Conference provides global view on vocations

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PROVIDENCE--As Christians, we are called to different vocations, but all of us share a calling to holiness, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said in remarks at the annual conference of Serra International, a Catholic organization dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Young people today, Bishop Tobin said, live in a secular environment that is not conducive to hearing the call to the priesthood. Citing Pope John Paul II, he attributed the rise in secularism to the “practical and existential atheism of our age,” in which people do not deny God so much as they live without Him. He also blamed hedonism and materialism, “sometimes less-than-stellar catechetics,” and a breakdown in the family.

“These elements and so many others do not provide a favorable atmosphere in which young people can hear God’s voice and respond in a positive and a generous way. We are truly living in a secular desert,” Bishop Tobin said. “It’s the role of the Church, then, to provide a spiritual oasis in the midst of the desert.”

Organizations like Serra International, he added, play a critical role in helping the Church provide that oasis, making it easier to talk about vocations. “Thank you so much,” Bishop Tobin said. “I hope you never underestimate the importance of what you’re doing.”

In his remarks, Bishop Tobin focused on personal sanctity as the foundation for the work that all Christians—consecrated and unconsecrated, lay and clergy—do within and on behalf of the Church. “The one thing we share is our call to holiness,” Bishop Tobin said.

Observing that the day was the feast of St. Thomas Moore, Bishop pointed to the saints as models of sanctity. “I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I step back and say, ‘How did they do it? How did they become so holy?’” he said.

The saints, he continued, had the same tools available to them that Catholic Christians have today. The saints had the same prayers and devotions. They had the Word of God to inspire, correct them, and guide them in the right direction. They had the sacraments of Holy Communion and confession. They had the Ten Commandments and the commandments of Christ. They had the support and teachings of the Church. And they had the models of other saints to follow as well, the bishop said.

“The difference between them and us is, I think, is they really wanted to be holy,” Bishop Tobin added. “They worked very, very hard at it and they took it very seriously.”

The bishop asked what it is that is preventing us from growing in holiness. “Could it be our own lack of commitment, our own apathy, perhaps our own spiritual laziness? It’s a question to reflect upon,” he said.

He drew an analogy with the fine arts—particularly, sculpture, which chisels away material to create a figure, and painting, which adds material onto a surface to create an image. “Isn’t that a fit description of the spiritual life and our spiritual journey as well?” Bishop Tobin said. “We chisel away the evil and we add on that which is virtuous.”

“It’s really the work of a lifetime,” he added. The bishop alluded to the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew as a metaphor for the transformations we encounter and experience in the Christian life—beginning with transubstantiation itself in the Eucharist, extending to the transformation of ourselves into the image of Christ, and extending beyond ourselves to the transformation of the world around us into the Kingdom of God.

In the gospels, he noted, the Church is described as the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

"Christians should make a difference in the world around them,” Bishop Tobin said. “That’s what the Christian life is all about.”

Bishop Tobin drove that point home in a question and answer session following his remarks, in which many of the questions focused on recent challenges to religious freedom and how the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has responded with the “Fortnight for Freedom,” which began last week.

One questioner, from Hawaii, described a recent rally for religious freedom in Honolulu. The man said he had initially been disappointed by the absence of bishops and clergy at the event. When he asked his bishop about it, the bishop told him that it was the duty of the laity at the front and center of such public demonstrations.

Bishop Tobin agreed. “It’s the job of pastors to inspire people,” he said. “It’s the job of people to go out and participate in these things.”

Serra International is a 75-year organization whose local chapter in Providence has been recently revitalized, at the instigation of Bishop Tobin. Last month, the group also chose a new president, Madge Thomas. More information about the local chapter, including how to become a member, is available at serraprovidence.org.

In addition to his remarks, Bishop Tobin celebrated a Mass at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on Thursday for attendees of the conference.

The keynote address for the weekend was delivered by Justin Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, and other featured speakers included Father Joseph Scerbo, S.A., of the Thousand Oaks Mission in California, and David Rhangelli, Director of “The Calling,” a documentary about the “joys and anxieties of those who are drawn to religious life.”

Serra