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From fishermen to fishers of men |
By many he was known to be the
greatest towering figure of the 12th century—living from 1090-1153,
admired, loved, imitated and followed—his name SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX.
When he walked down the streets many of
the mothers would lock their doors and hide their children. The reason?
Bernard’s magnetism! They knew that one contact with this towering cultural,
moral and spiritual giant would mean they would lose their sons or daughters to
the Religious life or to the priesthood.
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St. Bernard-- a human magnet |
Indeed among the many charismatic
graces of St. Bernard was the magnetic appeal he had over the young to leave
all they had for the greatest treasure—the Lord Jesus Christ. Bernard reflected
the holiness, purity and magnetism of Jesus and the young simply could not
resist!
Jesus, with a heavy heart
complained: “The harvest is rich but the
laborers are few. Beg the Lord of the Harvest to send more laborers to work in
his vineyard.” This article will highlight five of the major obstacles today
that block the road of many young people from hearing the voice of the Master
and consequently failing to follow Him.
Here they are!
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The Rich man said no to following Jesus |
1.
MATERIALISM AND ATTACHMENT TO
POSSESSIONS. This is not new! A Rich young man approaches Jesus with an
overflowing enthusiasm, asking the Lord what was required to enter the Kingdom.
Jesus gave a double response! First,
Jesus stated unequivocally that to gain eternal life it was necessary to
observe the Commandments. The Rich
young man, up to this point had lived an upright and moral life having observed
the Commandments. Now the challenge!
Jesus loved him and wanted the young man to go beyond mere observance of
the law but to give himself totally to the love of God and salvation of souls.
Jesus said: “If you want to be perfect,
then go, sell what you have and give to the poor and follow me and then you
will have riches in heaven.” Upon hearing these words, the face of the young
man fell as well as his spirits and he got up and left Jesus never to return
again. Why? His possessions. Actually
his possessions possessed him. He was a slave of his possessions which totally
blinded him from seeing and hearing the treasure that he had before his very
eyes—JESUS, the pearl of infinite value.
For this reason Jesus asserted:
“You cannot serve God and money.”
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Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen |
2.
FREUDIANSIM/ FALSE VISION OF HUMAN
SEXUALITY. We live in a highly sensate and sexual society. To be blunt: we live
in a pornographic society. This being
the case very few understand, less do they live, the virtue of chastity. Celibacy is a gift or charism that is granted
to God by some. However, this gift must
be discovered in prayer; then it must be accepted. After it has been accepted
it must be both cultivated and defended against the onslaughts of modern
hedonism and the imperious demands of the flesh. Freudianism would state that
celibacy is impossible. However, the Word of God states the contrary; “Everything
is possible with God.” By cultivating a
deep love for Jesus, Mary and the Church celibacy can be lived with joy,
freedom, resulting in a most fruitful spiritual paternity or maternity. That is to say, those who have the charism of
celibacy do not deny their paternity nor maternity but sublimate it to a higher
plane—becoming spiritual Fathers or Mothers to a family that has no limits!
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God is always faithful to us |
3.
FEAR OF PERMANENT COMMITMENT. In a society where close to 60% of marriages
end in divorce, the economy is unstable, and progress is whirling at an
incredible pace, many young people are afraid to make a permanent
commitment. Why? Many have seen
marriages cave in, as well as priests and religious bailing out and jumping
ship. Consequently, they fear whether or not they are capable of making a
full-time commitment, a decision that would last their entire life! In the spiritual cross-country marathon,
many ask themselves interiorly, can I persevere until the end. The world says no to this, but all things are
possible with God. God is our Rock, fortress, mainstay and solid foundation on
which to build a secure life and future.
If you like in the words of the most famous Psalm of all times: “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I
shall lack.” (Psalm 23:1)
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Courage of St. Peter-- his crucifixion for Jesus |
4.
CRISIS IN MANHOOD. It is no surprise
for those who are aware of the “Signs of the times” as well as the fall in
vocations and crises in the Church, the reality of the infiltration in the
Seminaries as well as into the priesthood itself of a homosexual subculture,
which has seriously undermined the true, authentic and serious candidates for
the priesthood. Well worth reading is the classic “Good bye, good men”, written by the journalist Michael Rose. The essence of this book, in which he has
studied seriously various seminaries over the past few decades, is that the
“good men” who had authentic vocations were shewed out of the seminary. The reason?
Well, they would pray the Rosary and visit the Blessed Sacrament,
cultivate devotions and would maintain their faithful allegiance to the
Magisterium and the teachings of the Holy Father. Because of all these “antiquated and
obsolete” practices they were deemed unfit to pursue their priestly vocation
and were ousted and given the axe!
Whereas the effeminate, unorthodox, and undisciplined candidates were
accepted, given the green light and ordained.
Consequently, what have we seen in the past few decades? Not so much problems with molesting
children—sad to say there are a few cases. However, the huge majority of
failures have been due to homosexual practices among the clergy. “Good bye, good men!” And a warm welcome in
the priesthood to those who had no vocation to the priesthood and should never
have been ordained!
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St. Alphonsus responds to his vocation |
5.
PARENTAL AND FAMILY RESISTANCE. Not infrequently one of the major barriers of
resistance to the call to the Religious life and to the priesthood are the
family members of the vocational prospect.
A classical case was the vocational-priestly call of St. Alphonsus
Liguori. Having received two Law degrees when only in his teens and practicing
flawlessly law for several years he had an oversight in a famous case and lost
it! Divine Providence! He left the
law-courts never to return, feeling he was betrayed by the world. After prayers and fasting he reveals to his
parents his desire to become a priest and his own father grabbed him by the
neck and opposed violently his son’s vocation to the priesthood! Later in life
Alphonsus stated that this was one of the most painful moments in his life, the
fact that he had to go against the will of his father and become a priest. For
this reason in his writings on the Religious Life, St. Alphonsus stated that
parents can often be the best friends of their children, until their child
decides on a vocation to the priesthood or the religious life and then the
parents can become the worst of enemies!
In conclusion, let us listen to the
Words of Jesus Himself who said: “The
harvest is rich, but the laborers are few.” Let us beg the Harvest Master to
call constantly, but pray and hope that many young people will generously heed
the call and follow the Lord and work tirelessly for the salvation of immortals
souls. May the motto of St. John Bosco encourage the youth: “Give me souls and take all the rest away.”