Prayer During Quarantine Rev. Jason Kern Director of Vocations jkern@dowr.org
Survey: 2020 Priest Ordination Class Is Smaller, More Diverse CNA STAFF (CNA) - A survey of the 2020 priestly ordination class was published by the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference (USCCB) on Thursday, a slightly smaller class than in 2019. Sponsored by the bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, the survey is conducted annually of U.S. seminarians who are about to be ordained to the priesthood. The USCCB collaborates with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) to produce the survey. Ordination class sizes have varied over time, according to previous CARA reports. In 2006, there were 359 potential ordinands identified by the survey (though not all responded), a number that rose to 475 in 2007 before dipping to 401 for the class of 2008—many of whom would have entered seminary in 2002, the year that clergy sex abuse scandals in the U.S. were widely reported. In subsequent years that number rebounded, with an average class size of 474 from 2009-14. The ordination class size peaked in 2015 at 595, dipping slightly to 548 in 2016 before jumping again to 590 in 2017. However, the number of potential ordinands has dipped in the past three years; from 2018-2020, CARA
imposed structures on our daily lives, but it comes from my ability to freely love and be loved by God. That God is love is an ontological truth that gives me stability no matter where I am or how long I am quarantined. Prayer during this quarantine has helped me to realize that I have never been in control or had enough to get by. I have always been dependent on the Lord for everything. I must continue the search to discover anew that my worth and place in the world is in relationship to Love. Lord, move each of us deeply to pray with the interior readiness to face our limitations and our desperate need for God. Give us the courage to never despair or even fear, because nothing can take away the peace, joy, and authentic freedom that comes from living in Your loving protection. The Lord loves you and is your source of stability in these times. Pray like it.
said it sent surveys to 430, 481, and 448 priestly ordinands, respectively. For its reports, CARA calculates the ordination class sizes by contacting all theologates, houses of formation, dioceses, archdioceses, eparchies, and institutes of men religious in the United States. Of the 2020 ordination class, the vast majority (82%) will enter the diocesan priesthood, with others entering religious life or a society of apostolic life. Ordination classes have been trending slightly younger: in the last decade the average age of priestly ordinands fell from 37 years old in 2010 to 34 years old in 2020. Demographically, a slightly smaller share of the classes have identified as Caucasian in recent years, while the percentage of ordination classes identifying as Hispanic or Latino has grown from 10% in 2005 to 15% from 2012-2014, and is currently at 16% for 2020. The percentage of potential ordinands identifying as African, African-American or black has stayed relatively the same over time with a slight increase in the last two classes that have peaked in consecutive years at 6%. The percentage of ordinands who are foreign-born has varied from anywhere between 24 and 33% since 2005. One-in four (25%) of the 2020 class is foreignborn, with the most common countries of birth being Mexico, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Columbia. For education, between 35% and 44% of the 2020 class attended a Catholic school at some point in their lives. Slight majorities received an undergraduate or graduate degree (54%) and had a full-time job (55%)
before entering seminary. Those who have been homeschooled at some point in their lives make up only a small part of each class, but their share has grown in recent years. In 2005, those homeschooled at some point made up only 3% of the ordination class, and that percentage never climbed above 5% until 2015 when it reached 7%. For the 2019 and 2020 classes, however, 11% and 10% of potential ordinands had been homeschooled at some point, respectively. A large majority of potential ordinands have reported frequent Eucharistic Adoration and previous experience as an altar server before entering seminary. For 2020, more than seven-in-ten, 72%, prayed regularly at Eucharistic Adoration before they entered seminary, and 73% were altar servers at some point. In 2010, the first year the question featured on the survey, 65% of oradinands said they were regular adorers before entering seminary; that percentage jumped to 70% in 2014, and the last five years have featured an average of 74% for each class. And the vast majority reported a Catholic upbringing that dates to their infancy, as 90% were baptized Catholic as infants and 85% reported that both their parents were Catholic when they were children. Nearly nine-in-ten also said that someone encouraged them to consider the priesthood, while a slight majority (52%) said they were dissuaded from the priesthood by someone.
Vocations
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ver the last few weeks, I have had more video and phone conversations than I ever thought I would, and while in no way do these interactions replace in-person meetings, I have been impressed with how productive they can be. Despite the inevitable internet lag or computer problem that arises, overall there are many good things that can still happen during a time of social distancing. When speaking with seminarians as well as other Catholics, I ask about their prayer life during this quarantine. Inevitably, many admit that it has been difficult to pray during this time for various reasons, whether it's not having access to a church or the Sacraments or just feeling out of sorts or even anxious over everything that’s transpiring. We are so accustomed to having productivity built into our lives and focus so much of our time around the given structures that are provided for us in our daily lives. For many of us, some of those structures have been diminished, and it can feel as though we are left without a purpose or a vision for our life. I was speaking with an older man who has been living alone for many years in a much more populous area out-of-state, where the virus is more severe. In stunning honesty, he said, “You want to hear something funny? For the first time in my life, I am afraid of dying alone.” It was a stark comment. It wasn’t funny. It allowed me to realize how in touch with his mortality he had become in the recent weeks. While it was an obvious cry for help, it gave me pause to think. What is it about this time that puts the end of our life in perspective? Is
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it just the real risk of dying? Perhaps, but there seems to be more. Humanity seems to be taking a collective gasp of introspective air and breathing deeply about what it means to be truly human. Is life really about doing whatever I want and structuring my life in a way to give it my own meaning? Suddenly, when I realize that control is taken from me, where do I find meaning? Do I escape into diversions like internet, tv, or something else? Do I numb the emptiness I feel? There is obviously a need for hobbies and diversions at times. We need to know how to take the edge off and relax. Keeping our sense of humor is important. However, if we never reflect, never take time to make the journey inward, we realize that we are not truly praying. We need to get to a place where we experience our poverty and that sense of aloneness and there discover that we are loved infinitely by a merciful God. If we can accept our littleness and weakness in the vast universe that seems so unstable at times, we can discover our stability does not come from
May 2020 w The Courier w dowr.org
