Pray for Vocations!

06-14-2026Pastor's LetterFather Wilson

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

Christ trusted His apostles to reveal and introduce “salvation” to all His people. He calls us in a personal way, awarding us redemption and conversion. Such tremendous gifts mandate sharing the Gospel throughout the world. A priest is called to be “servant, victim, brother, listener and friend.” (Terence Cardinal Cooke) Above all, a priest must be a good Father. Not everyone can carry out such a demanding task; nor is it a responsibility that can be easily mastered. Men are being called now, more than ever for the “the harvest is great.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is moved when seeing His people “abandoned and exhausted,” like sheep that have no shepherd. That’s the situation of our Church in the United States today. We need more priests! Why have vocations diminished throughout the US? The answer is complex. It could be attributed to materialism, lack of Catholic schools, and weak Catechesis over the years. Our parish is blessed with many large families. But contraception has gained a huge foothold in our country. Families with only one or two children are very hesitant to “give up” a son to the priesthood. Who’s going to keep the family name going?

In the Diocese of Charleston, we expect that our next Vocations Poster will have 38 men pictured. Candidly, that’s an amazing number for our sized Diocese. Yet the need remains great. We have several priests retiring, serious illnesses have afflicted a few other priests, and not every man on the poster will make it through the discernment process.

Jesus calls us to pray for vocations! “...ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” It’s vital that parents be open to their sons discerning the priesthood. The very first “fork in the road” for young men should be “Am I called to be a good and holy priest or a good and holy husband and father?”

For many reasons, I am honored to be the Pastor of St. Mary Help of Christians! A distinctive joy of my priesthood is seeing our faithful altar servers. In particular, we’ve had as many as 15 servers at the 8:30 am Mass. I challenged them to get more than a squad of 12 and they responded! It is wonderful to see those boys (and girls) serve our Lord on the altar. We need strong virile men to respond to the call to share in the priesthood of Christ. I have no doubt that some of these boys will be called. May God grant them the courage to say Yes! Today’s second collection supports our diocesan seminarians. Please remember them in your prayers as well.

Yours in Christ.