USD Magazine, Fall 2003

a greater problem in society. If there is a crisis, he says, it is the reluctance of people to make lifelong commitments of any kind . "Many people fail to see their life choices as a call from God," he says. "Marriage is a vocation, fo r example, and it seems ch at an awful lot of people either enter into it lightly or take it lightly once they are married. Dedication to lifelong relation– ships and societal values seems to be very seriously lacking. It seems to me if more people would see the way th ey conduct their lives as a calling from God , the rest will cake care of itself." T he dwindling numbers of men entering religious life is a concern fo r every Catholic, Brom says, cautioning that the solution won't come from the chu rch alone.

"We need to engage parents, teachers, lay leaders and other mentors to address the issue at the grass roots level and encourage yo ung men to follow their hearts and their fa ith, because priestly life and ministry are essential to accomplish the mission of the church as established by Christ," he says. "We all need to look to God to see the issue is given its proper attention and make sure we are fulfilling his will. We must remain open to his inspiration and his help. " +

Many diocese are using the World Wide Web to reach prospective priests and other religious. Below is a sampling of sites.

Atlanta, Ga. - www.archatl.com/offices/vocations/home.html Detroit, Mich. - www.aodonline.org Erie, Pa. - www.eriercd.org/vocation.asp Milwaukee, W is. - www.archmil.org/vocations Philadelphia, Pa. - hrrp://archdiocese-ph l. org/ religious/ religious.html Rochester, N.Y. - www.dor.org/Vocations San Jose, Calif. - www.dsj.org/vocacions/called/called.hcml Tuam Diocese, Ireland - www.rowardschegoal.com

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