Pray for Vocations

June 14, 2026

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so, ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Never have these words of Jesus been more relevant to the Church. We see the shortage of priests and religious women and deacons at such a critical point. We look across the river where parishes have been grouped into “families” of three or four or five churches, with a centralized parish office, with one pastor, and perhaps one other assistant priest. At the same time, we are seeing larger classes of OCIA candidates who are entering into the Church through adult conversions.
   
One of the main reasons that the cost of sending one’s children to a Catholic school has gone up is the shortage of sisters and priests to teach and operate the schools.  Tuition has skyrocketed, making it out of reach for many, many families.

Please pray for vocations to these essential ministries. I know that because of the sexual abuse crisis and the shortage of priests, many families are very hesitant to recommend to their sons to consider the priesthood. I get that. But I also realize that when the Church starts having to close parishes and merge parishes that it becomes incredibly painful for everyone involved.
—Fr. Mike Comer