Fr. John Adamski

Last Sunday’s Gospel related the story of Thomas the Apostle and it reminded me of some attitudes that many young people today have about a religious vocation. Thomas really couldn’t swallow the story which the other apostles told him about the fact that Jesus had come back, after his death, to be with them. Thomas insisted that he would believe that wild story only if he himself could put his finger into the actual wounds of Christ. Thomas demanded proof before he would believe.

Many young people today also seem to want proof that they do have a vocation to serve God’s people: the Church. Many apparently want to have everything decided and worked out beforehand, being completely sure that a life of service as a priest, brother or sister is definitely for them. That’s a difficult approach for many reasons.

A vocation is largely a question of faith – faith in God’s call for you and faith in your own ability to live a certain style of life and be happy with it. Faith is seldom something that can be completed, finished and protected forever. Believing is especially a question of trust. Because we trust God’s love for us we believe in his call. That sort of conviction isn’t something that comes easily, and in fact, it might never come. The faith of any Christian is a daily call for that person to follow Christ ever more fully. The entire question of vocation is very much tied up each person’s Christian faith. Certainly every honest Christian knows that there is some area of doubt along with his own personal faith. I think this is true because sharing God’s life is not something that any of us has an automatic or inherent right to enjoy. Rather, Jesus has come to offer us the possibility and opportunity of participating in God’s life precisely because God loves and calls us. Trusting and believing that call makes us go out of ourselves to accept another. That’s always a challenge.

In the specific area of vocation choice, I doubt that there is any way in which a person can be absolutely sure about his vocation. My 12 years in the seminary were a definite time of trying to discern God’s call and trust him even more. There were many days when I felt I was doing the wrong thing and priesthood wasn’t for me. There will probably always be days like that even now after ordination. The point isn’t the ability to have certitude about the whole thing. Rather, it’s an effort to understand what God’s call for me really means.

The decision to enter a seminary is simply a serious effort to try and discern that call from God. If a man feels that he can be happy serving others from the specific standpoint of his Christian faith and trust, then it would be helpful for him to take the time to see what that might mean in practical instances and circumstances. The seminary program of formation is designed to help a person see a bit more clearly what life as a priest involves and how that style of life suites one.

Entering a seminary means that a person wants to pursue his idea of priesthood a bit further than the thought stage. He wants to see what serving God’s people might really amount to for his life. His happiness in that effort will be one indication of what Gods’ call for him really means.

Seminarians have many opportunities to serve and minister to peoples’ needs in various areas. The seminarian does not begin to play priest, but he begins to see what a role of service really amounts to in his own life. Atlanta seminarians continue that effort through our own summer program. Several men will work full time in parishes this summer in order to get a better understanding of the structures and setting in which priesthood is normally found today. Experiences in ministry at many different levels: hospital and home visiting, census, convert instructions, liturgy preparation, etc. should help each person to realize a little more clearly his own competence and ability to serve.

Last week we all believed that there was a huge fire in Doraville because we saw the smoke cloud. That proved it for us. Thomas wanted the risen Lord to prove himself. Faith really isn’t so much a question of proof as it is one of trust. Can we trust our Father enough to have faith in his goodness, love and call for us?