At any given moment Jesuits are expected to change ministries in order to go anywhere and do anything in service of the Lord and God's people. Sometimes this can be difficult, especially when we must say goodbye to good friends we've met in one ministry as we move onto the next. In turn, this can be hard for our friends as they react to unexpected changes.
I bring this up because our provincial, Fr. Edward Mathie, SJ, has asked me to be the Jesuit director of vocations in the upper Midwest and Great Plains states. I feel honored to be trusted to head up this important and challenging area. At the same time, I am reluctant to leave my work at The Jesuit Partnership after four years of building friendships with so many of you.
As changes in ministries go, I won't be moving that far in a physical sense. My new office will be two floors up from where I am now. In another sense, there is a definite tie between what I am being asked to do beginning August 1 of this year and the work I will continue to devote my full energy to until then.
The Jesuit Partnership and the vocation director both help secure essential resources to further the Jesuit mission. As with any organization, our primary resource is people. The vocation director coordinates the recruitment of good candidates for the Jesuits. The Jesuit Partnership recruits friends, volunteers, and financial support for the Jesuit mission. Each depends on the other.
Instead of soliciting prayers and financial support, however, my job will be to coordinate our efforts to find young men who are interested in becoming Jesuit priests and Brothers. I confess that I find the new challenge somewhat intimidating. After all, if we don't attract new men to our order, our future is at risk.
Thankfully, I won't be alone. Above all, the Holy Spirit calls young men into the Jesuits. However, I will also look for ways to involve my fellow Jesuits and you, our lay friends, in our vocation promotion efforts.
Succeeding me as president of the Jesuit Partnership will be Fr. Richard McGarrity, SJ, currently associate vice president for academic affairs at Marquette University. Fr. McGarrity is an outstanding Jesuit priest who, along with Jack Paquette, vice president of development, and our dedicated staff and volunteers, will keep the positive momentum of the Jesuit Partnership going. I am confident that the transition will be smooth.
This change in leadership also serves as a reminder that our Jesuit Partners do not support the Jesuits because of any one person or friendship. The partnership exists because our partners believe in our Jesuit mission of training Christian leaders and want to see that mission continue to thrive.
On a very personal note, I want to thank all of you for your gratifying friendships and personal support during my tenure with the Jesuit Partnership. So many of you have invited me into your homes, lives and hearts. Your warmth, your trust, and your hospitality encourage me. The fruits of my labor would have been impossible to grow without your personal encouragement and spiritual nourishment. You made my Jesuit Partnership ministry enjoyable and satisfying. I know you'll be there for Fr. McGarrity too with the same friendship, support, and trust.
I approach this new job with a lot of hope, because I believe in my heart that there are Jesuit vocations out there. We've been averaging around 50 new recruits nationally each year, and the quality of these men is outstanding. As I said earlier, vocations work is fundamentally the work of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit needs our help to get the attention of young men who might be hearing the often-subtle call to religious life.
One of the contributions I hope to make over and above meeting with prospective candidates is to coordinate a bold, new vocation promotion program for the Province. I am encouraged by a variety of new ideas, and I am buoyed by the outside input I've received already. Beginning in August, I will begin sifting and sorting through a lot of information as I prepare to develop an effective strategy, one in which I hope to involve all the Jesuits of the Province as well as you, our friends.
Let's pray together that all of us might be open to hearing God's call every day in our lives. That's the only way vocations - all vocations, lay, religious, and priestly - will flourish.
