I googled my pastor, Father Ron Thompson, because I needed the church’s phone number. How happy I was to first be offered an archdiocesan page that shared his written testimony.
Father briefly wrote of his childhood parish, a place of “many good people,” and how he grew to treasure his faith, more and more, throughout high school. He felt blessed as his own pastor, an inspiration to him in his childhood, and another Vancouver priest would invite him to join them on hikes, where, I’m sure, his forming vocation was encouraged.
He reflected, “Never really thinking of what might be ‘given up’; rather, more importantly, I thought of what could be done on my part to make this world a better place because of my efforts in the priesthood; bringing Christ more closely into people’s lives.”
This immediately made me think of Christ, who did not count the cost but gave his all to be close to us.
I enjoyed reading the testimony because we don’t often get a chance to hear the personal thoughts of our priests. How often are they asked to share about their childhoods, or the formation and inspiration of their vocations? Have you asked yours?
When I look at my five sons, I sometimes wonder, “Has God called any of you to the priesthood?”
If not, he certainly calls them to greatness wherever they may be led, as fathers and husbands, or missionary workers, or professionals.
But the call to the priesthood is a special calling, above all others. So I look at them, and I wonder sometimes. I certainly, on a superficial level, get excited at the idea. But the reality of our times brings a portion of gravity to the possibility. What would a man suffer, as a priest, 10 or 20 years from now?
Cardinal Francis George famously said, “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.”
I don’t doubt it. From within and without, the priesthood is attacked already, with vitriol. Of course, the scandals have given good reason for angst, but the work of evil is happily taking the lead and fuelling the fire of hatred in people’s hearts.
There are those who work to destroy the beauty of a priest’s gift of celibacy. They make their aims sound like wisdom, like an obvious option that no one has thought of yet, claiming all sorts of reasons to abandon the greater good: it would allow for more vocations, it would take away the loneliness of priests, and, my personal favourite, it would lessen the numbers of abuses.
I’m not quite sure how a man perversely inclined to sexually abuse young men and teenage boys would be stopped by marrying a woman (God help her!), but you’re free to try and explain it to me.
I am sure, though, that it insults the men who have chosen Christ’s celibacy to hear it implied that they are more likely to do perverted things because of it. (Statistically, run-of-the-mill sexually-active-at-will men have higher rates of abuse than priests, so figure that one out.)
I know of good priests who want to make changes in their parish, for the good, but face the non-cooperation of the congregation and threats to “call the bishop!” They struggle to pay mortgages and to keep schools orthodox and running. It is hard to be a mother in this age, but to be a priest …!
And so, I look at my sons and fearfully wonder at possible religious vocations. But I know that with the Holy Spirit guiding them, the lives of saints and martyrs as their inspiration, and the example of other holy priests, the sacrifice needed is possible. Because really it is the sacrifice asked of all of us, to set ourselves apart in a world gone mad and to stand amid the raving, threatening mob with Christ’s cross held above our heads, offering grace, hope, and salvation to souls crying out.
Father Thompson ended his testimony by saying, “Since I was ordained I have had a special place in my prayer life to pray for priestly and religious vocations. The Lord has concretely answered my prayers in that some of those who have served me at the altar are now priests too with me at the Altar of God. The Lord is good and blesses generously those who are generous towards Him and His people.”
I am thankful knowing that my five sons, four of whom are altar boys, have a priest offering his private prayers for them. We should all be grateful for these prayers and join in with them, that God would call our sons to serve him on the altar and that all of our sons would be men of zeal, truth, and strength.
