Truth & Mercy Series - July 19th 2026

Truth and Mercy series (Vocation)

“The Lord will not abandon His people; He will never forsake His inheritance.” (Psalm 94:14). 

Have you ever imagined going on a visit to the hospital and finding out there was no doctor to see or nurses to care for you? Have you imagined the absence of doctors for surgeries or care for the children in the ward? This will be scary to say the least. This will be a serious medical emergency in the world and our community. There will be death, there will be confusion. It is truly something you don’t want to imagine. I think this is the reason hospitals go extra miles to find doctors and nurses, care givers from all over the world not caring where they come from. The only care they have is that people have medical assistance they deserve and need as at when they do need it. 

Today there is a kind of emergency of great proportions. It is the inadequacy of priests and consecrated religious to serve in the Church of Christ. This was anticipated by Christ Himself in the Scriptures and He prescribed a solution for it. He said, “The harvest is rich but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His vineyard.” Today there are roughly 33,400 to 37,300 priests in America. This is roughly 40 percent down of the number we had in 1965. There are about 1, 850 parishioners to a priest now. This is not looking positive at all. The priests are the ministers of the Word and Sacraments. He is the living continuation of the mission of Christ in the world. It is the priest who leads us in worship. He makes the forgiveness of Christ present to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Someone told me recently, if there was no sacrament of reconciliation, people will resort to suicide. How about a world without the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? Do you want to imagine a world plunged in darkness of unbelief because there are no priests to teach and celebrate the sacraments? 

Of course, the Lord will not abandon His people. He has called us to pray for vocation to the priesthood and religious life. This is the reason Our Lord sent His Blessed Mother to Pierina Giri to announce a new devotion to the Mystical Rose. She admonishes us to “pray, sacrifice and penance.” This is the path of restoring sanity to priestly life and holiness in the world. A world that the evil one wants to plunge into a season of gloom and confusion without priests and consecrated religious. How may you help Our Lord and Our Lady in promoting holy vocation for our time? Are you generous enough to offer a Rosary for the sanctification of a priest? To fast from a meal or coffee, or sugar or milk/creamer for your coffee? Do you care enough to offer your Holy Communion for the sanctification of priests and religious? Are you available in the parish to help organize vocation awareness for our school and parish kids? 

As your priest, I need your help!! As I went to Champion on Friday July 17 for my SILENT retreat, can you offer come prayers for these intentions and consider being a part of our vocation committee? If you discern this in prayer and feel called, please get in touch with Becky at the parish office. In charity too, please pray that I have a fruitful retreat. All calls or texts to me can wait until July 30th when I am done. Thank you so much. Fr. Bill is here to help us and I thank God for his help. 

In union of prayers,

Fr. Nicholas Akindele, JCL