Petersburg Parishes
  • Search
  • Menu Canvas
    • Home
    • About Us
      • Mission
      • Our Catholic Beliefs
      • Churches ⇾
        • History
        • Immaculate Conception
        • St. John
        • St. Joseph
        • St. Lawrence
      • Visitors
      • Staff
      • Contact
      • Council & Committees
      • Cemeteries
    • Sacraments
      • Baptism
      • Reconciliation
      • Eucharist
      • Confirmation
      • Marriage
      • Annulments
      • Anointing of the Sick
      • Vocations
    • Faith Formation
      • Year of the Eucharist, 2021
      • Becoming Catholic
      • Eucharistic Adoration
      • Youth
      • Alpha
      • Recommended Resources ⇾
        • Formed
        • Podcasts
        • Websites
        • Books
    • Outreach
      • Bereavement
      • Surviving Divorce
      • Breaking the Silence
      • Need Prayers?
      • Stephen Ministry
      • Respect Life
      • Local Charities
    • News
      • Lent & Easter 2021
      • Archdiocese of Cincinnati
      • Flocknote
      • Calendar
      • Annual Events ⇾
        • St. Joseph Festival
        • St. Lawrence Family Festival
        • Fryburg Homecoming
      • Bulletins
    • Liturgy
      • Sacred Music
      • Liturgical Ministers
    • Media
      • Podcast
      • Homilies and More
    • Give
Petersburg Parishes
  • 419-738-2115
  • office@petersburgparishes.org

Flocknote
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Our Catholic Beliefs
    • Churches ⇾
      • History
      • Immaculate Conception
      • St. John
      • St. Joseph
      • St. Lawrence
    • Visitors
    • Staff
    • Contact
    • Council & Committees
    • Cemeteries
  • Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • Reconciliation
    • Eucharist
    • Confirmation
    • Marriage
    • Annulments
    • Anointing of the Sick
    • Vocations
  • Faith Formation
    • Year of the Eucharist, 2021
    • Becoming Catholic
    • Eucharistic Adoration
    • Youth
    • Alpha
    • Recommended Resources ⇾
      • Formed
      • Podcasts
      • Websites
      • Books
  • Outreach
    • Bereavement
    • Surviving Divorce
    • Breaking the Silence
    • Need Prayers?
    • Stephen Ministry
    • Respect Life
    • Local Charities
  • News
    • Lent & Easter 2021
    • Archdiocese of Cincinnati
    • Flocknote
    • Calendar
    • Annual Events ⇾
      • St. Joseph Festival
      • St. Lawrence Family Festival
      • Fryburg Homecoming
    • Bulletins
  • Liturgy
    • Sacred Music
    • Liturgical Ministers
  • Media
    • Podcast
    • Homilies and More
  • Give

How Are YOU Encouraging Your Children’s Vocation?

Homepage Posts Bulletin Article How Are YOU Encouraging Your Children’s Vocation?
Bulletin Article

How Are YOU Encouraging Your Children’s Vocation?

October 31, 2020
By Fr. Jedidiah Tritle
0 Comment
152 Views

In a different era in the Church’s history in America, you might have attended Mass at a parish that had three or four Priests assigned there. And, chances are, at least one of those Priests were fresh out of seminary, maybe teaching in the local Catholic high school, and very relatable for the boys and young men in the parish. There was likely also a convent somewhere on the parish grounds, where a number of Religious Sisters lived and prayed together. And, those Sisters would have been very visible around the parish, especially in the parish school. In a world like that, vocations to the Priesthood and the various forms of Religious Life would have been something that most Catholic kids at least thought about while growing up because it was something they were constantly exposed to. And, the few parishes that maintain a strong Priestly and Religious presence still tend to inspire many vocations—St. Gertrude Church, a Dominican-run parish in Cincinnati, comes to mind as a great example!

In our times, unfortunately, we tend to have far more parishes than we have Priests and Religious Brothers and Sisters to staff them. So, that constant exposure isn’t there like it once was. However, lest we get discouraged, we can be certain that the Lord never stopped calling men and women to serve as Priests and Consecrated Religious! It’s just a bit harder in our age for a young person to hear that call, perhaps. And that’s where YOU come in, parents! What are YOU doing to help your children hear the Lord’s call in their life, and how are YOU encouraging them to be generous with their life and vocation?

The #1 thing you can be doing to help foster vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life is to teach your children how to be faithful Catholics. Bring them to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day (or even during the week, sometimes!). Bring them to Confession regularly, and lead by your own example. And—this is crucial—teach them to pray! That means being faithful to daily prayer as individuals; it means praying together as spouses; it means praying together as a family; and it means teaching your children how to pray. In other words, help them to have both a Sacramental and interior (personal) relationship with the Lord. To be sure, none of those things “produce” vocations, as if a vocation is something that we create. Rather, those practices dispose us—they prepare us—to be open to what the Lord is inviting us to. Every year, Georgetown University conducts a poll of newly-ordained Priests, and they found that over 70% of the 2020 ordination class regularly, as young men, prayed the Rosary, attended Eucharistic Exposition, and were altar servers. So…hint hint!!!

Finally, if someone—a son or daughter, niece or nephew, or anyone else—expresses interest in discerning a Priestly or Religious vocation, PLEASE ENCOURAGE THEM! Pray for them, and listen to them. They’re probably going through a lot of internal unrest and maybe even fear about what the Lord might be doing in their lives. And, help them to take a small step forward! Point them to Father Sean, me (Fr. Jedidiah), or Alex Dugas (our Intern) and we would be thrilled to talk with them and see if we can help in any way (with no pressure, and no strings attached). May God produce many good and holy vocations from our parishes, may our Blessed Mother raise up many holy and prayerful men and women to live as consecrated souls, and may we all support and encourage vocations by our words and lives.

Fr. Jedidiah Tritle

Article by Fr. Jedidiah Tritle


Previous Story
Updates All Around
Next Story
Upcoming Holy Hours & a PSA

Recent Posts

  • My Favorite Saint
  • Ash Wednesday Like You’ve Never Seen It
  • Lenten Reprint
  • What Is an Indulgence?
  • Never Ending Goodness

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
Phone:
419-738-2115
Email:
office@petersburgparishes.org
Location:
309 Perry St, Wapakoneta
Ohio 45895
Emergency Phone:
937-419-1137
We exist so that the deepest longings of the people can be met by the deepest longings of Jesus Christ.

Flocknote


  • Home
  • About
  • Mission
  • History
  • Visitors
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Calendar
Copyright © 2019 Petersburg Parishes. All Rights Reserved
SearchPostsLogin
Saturday, 20, Feb
My Favorite Saint
Saturday, 13, Feb
Ash Wednesday Like You’ve Never Seen It
Saturday, 6, Feb
Lenten Reprint
Saturday, 30, Jan
What Is an Indulgence?
Saturday, 23, Jan
Never Ending Goodness
Saturday, 16, Jan
Listening and Speaking

Welcome back,