last night's Pastoral Planning meeting
I blogged before (cannot find the archive) about a series of meetings my diocese is having to make changes because of the priest shortage. Our last meeting was snowed out, so it was postponed until last night.
The Bishop talked a lot about doing things in the "vision of Vatican II". For example, we need to train "Leaders". We need to accept change. There are many parishes across the country where people attend what they refer to as "Father's Mass, Sister's Mass, Deacon's Mass". I am not a theologian, but this so does not sound like The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church-Lumen Gentium-in other words, not very in keeping with the "vision of Vatican II".
When they opened the floor for discussion, many stated that there must be more done in the way of encouraging vocations, and the Bishop's answer to that was families do not hold becoming a priest in esteem anymore (the shortened version). To that I raised my hand and tried to say that as a mother, I see very little on a parish level to encouraging families to form children that would embrace vocations. Of course I choked on my words, especially when they asked me to repeat what I said to speak into a microphone. Ack.
I sounded something like:
"Um, I just wanted to say at my old parish, there was, um, er, very little in the way to encourage, well, families to want their children to go into vocations. I mean people just go to Church and leave and that's it. I, um, wish, um, there was more to offer on a parish level to help families encourage vocations.I am one of the only people I know who would love to have a son as a priest. Anyway, I just, um, well I do not know when I, er, would have the chance to say that again." And I quickly sank back down in my seat.
Sigh, blogging is so therapuetic...
