The decline in priestly vocations in Italy and the prayer for the "harvest workers"

The numbers are cold and sometimes merciless, but they represent reality well, without screens or embellishments. A few months ago a report appeared regarding seminarians in Italy; he says that those preparing for the priesthood in our country have dropped by 28% in ten years. In 2019 there were 2.103 seminarians in the seminaries of Italy, while in 1970 (fifty years ago) there were 6.337, with a decrease of 60% in half a century.

The secular newspaper The print he titled one of his articles thus: «Is the hypothesis of a Church without clergy becoming a real threat?». We do not intend to answer that question. We only want to propose again the indication of the Gospel as a remedy, where Jesus says: «The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the master of the harvest to send workers for his harvest" (Luke 10:1). We therefore want to ask the readers about Holy Crusade to also add to their prayers the request for "workers" for the vineyard that is the Church.

What should our prayer be like? Not an empty echo of words, but a luminous prayer of faith. Jesus was impressed by the story of the centurion which made him exclaim: "In Israel I have not found anyone with such great faith!" (Mt 8, 10), or that of the Canaanite woman, to whom Jesus replied: «Woman, your faith is truly great! May it be done to you as you wish" (Mt 15, 28). We must ensure that our prayer for the "workers" of the Lord flows firmly from faith, because Jesus has shown us this path; the rest is in his hands.

A prayer for priestly vocations anchored solidly in faith should arise from a believing people who ask for ministers of God as such, for the meaning that their presence has among their brothers. I mean that, in my opinion, it would be a prayer lacking in faith to ask for priests for other purposes, for other missions other than the one the Lord has entrusted to them. In fact, it happens that the priest is appreciated and sought after for his organizational skills, for his ability to gather communities around him, for his social or even charitable function, for his educational role... All admirable actions, let's be clear! but the true priestly function is his presence in the Church in persona Christi, for «the presence of Christ as Head of the Church [which] is made visible among the community of believers» (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1549). In simpler words: Christians must ask for priests because they truly feel the need for their ministry.  However, one observation appears clear, even if bitter: for example, with regard to the ministry of forgiveness and the sacrament of Penance, which is the proper ministry of priests, we must recognize that there are  more than enough, since the confessionals are deserted of penitents. And so on...

So we must indeed insistently pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers, but we must do so because we truly feel the need for their function, that of ministers of Christ.