Institutes That Live the Gospel Still Get Vocations

Institutes of consecrated life that give special importance to prayer and the radical nature of the Gospel continue to inspire vocations, says a Vatican official.

This is evident here also in the US where seminaries in faithful, orthodox dioceses are overflowing with men discerning a call to the priesthood.

It seems, also, that those religious orders of women are growing when they embrace the faith with fidelity. Those orders which follow the call of Christ and His Church with humility are attracting more and more women to the religious life. I see them at every conference. Younger and younger sisters, all wearing religious habits - a reminder of their dedication to Christ.

While those institutes which are Christocentric are thriving, I cannot neglect to mention with some sadness those institutes which are dead or dying. Another Zenit article discusses these "Present Challenges to Religious Life". There has been a failure to find a balance between "being in the world but not of the world," which the Gospel stresses.

It seems that many, if not all, of those dying orders embraced the thinking of the world, abandoned their religious garb, and blended into the secular world. Some became ecology oriented activists such as the order of sisters who taught me in grade school. They left a very important and worthwhile service of educating children to pursue an objective which, while perhaps noble, was not in accord with the reasons for their existence. It seems they lost their true vision, their essence, their life - they were no longer oriented toward Christ but to man...

Nevertheless, there seems to be a resurgence of vocations in certain areas and for this we should be ever so grateful. And we must continue to pray that many others will also answer the call of our Lord to become priests or religious.