Dear brothers,
I address you with gratitude for the common efforts to encourage vocations within the Church; this is one of the signs that our faith is active, providing the Church with financial and moral assistance for the support of seminarians and religious in formation, our own engagement also grows, so we can say: “As the Knights become more involved in vocational efforts, find new meaning in their own vocations as lay Catholics and members of the Order.” [1] Being aware of the decrease in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, the call of the Church becomes increasingly so that we do not forget the role of the family, where every vocation requires to be welcomed. “The duty of fostering vocations pertains to the whole Christian, which should exercise it above all by a fully Christian life. The principal contributors to this are the families which, animated by the spirit of faith and love and by the sense of duty, become a kind of initial seminary”[2]. It is a great joy to discover that the life of our councils is a great opportunity for the stimulus of vocations. In the March 2024 Report to the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life & Vocations United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, made by Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate Georgetown University Washington, D.C. we found: Ordinands who belonged to Knights of Columbus/ Knights of Peter Claver constituted 24% of all respondents. They represented 12% of ordinands in religious institutes and 26% of ordinands to diocesan priesthood (a statistically significant difference). Between 2006 and 2024, their share averaged 24% and ranged between 17% and 45%. In addition to thanking and imploring God’s blessing for your generous response to the collection for financial support for our seminarians, I would like to invite you to be an active part of the promotion of vocations. Maybe these suggestions from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website[3], could help us:  

1. Pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. Jesus says in Matthew 9:38 “to beg the master of the harvest to send laborers into the vineyard.” If we want more priests, sisters and brothers, we all need to ask.

2. Teach young people how to pray. Pope Benedict XVI said that unless we teach our youth how to pray, they will never hear God calling them into a deeper relationship with Him and into the discipleship of the Church.

3. Invite active young adults and teens to consider a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life. A simple, sincere comment should not be underestimated. An easy way to do this can be remembered by four letters: ICNU. “John, I see in you (ICNU) the qualities that would make a good priest, and I want to encourage you to pray about it.” It is a non-invasive way to encourage openness to a religious vocation.

In Christ,
Fr. Duberney Rodas

[1] https://www.kofc.org/en/resources/faith-in-action-programs/faith/rsvp/1942-vocations-handbook.pdf

[2] Optatam Totius n.2

[3] https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/parents/top-ten-things-to-promote-vocations