“The way you help heal the world is that you start with your own family.”

Mother Teresa

It’s been too long since we’ve posted a rant. Well, I’ve got something to rant about today, so buckle up. 

Last month, I ended up at St. Paul’s in Westerville, Ohio (I’m calling them out by name) for Mass on Saturday evening. Everything was going fine, the music was a little bit hard to hear, but other than that it was a nice church and the priest was fine. Then, the homily hit. At first, I was thinking, oh wow, he’s actually talking about families. Then, he jumped to the subject that I have strong opinions on: pushing men into the priesthood. He announced that they have 18,000 parishioners and no one from their parish in the seminary. First off, that’s a huge problem that needs to be addressed. You have 18,000 people, a Catholic school, and you don’t have any vocations? Something is wrong here…

How does McCartyville (McCartyville!!) have two guys in the seminary? Holy Angels in Sidney has three. Russia has several. Coldwater has one. I’m sure there are more, because the Cincinnati seminary is overflowing.

The solution isn’t, as this priest seemed to want to do, to guilt trip all the men into the parish into the seminary. The solution is this: you and your fellow priests need to step up your game. Stop giving sermons that don’t apply to everyday life. Here’s the thing: the majority of Catholics don’t learn about their religion from any other source than Sunday Mass. So….why not start giving homilies about topics that matter?! I’ve rarely heard a priest mention drunkenness being a mortal sin. I’ve rarely heard a priest talk about marriage (other than at a wedding). I’ve rarely heard homilies about how to raise children. I’ve never heard a homily explaining the difference between mortal and venial sin. I’ve never heard a homily about women becoming nuns. 

If people are getting their information from you at Mass, it’s time for you to step up and start giving them information. Not everyone was homeschooled and had to read papal encyclicals every day their senior year. 

You’ll never have good priests if you don’t have holy families. You’ll never have holy families if you don’t have holy young people. You’ll never have holy young people if you don’t have children who are raised in the truth. You’ll never have children raised in the truth if their parents don’t even know it. Rinse and repeat.