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Results of
pulpit appeal for seminarians
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
With all but three parishes reporting the results of the special pulpit
appeal for seminarians and the Vocations Office slated for the weekends
of June 5 and June 12, the total now stands at $221,644.86. Twenty-one
donors gave gifts of $1,000 or more, two of them $5,000. To each and
every one who contributed to this appeal, thank you!
The recent ordination of four men was a glorious and uplifting event for
our Local Church. Newly ordained Father Christopher Weldon has begun
pastoral ministry at All Saints Parish, Logansport, while newly ordained
Father Jeffrey Martin has become associate pastor at St. Lawrence,
Lafayette. Newly ordained Deacon Eric Underwood, who is helping this
summer at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception,
Lafayette, and newly ordained Deacon Josh Janko, in ministry at St. Joan
of Arc, Kokomo, will soon return to the Pontifical College Josephinum in
Columbus, Ohio, for their final year of formation before ordination to
the priesthood next June. These men, and those who aspire to ordination,
are eager to give their lives in service to the Catholics of
Northcentral Indiana. Your gifts in support of them and the Vocations
Office that supports them will be reciprocated through years of service.
The magnitude of that was manifested on July 10 when Father Donald
Hardebeck, Father Richard Puetz and Father Harold Weller thanked God for
60 years of priesthood. Lacking financial support, none of those
jubilarians would have become priests.
The expense of providing education for seminarians, of course, is very
different from my days in the seminary, to say nothing of Father
Hardebeck, Father Puetz and Father Weller. Costs have increased
significantly just over the past decade. We also have more seminarians
today than in recent years. In 1999 three men were preparing for the
priesthood. When the budgets determining the goal for the 2004 Fruitful
Harvest campaign were put together, there were nine students. This past
academic year 14 men were in seminary formation. The two men ordained as
priests this June brought the number down to 12. It was expected three
additional men would enter studies in the fall, giving the diocese a
total of 15 seminarians. Since June, however, more potential candidates
have stepped forward. We could have as many as 18 men in the seminary
this fall. As you can see, it is a difficult thing to predict.
Your generosity to this special pulpit appeal illustrates your
appreciation for the men who give themselves to seminary discernment.
En-tering the seminary is, of course, no guarantee of ordination, but it
is a giant first step. The diocese needs to do and will do what is
needed to assist men seeking affirmation of God’s call in their lives
through prayer, study and involvement in the many hands-on opportunities
for ministry that precede ordination. You will recall that a man is
expected to fund his college education. Each seminarian, however, gets a
monthly stipend, gets some help with textbook expenses, health insurance
and, when in graduate school (pre-theology and theology), full tuition,
room and board. It averages out to approximately $31,000 per year. The
expense of a full-time Vocation Director and his office adds to the
budgetary challenge.
You can be sure that the men in seminary formation have tracked the
response to the appeal. At a time when the prevailing culture is not
pro-actively supportive of the ideals of priesthood or those who seek
it, the outcome of the pulpit appeal provides welcome encouragement.
Seminarians deeply appreciate your support.
Prayer, too, is most important to men discerning a call to priesthood.
Time spent in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament praying for vocations
is recognized nationally as an important part of seminary recruitment.
If you haven’t done so already, I urge you to consider spending time
each week in adoration. For those already engaged in this wonderful
devotion, I have no need to assure you of its graces. You already know
from your own experience the transcendent power of this prayer. It is a
devotion that is opening the hearts of many to consider priesthood and
religious life.
Our seminarians gather weekly for adoration during the summer months.
This summer it’s each Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception through July 28.
Awareness that others spend time in adoration praying for vocations to
the priesthood is another form of encouragement.
Whatever the final number of men we will have in seminary formation this
fall, I want to believe you will support them in prayer. They in turn
will pray for you, their benefactors. As I said before, having these men
in formation is a blessing greater than the sacrifice required in a
special pulpit appeal. I am so grateful to you for helping to meet the
current necessary expenditure.
Anticipating the expense of educating seminarians, of course, is no easy
task for a diocese with limited resources that operates on a tight
budget. A Seminary Fund traditionally has contributed to the expense
involved. Since 1984, the balance has been met by Fruitful Harvest. In
our most recent budget, however, both of these together were not
sufficient to cover the costs. That is what led to the Seminary Fund
Appeal. All gifts received in this appeal are going exclusively to the
Vocation Office and for seminarian education.
The Diocesan Finance Council will have to decide whether it’s best to
increment Fruitful Harvest goals to totally cover the expenses of the
Vocations Office or continue to supplement the Fruitful Harvest
allocation to the Vocation Office by an annual pulpit appeal. All want
to see an increase in the number of seminarians. Predicting how many men
will seek seminary admission, however, is far from a precise science. In
whatever way the expense is met, I am confident your prayers and your
financial support can be counted on.
Gifts can be made to the Seminary Fund at any time. For more
information, call the Pastoral Office for Stewardship and Development at
765-742-7000 or 800-617-7466. Speak with Pamelia Storms-Barrett, the
director, or Kenneth Michael, our planned giving officer. Checks made
payable to the Diocese of Lafayette may be sent to P.O. Box 1687,
Lafayette, IN 47902. Be sure to identify: Seminary Fund.
Again, thank you! |
