Two Vocations, One Source
By Genevieve S. Kineke

Despite the outward prosperity of the present generation, two distinct and vital needs are gnawing at the very foundations of our culture. Technology has made tremendous comforts possible, material goods surround us, entertain us and distract us, and the world is witness to unprecedented creative advances and yet we can never truly prosper without stable families founded on sacramental marriage and priests who make communion with God possible.

While the two institutions seem to represent very different callings in life, marriage and holy orders are far more similar each to the other than the more widely-trodden path that is secular, independent and spiritually barren. Since God created us for love and fidelity, we can easily see that these two foundational sacraments require similar commitments, a complete gift of self, and personal oblation for the good of the beloved.

In Genesis, Adam awakens from sleep to discover another like himself—rational, captivating, and fulfilling, to whom he gives himself completely. The mutual gift of self between the man and woman provides the basis of a shared mission in the world and a means of creating new souls. Love and generosity are at the heart of growth before God and the expansion of the human family.

Surely sin corrupted the vision and the ability of men and women to share in their communion with each other and God, but it didn’t change the truth about our creation. As difficult as it may be, our fulfillment still rests in the gift of self and collaboration built on fidelity and mutual concern.

Divorce rates have sky-rocketed for decades, leaving children without stable, two-parent families. Any reduction in divorce statistics at present provides no comfort because it only reflects that fact that fewer couples bothered to marry before cohabitation. Individual satisfaction is the only criterion for choice, and the good of the family or the wider community is regularly sacrificed for personal gratification. Sadly, this means that ensuing generations lack the models by which they learn that the virtues of generosity, service, and self-control bring their own rewards, their own satisfaction on a deeper level.

The demands of holy orders offer men the very same opportunity to live mutual love for a shared mission. The self-control, fidelity and gift of self to the Church as bride all echo the same spousal relationship, though on a spiritual plane. The good of the other is essential to a priest, his gratification comes through the life of virtue, and the concrete commitment “unto death” makes his vocation similar to that of marriage at its core.

These indispensable vocations must be restored, and this can only be done through prayer and sacrifice. God will not abandon His people, and yet the human toll of poor decisions can only be overcome with grace. Two generations have now been raised without the stability provided by covenants grounded in God’s love. Despite vows before an altar and the community, couples have parted in droves, priests have walked away from their commitments, and children have felt the abandonment that becomes cemented in cynicism later in life. Only prayer can soften such hearts and turn them towards a different way of interpreting the world.

Marriage and holy orders are sinking together and will be restored together. Only when the faithful understand that fidelity and fruitfulness are essential to the community will each be recovered and given back to the community so bereft of comfort. Only when love for those entrusted to us takes precedent over our own comforts will life blossom in a way that nourishes our parched society. Only when communion between souls becomes more of a priority than vanity and gadgets will the next generation be fed in a way that will sustain them on the deepest level possible.

Pray for vocations. Pray for marriage. Pray for our priests so that they can live as a witness to the truths of God, because our hearts were created for communion. Holy orders and marriage both reveal in similar ways that spousal love brings a stability and prosperity beyond anything the world offers.