By Father Raymond Harris
Almost seven years ago I was the first African American to be ordained an archdiocesan priest in 20 years. I hope that we will not have to wait another generation for this to happen again. The smaller numbers of young adults preparing for the priesthood and consecrated religious life are a concern for the entire church.
Signs of hope in many parts of the country, including our archdiocese, may be tempered by concerns about whether this will match the numbers of those ministers who have retired or have been called from labor to eternal reward.
In my regular reading of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and mainline Protestant news services, I have learned that these concerns are not exclusive to the Catholic Church in the United States.
We cannot ignore the additional fact that African American candidates for the priesthood and religious life were not generally accepted into our church institutions until well into the 20th century. These tragic choices influenced by racism have reaped unfortunate consequences for Catholic evangelization in the African American community.
One positive note over the past three decades has been the rise of the permanent diaconate and professional lay ministry.
An increase in vocations to the priesthood, consecrated religious life, the permanent diaconate and professional lay ministry among the many cultures of the church should be the concern of the whole church.
Our primary motivation should come from the firm conviction that God is still calling people to these ministries. Developing a program to recruit, retain and support African American candidates for these ministries is a major plank of the National Black Catholic Pastoral Plan. To achieve this goal, several strategies are suggested for implementation.
First, when I was one of two African American archdiocesan seminarians, the Vocation Office developed culturally sensitive vocation material to reach out to our community. These attempts should continue in a sustained campaign.
Second, our seminaries and houses of formation should include in their curricula an understanding of the diverse cultures of the church in America. This is in keeping with Pope John Paul II’s understanding that we should see North and South America as one America.
Third, we need to continue to affirm that ministry in our predominately African American parishes is a valued ministry with opportunities for spiritual growth.
Fourth, parishes should sponsor “vocation awareness days” and make concerted efforts to educate parishioners (particularly families) about their role in promoting vocations.
The most important thing that we must do is to pray. This was a command of our Lord. “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (cf. Matthew 9:37-38).
Every Christian is called to labor in this harvest. Those who have received a divine call to serve in the aforementioned ministries have special and very necessary roles that build up the church.
We should be ready to allow God to answer our prayers through us. We need to encourage those who may have the qualities to serve to consider if God is calling them. They should believe that where God guides, God will provide.
The encouragement that I received from my family, parish priests and fellow parishioners of St. Joseph’s Passionist Monastery in Baltimore to consider the priesthood is the reason I am a priest today.
God is still calling people to the ordained, vowed and professional lay ministries of the church for the building up of the community of faith. We cannot be complacent about how the situation exists now. Let us be inspired by the firm conviction that God can do more than we can imagine when we take the risk to cooperate with him.
Father Raymond Harris is the chaplain and director of campus ministry of Mount St. Mary’s College and Seminary in Emmitsburg.
(This article courtesy of The Catholic Review.)
