{"id":1058,"date":"2009-02-12T06:38:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-12T06:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/a-seminarian-boom-a-dilemma-weve-prayed-for-and-worked-for.html"},"modified":"2009-02-12T06:38:00","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T06:38:00","slug":"a-seminarian-boom-a-dilemma-weve-prayed-for-and-worked-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/a-seminarian-boom-a-dilemma-weve-prayed-for-and-worked-for.html","title":{"rendered":"A seminarian boom: “A dilemma we’ve prayed for and worked for”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everything’s up to date in Kansas City — and they’re reporting a surge in seminarians there. <\/p>\n

This comes from the Catholic Key<\/a>, the archdiocesan paper: <\/p>\n

<\/a>Abbot Gregory Polan of Conception Abbey led nearly 700 voices in a round of \u201cHoly God We Praise Thy Name\u201d at the Downtown Marriot January 30. \u201cWe bless and we thank you Lord for countless blessings,\u201d Abbot Polan prayed as he opened the annual S.O.S. – \u201cSupport Our Seminarians\u201d dinner and auction in support of men studying for the priesthood from both sides of State Line Road and for Conception Seminary College.<\/p>\n

As he has every year, KMBC-TV anchor Larry Moore served as master of ceremonies at the event which was the brainchild of Moore and his wife Ruth. Recalling the humble beginnings of the effort, Moore said in 1994 there was only one seminarian from the Diocese of Kansas City \u2013 St. Joseph. \u201cThings got even worse the next year,\u201d Moore said, when there were none.<\/p>\n

This semester, Conception Seminary College has 110 men enrolled \u2013 a 40 year record according to Conception Seminary Rector Father Samuel Russell, OSB. Father Russell shared the great news that 26 men are currently in formation for Diocese of Kansas City \u2013 St. Joseph and 21 are studying for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Not all are studying at Conception, so the great numbers there indicate an increase in vocations from many dioceses.<\/p>\n

Kansas City \u2013 St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn was celebrating the loss of seminarians that night though. \u201cIn June we lost Doug Langner,\u201d Bishop Finn said, \u201cto priestly ordination. And in December we lost Angelo Bartulica to ordination.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs God is good, we look forward to losing another two seminarians in May,\u201d Bishop Finn said. \u201cAnd the following year, if all goes according top the plan that we would pray for and hope, we\u2019re going to lose another four seminarians to priesthood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop Finn told the crowd, \u201cWe have to replace these men . . . This is a dilemma we\u2019ve prayed for and worked for.\u201d Bishop Finn thanked all those who work to support the formation of men to the priesthood and urged the audience to pray and \u201cdo everything you can to encourage your sons, your grandsons to listen carefully to the call of Almighty God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kansas City, Kansas Archbishop Joseph Naumann said as a bishop, he receives a lot of \u201cinteresting\u201d mail. But the mail \u201cthat brings the most joy\u201d to his heart is from parishioners who take the time to relay \u201cthe difference a priest is making in their lives.\u201d A letter that particularly touched him recently was from a woman he remembered from a youth group in his first parish. She wrote, \u201cIf there is a debt that we can never repay, it is the priesthood that serves us so faithfully and brings us our greatest gifts in the sacraments.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Visit the link for the rest. And whisper up a happy prayer of thanksgiving for what is happening in Kansas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everything’s up to date in Kansas City — and they’re reporting a surge in seminarians there. This comes from the Catholic Key, the archdiocesan paper: Abbot Gregory Polan of Conception Abbey led nearly 700 voices in a round of \u201cHoly God We Praise Thy Name\u201d at the Downtown Marriot January 30. \u201cWe bless and we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vocations"],"yoast_head":"\nA seminarian boom: "A dilemma we've prayed for and worked for" - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/a-seminarian-boom-a-dilemma-weve-prayed-for-and-worked-for.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A seminarian boom: "A dilemma we've prayed for and worked for" - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everything’s up to date in Kansas City — and they’re reporting a surge in seminarians there. 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