Pope Benedict's Post-Synodal Aposotlic Exhortation

Pope Benedict issued his first Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist entitled Sacramentum Caritatis today (Find it here). Long expected, it came in God's appointed time, I believe, to give the Church time to deeply pray on this during our Lenten journey toward Easter, in which every Eucharist is a participation. In one particularly sticking passage, he addresses the current situation of the priest 'shortage' (I will try to address this in a later post), and its effects on the Eucharist.

The clergy shortage and the pastoral care of vocations

25. In the light of the connection between the sacrament of Holy Orders and the Eucharist, the Synod considered the difficult situation that has arisen in various Dioceses which face a shortage of priests. This happens not only in some areas of first evangelization, but also in many countries of long-standing Christian tradition. Certainly a more equitable distribution of clergy would help to solve the problem. Efforts need to be made to encourage a greater awareness of this situation at every level. Bishops should involve Institutes of Consecrated Life and the new ecclesial groups in their pastoral needs, while respecting their particular charisms, and they should invite the clergy to become more open to serving the Church wherever there is need, even if this calls for sacrifice. The Synod also discussed pastoral initiatives aimed at promoting, especially among the young, an attitude of interior openness to a priestly calling. The situation cannot be resolved by purely practical decisions. On no account should Bishops react to real and understandable concerns about the shortage of priests by failing to carry out adequate vocational discernment, or by admitting to seminary formation and ordination candidates who lack the necessary qualities for priestly ministry. An insufficiently formed clergy, admitted to ordination without the necessary discernment, will not easily be able to offer a witness capable of evoking in others the desire to respond generously to Christ's call. The pastoral care of vocations needs to involve the entire Christian community in every area of its life. Obviously, this pastoral work on all levels also includes exploring the matter with families, which are often indifferent or even opposed to the idea of a priestly vocation. Families should generously embrace the gift of life and bring up their children to be open to doing God's will. In a word, they must have the courage to set before young people the radical decision to follow Christ, showing them how deeply rewarding it is.
Sacramentum Caritatis,¶25

Pray for the Holy Spirit to rekindle in the hearts of all priests the burning love of the priesthood and the Eucharist, to be living flames that attract young men to say yes to the Call of God themselves. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enliven families to be open to a vocation from their midst. And pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to all to give their lives generously to the mission of Jesus Christ. This alone is the remedy for the Church's situation.

Reflection on the Third Sunday of Lent

Our readings this weekend focus on two bushes, both of which are entail a vocation. Moses sees a burning bush, and hears a God calling him, instructing him to return to Egypt and to lead the people Israel out of slavery. Through this call, God promises to be with Moses, to continue to give him the words to speak to Pharaoh, words that in the end will turn Pharaoh’s heart.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree that is unproductive being given the mercy of another year, to be challenged to begin to bear fruit. The context of the parable was two news items of the day (coincidentally, neither of which is known of except in this passage of Luke’s Gospel) – the fall of the tower at Siloam, and the bloody slaughter of the Galileans by Pilate in the Temple area. Jesus asks if they deserved such a gruesome and untimely death more than any else, and answers that repentance is necessary for all people. The Greek word is metanoia which means conversion or change of mind. It is a conversion that changes our perspective on life, a conversion that leads to the renewal of our minds to Christ. This parable demonstrates the need for this repentance. Such conversion is the fruit of the human heart responding to the saving grace of God. Just as prayer makes the person more charitable, this kind of repentance leads to fruits of good works.

In our response to the God’s call, we need to bear fruit to share with those around us. A vocation is not given to the individual for his or her own good, but for the good of all. Moses would not have lived his vocation out if he had not returned to Egypt to lead out the nation, just as the unproductive fig tree was not in essence fulfilling its mission by bearing figs. This fruitfulness is the test of our faithfulness to our vocation.

Vocations 101 - What is a vocation?

A vocation is the call of God to know, love, and serve Him. It is a call to be the person He has created us to be. It is saying yes to His grace.

So many see a vocation as if only those who are priests or religious have one. But God calls every person. Whether we believe in God or not, He has a plan for each of us. For those who do not explicitly know Christ, or even God, through responding to the Grace of God as they understand it and living in accordance to the natural law, they may find salvation through the unique action of Christ. No one is left out of God’s plan.

For those who know Christ, we are called to a deeper life (and invited to bring others into the faith). In our baptism, we receive our first Christian vocation – to be Catholics, to live the faith as we have received it and professed it, even if it was our parents who first responded for us. We enter into the Church and the sacramental life (visible signs of invisible grace). The baptism liturgy demonstrates a basic reality in vocations. We are identified by name (“What name to you give your child?”), and claimed for Christ by His cross. We are asked to reject Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises. We adhere to the Creed more fully only because of the full rejection of all that is false. We say no to lower things in order to say yes to the One that matters most! In the name of the Trinity, we are recreated and renewed.

God calls us to be His children, and to live as priests, religious, married, or a generous single life. But He calls us by name! He calls us as individuals with all of our uniqueness. But to follow Him, we need to say no to certain things. Many see a vocation as a set of no’s (no money, no spouse, no freedom, etc.) Like the rich man in the Gospels, they simply walk away, thinking the treasures they have are too great to let go. As a result, fail to seek God’s grace to live out their true vocations. They fail to see that every vocation has its own set of no’s. One who is married says no to all others for the sake of his or her spouse! Yes, priests and religious promise or vow to a life of poverty/simplicity, to celibacy, and to obedience, but they are saying yes to much more! Like the baptismal vows, they are willing to renounce some things in order to more fully adhere to and rely on Christ. God, who is faithful, responds by giving not only His grace, but of providing what is necessary for life and human thriving, of giving true and lasting love, and of finding a freedom in the obedience we give to those in authority.

Reflection on the Second Sunday of Lent

This Sunday, we hear from Luke's Gospel the Transfiguration. In the other gospels, we hear that Jesus lead them up a mountain, a place of encounter with God. Christ's appearance changes, He takes on His divine radiance. He is speaking about His 'exodus' with Moses and Elijah, the most 'powerful' prophets in the Old Testament. (They were succeeded by Joshua and Elisha, respectively, and these names mean the same as "Jesus" - that God Saves.) Jesus is about to complete the work they started - that through His Cross and resurrection, he was to free us and initiate us into a new covenant. Peter and the other disciples wake up to see it, and Peter knows he is in the presence of the Holy One of Israel. He desires to stay in the moment, to stay on the mountain. But, with all encounters, they must leave.

We are invited by Christ to a personal encounter, and all of our Christian lives depend on our being awake to notice the working of Christ. But just as the disciples, we cannot stay in the moment of encounter, but we can go back to plumb the depths of the encounter in our prayer. St. Peter did this, as he spoke of when he wrote, "We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, 'This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain" (2 Peter 1:16-19). He tells us that he knows the certainty of the faith because he was there, and how often he most have brought it to mind. Between the Transfiguration and the Resurrection, St. Peter found the grace to respond to God.

Permit me to list some steps for discernment based on the Transfiguration events. Such a process can help us be aware our own vocation.

1. Become aware of the presence of Christ (and wake up if we are 'asleep'). Read Scripture, attend Mass attentively, participate in the other Sacraments, adore the Blessed Sacrament. Christ is present and is waiting for us to come into His presence, He longs for us to encounter Him.

2. Listen to His Voice. Christ will speak to us, drawing our hearts in love. A Catholic spiritual director may be of assistance to help you hear and listen to Christ.

3. Be aware we need to move on, but also revisit the encounter in our prayer. St. Ignatius of Loyola suggested a practice he called 'repetition' - of returning to the experience through our prayer.

4. Respond. If we are only aware of the encounter, but do not let the experience move us to action, we render the encounter empty. We are asked to live differently, even if it means simply feeling a little more joyful.

Snow Day Mass

With the recent blizzard, most things are closed, canceled, or postponed. Honestly, I think that this is the worst blizzard we have had since I was ordained. Even in the parishes, all things are canceled except Mass.

As a priest, I know that the most important thing I do is celebrate Mass with deliberateness, decorum, and dedication. Whether Mass on Sunday or weekday, whether the Church is full or empty, the Mass is still sacred and efficacious. The parishioners I serve (and all Catholics of all time and space) deserve it. After all, as so many have reminded us, the Mass is not the priest's nor the parishioners. It is the Church's, past, present, and future. It is not just offered in this place, but is united with all places. Yes, truly this is the mystery. His Holiness Pope John Paul II wrote so beautifully in his last encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (find it here), that the Eucharist is a cosmic event:

This varied scenario of celebrations of the Eucharist has given me a powerful experience of its universal and, so to speak, cosmic character. Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation. The Son of God became man in order to restore all creation, in one supreme act of praise, to the One who made it from nothing. He, the Eternal High Priest who by the blood of his Cross entered the eternal sanctuary, thus gives back to the Creator and Father all creation redeemed. He does so through the priestly ministry of the Church, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. Truly this is the mysterium fidei which is accomplished in the Eucharist: the world which came forth from the hands of God the Creator now returns to him redeemed by Christ. EDE ¶8

While so much of what His Holiness writes in this excellent Encyclical is powerful, I find this paragraph as inspiring. Whether are celebrating Mass in an empty Church or with a congregation of millions, we are never alone. We are joined by the saints and angels, though unseen, no less than present. And Christ, Himself, is no less present!

What greater act of praise can we offer than to celebrate Mass!

Reflection on the First Sunday of Lent

This weekend, our Gospel reading was the Temptation of Jesus Christ according to Luke. Following His baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus went into the desert, a biblical place of discovery and challenge, and fasts for forty days. In spending these days in the desert, Jesus identifies Himself with the people of Israel, who themselves wandered forty years in the desert as they received God’s Law (as found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy) and grew in their relationship to God.

After His stay, Luke records Jesus is hungry. The devil, the one who literally ‘throws' temptation 'in the way of' Jesus, taunts Jesus – turn this stone into bread. The temptation, though external to His person, might be understood to take care of his own needs, to reject the hunger pains and provide for himself. Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy, responds that man does not live by bread alone.

Satan is not so easily discouraged, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world. He calims that he has been given the power over all the kingdoms of the world. (Note, he has no lasting power, but that does not prevent him for claiming it!) All Jesus has to do, the devil states, is to bow in worship to him. He, again quoting Deuteronomy, reminds the devil that God alone is worthy of worship. Unlimited power was not enough to tempt Jesus.

The third temptation is the most interesting. Satan, knowing that he is failing, takes Jesus to the parapet of the Temple in Jerusalem. (Note that Luke’s Gospel begins with Zachariah in the Temple, and ends with the Apostles in prayer in the Temple, so this is a apt location.) This time, Satan quotes Scripture to Jesus (Psalm 91 to be exact) that God will protect His servant. (Note that even Satan can know Scripture, though he twists it into his own designs.) Satan tempts Jesus to make a name for himself and cast himself down in front of everyone. One can only imagine the prestige that he would have gained from taking a such a fall and survive! Jesus dismisses the tempter with yet another quote from Deuteronomy – not to test God.

Yes, Jesus rejects all grasping for his personal pleasure, power, and prestige. But he is the Son of God; he has all three. Philippians 2 states that Jesus did not grasp equality with God, but ‘emptied’ himself. He let it go – and in the end, all of Creation will proclaim Him Lord.

So often, we might have internal temptations that Jesus experienced externally. Often, we might even fall and claim things for ourselves. Perhaps the greatest reason that many do not respond to God’s call is the quest for pleasure, power, or prestige. While it is good to desire good things, in the end everything good only comes from God, not from our own grasping. Through our own desert experience, through our own study of scripture, we can grow in grace and receive strength to resist the temptations. Perhaps if relinquish our sinful desires, God will provide much more than we can even imagine. We should not be afraid to let go, and God, who is good, will provide lasting happiness.

Welcome

Welcome to my first blog. Through this new medium for us in the Diocese of New Ulm Vocations Office, I hope that we can us this space to keep you informed, provide prayer resources, and help discern a vocation to the priesthood. I hope that I could use this to also post weekly reflections on the Sunday's Gospel/feast as they relate to vocations.

About me: I am Fr. Todd Petersen, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota. I was ordained in 1999, and was named Director of Vocations in 2002. I am also a pastor, currently serving three small parishes in eastern Sibley County.

About our Diocese: We are a diocese that covers 15 counties in south/central Minnesota. We have just short of 70,000 Catholics with a total population of about 280,000 people. Some of our major cities are Willmar, Marshall, New Ulm, and Hutchinson. The Diocese of New Ulm was established in 1958. Bishop Alphonse Schladweiler was our first Bishop (1958-1978), followed by Bishop Raymond Lucker (1978-2000). Our current bishop is the Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt, originally from the Archdiocese of Detriot. He was installed as our 3rd bishop in August of 2001. We have 80 parishes and 2 Oratories (former parishes that no longer have Sunday Mass but are still active in provide prayer and service opportunities), served by 45 priests. We also have 11 Pastoral Administrators (Lay men or women, Deacons or Religious) who serve parishes through administration and some pastoral assistence (of course, in accord with Canon Law, so a priest is also assigned to provide the Sacraments).

We currently have six Seminarians. Deacon Paul Timmerman, soon to be ordained a priest, is currently at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio. Matt Wiering, Theo. I, is at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Zach Peterson, Theo. I, is studying at St. Meinrad's in Indiana. Aaron Johanneck, Pre-Theo. II, is currently finishing his program at the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, MN, and is applying to major seminary. Jacob Niemand, College IV/Senior, will graduate from the University of St. Thomas and St. John Vianney College Seminary also in St. Paul, MN; he is also applying to major seminaries. Anthony Mielke, College I/Freshman, is at the University of St. Thomas and St. John Vianney College Seminary also in St. Paul, MN.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate in emailing me.