Editorial from the Prior - January 2025

Editorial from the Prior
Dear Faithful,
Our Superior General has called for a crusade for vocations. Here in Toronto, we will make a point of saying the Votive Mass of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest every first Thursday of the month during this year. Read the prayers of this Mass (to be found with the votive Masses for Thursdays) to gain an idea of the grandeur of Christ’s priesthood which he exercises through his human ministers at Mass and in the Sacraments. We will also say the Prayer for Religious Vocations of Pope Pius XII (the prayer begins “Our Lord Jesus Christ, thou art the sublime model of every perfection…”) at benediction on Thursdays. We will, of course, include the intention of vocations in our daily Rosary. If you have the possibility of going to Rome this year do not miss the chance to present the needs of the Church to St Peter and to the other saints in the Holy City.
Why vocations? As Fr. Pagliarani puts in his letter of December 2024: “People can only be holy if they have a holy clergy, and likewise, a civilization will become Christian once more only if it is sanctified by holy religious.” Our Lord founded His Church with Apostles at its head. Just as an organism can only function if it its head is healthy, so the Church can only fulfil its role of leading souls to heaven if its leaders are close to God. Religious communities have been compared to power houses bringing the electricity of grace to the members of the Church: pardon for sins, courage for the good. So yes, we need vocations.
How do we help to develop vocations? The best means is prayer, because it is the means that Christ Himself recommended: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” (Mt 9,38). Then, a vocation is a fragile thing and can be lost. We have to make sure vocations are protected and strengthened, in the home, in school. We cannot expect vocations to develop where the Faith is regularly mocked, where the Church is blackened. Choose good schools!
If necessary, it is possible to use one of the home-schooling programs such as Our Lady of Victory School based in Post Falls, ID.

We should be aware of a special obstacle to vocations coming from today’s technology. A vocation requires piety, docility, purity, and strength of character (as does Christian life in general!). Technology (specifically the smart-phone) tends to wear away all of these: it destroys concentration, it gives us a spirit of independence (against obedience), it opens many temptations to our senses, and it weakens our will, because it gives us “an easy way out”, we flee to easy distractions whenever an effort is required. So extra caution is needed in this regard. Despite these challenges, God still calls souls to His service!
The Curé of Ars has the following to say about the need for priests: “When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion.”
Please join this crusade for priests and religious. Even if only one or two vocations were the result it would be well worth it! Please include the four Canadian candidates at Seminary in your intentions (one at Écône, three at Dillwyn).
Wishing you a blessed month of January,
Fr. Joseph Stannus
P.S. Please support the New Hamburg Vehicle Raffle. See details on olmca.sspx.ca. Catholic Education is the future!