One wonders how all the news of clergy abuse is going to impact vacations to the priesthood. Time will only tell. The number of U.S. parishes without a resident pastor has increased from 800 in 1980 to 3,026 in 2000. There are about 19,000 parishes in the U.S..

Despite all the bad news about clergy abuse, young men continue to answer God's call to the priesthood. The Diocese of Orlando has 14 seminarians studying for the priesthood. Please keep all our seminarians in your prayers.

The April 2003 edition of Columbia, a magazine of the Knights of Columbus, has several articles on Responding to God's Call to Priesthood. The following are some excerpts from an article entitled: Where Do Vocations Come From-How five Knights of Columbus families nurtured their sons' vocations.

When Timothy Nolan was growing up, he wanted to be a pilot or a priest. Pat Beno collected holy cards. Michael Dosch was an altar boy. J. C. Garrett remembered the Easter egg hunts, family picnics and Christmas parties sponsored by his father's Knights of Columbus council. Wesley Schawe was a Columbian Squire.

Today, these young men are studying for the priesthood. Even though they attend different seminaries and they don't know each other, they share a common bond: Their fathers are all Knights of Columbus and they have followed in their fathers' footsteps by becoming Knights themselves.

They are similar in other ways:

They all come from Catholic homes where the family ate together, prayed together and volunteered in the parish together.

They all attended Catholic schools.

They all received Knights of Columbus vocations scholarships and continue to receive financial and moral support from local councils through the Order's Refund Support Vocations Program.

Their parents are supportive of their vocations; but, none felt any pressure to become a priest.

Setting a Good Example

Timothy Nolan, 35, is one of five children, He wanted to become a priest in grammar school, but lost interest when he discovered girls. After graduating from art school and launching a successful 10-year career as a commercial artist, thoughts of the priesthood returned, He entered St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, where he is in his fourth and final year of theology, studying for the Diocese of Wilmington, Del. He is a member of Bishop Curtis Council 2867, also in Wilmington.

Edward L. Nolan, his father, is a member of Christopher Council 3182 in Claymont, Del. He can't think of anything "out of the ordinary" that he did to promote Tim's vocation. His wife, Ann, disagrees.

"Ed set a wonderful example as a man of faith-not by being holier than thou-but by doing the right thing," she said. "Tim saw his father with us at Mass every weekend. He saw his dad treat me with great respect. Seeing his father live his faith influenced Tim more than anything."

The younger Nolan believes that a strong father figure is important for everyone, but especially for future priests.

"I will be called Father after I am ordained in May," Tim explained. "It's a relational term that says something about my relationship with my own father and my relationship with God. The stronger the relationship between a father and son, the more openness they have. How they relate to one another, how they get along with others, will influence how the son views God and the world."

When Tim Nolan was going through a period of doubts, his mother shared with him a similar experience which ended with the realization that "God hadn't abandoned her."

One of the most important gifts he received from his family is a sense of security. "I am who I am," he explained. "I don't have to prove anything to anyone. It's a matter of trying to follow God's call in the best way that I can."

Tim joined the Knights of Columbus during his first year in the seminary.

"The Knights have been great," he noted. "I am impressed with the different levels of Knighthood and how much they stress the faith. It's a great means for men to express their faith and expand their faith into their daily lives."

Talking and Listening

Thirty-three-year-old Patrick Beno is the youngest of five children and a member of George Brent Council 5332 in Manassas, VA. After graduating from The Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, he taught fourth grade at a Catholic elementary school in Virginia for five years. He is in his second year of theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary near Chicago, studying for the Diocese of Green Bay, Wis.

His father, Patrick F. Beno, takes no credit for his son's vocation. "A vocation is a call from God, not his parents," he insisted. He admits, though, that he and his wife Joanne talked to their son about vocations.

"Our older ones had nuns in school who talked about vocations," he explained, "Pat had lay teachers, so we made sure he knew that the priesthood would be worthwhile."

The Benos also went to Mass together and took family trips to religious shrines. They showed their son the importance of the faith by "making sure that his catechesis was solid and not void of doctrine," said Beno, a member of Msgr. Basche Council 4505 in Green Bay.

"It's important for children to see their parents pray," says the seminarian. "If parents want their children to have a relationship with Christ and to deeply consider in prayer what their vocation is-and everyone should be aware that when we say 'vocation' we don't just mean priesthood, but it might be the married life or the single life-prayer has to be there. Otherwise, you're not going to get any message from God."

Beno is grateful for his close relationship with both parents. "They are incredible listeners. When I come home and want to talk about my vocation and issues that I might be dealing with, they listen. I know that, whatever support I need, my parents are there for me."

He joined the Knights while living in Virginia. When he entered the seminary, two Wisconsin councils gave him financial support for car insurance, gas, books and other essentials.

While appreciating the financial help, Beno sees the Knights as offering much more. "A guy in the seminary grows to understand that he will not have a family of his own in the future, so the Knights can become part of his larger extended family."

Is there a Vocation in your Family?

Here are suggestions for parents or grandparents who want to nurture vocations: