Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Father Jun De Ocampo SVD – Cologne Germany
Tuesday 14th Week in Ordinary Time
Serving as Chaplain for Filipinos in the Archdiocese of Cologne for three years now, I have received notices almost monthly that another priest of the Archdiocese has died. It is a sobering reality.
I live in the large SVD seminary in Sankt Augustin, which once ordained at least 20 German priests a year. In recent years, however, only five priests at most have been ordained annually—and only one of them German, the rest from Asia. This same seminary was once the place where many of the first German SVD missionaries to the Philippines were ordained.
In today’s Gospel, we hear: “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them… Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest’” (Matthew 9:36–38).
Where are those whom the Lord of the harvest could send into His vineyard? With so few candidates for the priesthood, we cannot simply expect them to appear from “some wonderful corners of the earth” or from “good families generous enough to offer their son.”
The reality is this: the Lord is calling many young men to the priesthood—more than we might imagine. And one of them may be from your immediate neighborhood, or even from your own family. Yes, someone you know.
St. John Paul II once told the youth: “It could not be that God who gave the first impulse to say Yes, will now expect a No for an answer.” The call is real, and it is persistent. The challenge is for families, parishes, and communities to nurture that call, to encourage young men to respond generously, and to trust that God will provide the grace needed for such a vocation.
The decline in priestly vocations in Europe is a painful reality, but it is also a reminder to pray fervently and to support those discerning the call. The harvest remains abundant, and Christ continues to invite laborers. The question is: will we recognize them, encourage them, and send them forth?
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