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Putting a new face(book) on the vocation shortage Wednesday 08, October 2008
Putting a new face(book) on the vocation shortage
Jesuit priest and anthropologist Richard Malloy, S.J. , writing in a recent issue of the Jesuit magazine America, wonders why more young Catholics are not entering religious life. He argues that vocations are falling because Catholic faith and culture are not being passed on effectively in the internet age.
Young adults do not know many things that used to be common knowledge among Catholics, according to Malloy. Too easily we assume that young adult Catholics know who St. Francis or St. Ignatius was, Malloy says. “Today’s young adults know Harry and Hermione better than Jesus, Mary and Joseph. “
“In the 1950s and 1960s, older teens and young adults knew what the beatific vision was, and many yearned to see God face to face (1 Cor. 13.12); today all we have given them (or all they have paid attention to) is Facebook.com,” Malloy laments.
Malloy analyzes the vocation shortage from the perspective of an anthropologist. One’s culture, he says, is a set of relationships, a base upon which one makes life choices and commitments. Young adults today know few young religious sisters, brothers, or priests, he says. Recruiters are often decades older than discerners. “Why would a 30 year old want to join a community where the youngest members are 50 or 60?” he asks.
What do you think? As you consider religious life, are you concerned about a potential age and cultural gap between you and those already in religious life? Do you think the internet has helped or hurt to pass on Catholic culture and tradition? We’d like to hear from you!
Posted by: Dan Grippo - Add your own comment
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