A bishop in the Catholic Church is called a “successor of the apostle.” To me, that is one of the most powerful and, yet, most humbling titles I can imagine. Through the laying on of hands by other bishops and the prayer of consecration, the authority to teach, to govern and to sanctify as a bishop is handed on in an unbroken line of succession from the apostles themselves 2,000 years ago.
A bishop, however, needs help to fulfill Christ’s mission in the Church, and always has from the very beginning. The apostles and their early successors called priests and deacons to collaborate with them, discharging responsibilities assigned to them.
Here is where you and I come in. As a Successor to the Apostles in the Church, I need help to walk in their footsteps. I need priests and deacons and religious brothers to work with me in the Diocese of Trenton. I need young men like you.
My brothers, my priests and I are inviting you to consider that grace, to consider a call to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel, to be a priest. Some of you, I believe, have the same call.
If it is true, as our Gospel says, people of this generation are looking for a sign, you need look no further than those who came before you — men just like you, who joined that long line going back to the apostles. We need you. Maybe God is calling you.
When considering the possibility of a vocation, young men often ask me, “How will I know? How can I be sure?” Well, that is what the process of discernment is for. Thinking and praying about a vocation is not the same thing as making a permanent commitment as a priest. No, the process of discernment is just that: a “process” during which a young man “thinks and prays about a vocation.”
A young man feels an impulse to consider the priesthood. Something about the priesthood attracts and draws him in. Perhaps it is the good example of a priest we’ve come to know. That was what happened to me. Perhaps it is the ministry of priests in the Church: things we see them do; things we hear them say. Perhaps it is the faith we practice, the scriptures we read or hear, something we have read or learned about in our religious studies. We may experience or observe how priests serve others and we may just feel drawn or called to do the same. You don’t have to be sure or certain about the priesthood at this point in your life --- just open to the possibility and following up in a process of discernment and praying to the Lord Jesus about that possibility for you!
My brothers, we are here tonight to pray and to give some thought to the possibility that God is calling you to a special service in his Church. There are so many wonderful things you can do with your life. So let’s open our minds and hearts to him. Maybe, just maybe, he is calling you to discern the possibility of priesthood in your own future. Listen for his voice!