47 percent), and good ol’ mom (37 percent). As I always say, a word of encouragement from all of us goes a long way!

However, here’s a number that stuns me: half (51 percent) indicated that they were discouraged from considering the priesthood. Discouraged from even merely considering the priesthood? Who would do such a thing, and why? They reported it was usually a classmate or family members. How sad. Our work is to invite young men to at least consider the fact that God may be calling them to this wonderful life. God will make the final determination, but our work is to support and encourage them to “come and see” what the life is about. Let’s make that a priority for us at CtR this year and always.

In other news, our CtR Catholic School year has ended – it was a terrific fourth year for us with our first graduating class. God bless all of our students and staff this summer. We will suspend our weekly 8:30 a.m. school Mass on Wednesdays until the kids return in August. Our regular Wednesday evening Mass continues, of course. And finally, we have a Welcome to the Parish luncheon for all new parishioners later in the month on Sunday, June 24 at 12:15 p.m., following the 11 a.m. Mass. Those who have registered recently should be on the lookout for an invitation from our Welcoming Committee. Please RSVP to the office so that we might adequately prepare. It’s always great to meet the many new faces of CtR. Welcome to the parish! And if you are new to CtR and haven’t registered as of yet, you may sign-up online on our website or visit the New Parishioner kiosk in the narthex after any Mass.

Peace, Fr. Sean