The present impoverishment of vocations

The problem is that these men are the exception to the rule, because they're not afraid to suffer for other people, for their families. But by and large, society hates the notion of sacrifice, or of suffering. That, I'd wager, is why there are so few vocations to the priesthood these days. We live in a society that is afraid of needles. Priesthood and celibate life in general is simply impossible to "advertise" because it doesn't appeal to the modern consumer mentality; it promises certain sacrifices and is at least superficially short on the comforts with which conventional products entice consumers.

On the other hand, married life and romantic relationships do offer a type of comfort which can be exploited by an entrepeneurial agenda. And indeed popular culture does exploit the type of comfort offered by those relationships. They "advertise," i.e., they accentuate the comforts offered by such lifestyles while downplaying if not completely eliminating the sense of sacrifice built into those lifestyles. This is why so many people marry, or in the modern age enter into civil unions and cohabitate. Popular culture has succeeded in portraying such relationships as existing solely for the purpose of personal self-fulfillment and gratification, rather than as a commitment to lay down one's life for another human being.

The reason popular culture has succeeded in doing this is because there is a dimension of personal self-fulfillment and gratification built into the nature of married life. On the other hand, you have the Roman Catholic Priesthood, which at least seems to promise no such fulfillment. The Roman Catholic Priesthood is, at least in the eyes of the popular mind-molders of our time, a lonely life. It is a life without interpersonal romance, without riches, without rest or relaxation. It is a life lived entirely without concern for personal riches or gratification. The life of a priest is lived for the Church, for other people. That kind of selfless altruism is simply not conducive to the kind of lust for luxury that popular culture endorses and cultivates.

The scary thing, at least for popular culture, is that a life lived entirely with a sense of altruism, for other people, is the most fulfilling life a person can live. And the Roman Catholic Priesthood is not the only lifestyle where such altruism is possible. In fact the truth of the matter is that married life and romantic relationships are just as much about self-sacrifice as is priesthood and celibate life. But it is so downplayed that people enter into romantic relationships expecting to always be head over heels for the person they join with, and soon they discover the needles, the thorns of the relationship. And being afraid of needles, many jump ship. It's the mentality of personal fulfillment and gratification again. Indeed, the impoverishment of vocations both religious and marital has its roots in the lust for luxury that pervades modern society. If everyone knew before they got romantically involved with another how much sacrifice would be involved, I suspect there would be just as few or fewer romantic relationships in America as there are celibate vocations.

What must be accomplished to address this impoverishment, then, is to form in the minds of all people a general disposition to accept the sacrifices that are inherent in any life path which one chooses. As it is, one cannot very well go into a seminary for the purpose of discerning lifelong celibacy without knowing immediately that there will be demands, responsibilities and sacrifices involved.

At any rate, all men and women must be encouraged to recognize that life is sacrifice, that every possible life path will require a death to self and a rebirth in the spirit of Christ-centered service. If all people can understand and appreciate that, then all vocations, religious marital or otherwise, will be strengthened.