My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The Four County Catholic this May was dedicated to vocations to the diocesan priesthood and religious life,
represented by the theme, “Reawakening the call to serve.” Earlier in the month, on May 3, 2009, the Church celebrated
the 46th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations. And at the end of this month, I will ordain to the Holy Priesthood of
Jesus Christ, Rev. Mr. Karl Christopher Schuh for service in our diocese. We have six other men who will be continuing
their studies this coming fall at different seminaries and many others who are prayerfully discerning to accept the
same invitation from our Lord.
With gratitude for the many sacrifices you have made on behalf of the diocese in the past and continue to
make because of the depth of your faith, I again ask each of you to help in making the formation and education process
for those men mentioned above more affordable for our diocesan family. Consider the example of our Blessed
Mother Mary, who in her response to God’s will for her to be the mother of His Son, said; “Let it be done unto me
according to your word,” (LK 1:38). These are words that each time we as members of God’s family are asked to
sacrifice further for the good of our souls and the souls of others, we should allow to pour out from our hearts and over
our lips.
When we look at vocations generally in the life of God’s family, the Church, we know that many are called to
live out the vocation of holy matrimony, helping to build up the family of God by sharing the unique love of man and
woman, cooperating with God’s creative love and taking on the responsibility of being primary educators of the faith to
their children. Others are called to live in the world as single people, dedicated to a type of service to the people of God in the world. There are also those men and women,