Think Priest

Each year I have the privilege of giving my witness to the seminarians of the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ who will be ordained that spring. One of the things I have noticed over the last several years is that the particular class I speak to is comprised mainly of older men. Now by older I mean generally between 30 to 40 years of age, with some slightly younger and sometimes even older. This is wonderful. These men bring to their priesthoods maturity and life experience.
However I think it is important that younger vocations be fostered as well. I also firmly believe that it is our Catholic youth that will play a major role in revitalizing our Church.
Over the last month or so I have heard more stories of teens discerning vocations to the priesthood or consecrated life. This is so refreshing to hear. I admire their courage in taking these holy nudges into consideration. One such young man is a 15 year old named John whose blog I have enjoyed following. Please take some time to visit his blog, Writings of a Boy Discerning God's Call.
The other instance I came across was in an article from the Catholic Herald posted at Catholic Online. It tells of a Kenosha, Wisconsin parish where the associate pastor and youth minister have set up a discernment group for teens. The article mentions a 16 year old discerning his call to the priesthood. You can read the full article here.
In this Year For Priests, let us pray not only for our current priests and seminarians, but also for those young men who may become our future priests.