Fourth Sunday of Easter Jn 10, 11-18

Today we have Sunday as a good shepherd or, in other words, a day of prayer for priestly and religious vocations. The question of priestly vocations is important for the church because the church cannot exist in the long run without priests. Let us consider today why the number of priestly vocations is declining.
First, let’s look at where and how priestly and religious vocations arise? Most often in families. In such families where religious life is lived. Where parents, grandparents show an example of the Christian life. However, this does not mean that a priestly vocation will automatically arise in such a family. The priestly vocation is a gift. The gift that God gives. Or in other words, it is grace. But grace builds on nature. It is difficult to imagine that the priestly vocation will arise in a young man who lives far from God, from the Church, and is practically an atheist. But there are cases where someone in the family did not receive religious education but then met someone who led him to God for faith. Or he got into some faith community. But even this does not necessarily lead to a priestly vocation. They are just a prerequisite. I do not know the situation regarding priestly vocations in America, but here in Europe and, of course, declining in my country. Although the word decline is not entirely correct, it is maintained in a minimal number more precisely. And this number is kept stable. And that specifically means that in one year, there is one, in some two, in some even three. Although the Church has freedom today and can act as she pleases, it should be borne in mind that other organizations also have freedom and influence people much more intensely than the Church. Today’s world offers great opportunities for young people to realize themselves. In the past, such options were not. The church has lost the influence it previously had. This was reflected in the decline of children who go to religion, in the decline of church marriages, funerals. Of course, the number of people who regularly attend Holy Mass has dropped significantly. These are all factors that do not favor the emergence of priestly vocations. I would not like this situation to lead us to hopelessness. We know that God is above all things. The question is whether we can do something to increase the number of priestly vocations. Yes, we can. How? By living a zealous Christian life, by showing that faith is important to us, and, of course, by praying for the priestly vocation, because prayer will never go unnoticed. However, if we do not use any of these means, let us not be surprised that the number of priestly vocations does not change. God does not act violently. God not only calls to the priesthood, but also allows this vocation to be realized. Sometimes it seems like it’s just a coincidence, but in my opinion it’s not. For example, I started attending religion in the ninth grade. This was not possible before. I was lucky that the religion was taught by a priest who knew how to gain our interest. I asked him if I could minister to his church. Mining was the first step to my vocation to the priesthood. In the church where I ministered there was a living community that had a great influence on me. Another problem was school. Theology could only be studied from a grammar school. Getting to grammar school in Bratislava at that time was quite a problem for me. My parents were not in the communist party, I had no working background, and I was just an average student. I graduated from high school in another city, the city where my father came from. It was quite a coincidence that a classmate who also wanted to be a priest joined me in high school. We strengthened each other, encouraged each other. Then came another problem. Getting to the seminar was not easy at all. There were many more candidates than they could accept. The so-called numerus klausus was introduced. Every fourth person who signed up for the seminar. What has happened. The priest who taught me religion retired, and a priest who was vice dean at the Faculty of Theology came there, and I had great protection. While studying theology, I did military service. I could have lost my life twice. We had a military exercise last night. There was a lot of snow. The military car in front of me crashed into a gorge. The soldiers who were in it were severely wounded. I could easily sit in that car too. It once happened that one soldier drank too much alcohol and started firing a submachine gun. The cartridges flew around me about 10-15 centimeters. Fortunately, nothing happened to me. Maybe someone will say all I was talking about was just a coincidence. However, I think that without those coincidences, I would never have become a priest. Whoever feels the priestly vocation must freely decide for him and accept it. Not everyone follows the vocation to the priesthood they have felt in their hearts. But that another chapter.