Have Courage

How many young men feel called to the priesthood but are too afraid to say it out loud?

That question hung in the air at Christ the King Parish in Haddonfield this weekend. Theodore Deluhery, a seminarian for the Diocese of Camden, spoke at the end of Mass for National Vocation Awareness Week and shared a story many young men will recognize: the story of running from a calling.

Theodore’s story told a pattern that many young men experience. He spoke of his early calling that was followed by a growing resistance during his teenage years. Then he stopped fighting. “I realized that I had to surrender; I had to dedicate my heart to this vocation,” Deluhery said. But this only happened because others had the courage to speak up.

When he was 11 years old, Theodore first heard the call to the priesthood. Father Carlo Santa Teresa convinced him to serve at the altar at his home parish, Saint Peter’s in Merchantville. Parishioners began to notice something in the young altar server. In grade school, his excitement was evident. When people asked him if he’d considered the priesthood, he would respond with confidence: “Of course, I’m going to be a priest!”

But then high school arrived. The same question that once brought him joy began to trigger something else entirely. When asked about the priesthood during his high school years, Theodore’s response shifted dramatically. “Oh yeah, sure thanks, priesthood,” he recalled. His tone was downhearted.

His resistance to his calling went beyond his words. Theodore admitted to wearing tan khakis when serving at Mass on purpose. He knew Father Anthony Manuppella didn’t want the altar servers to wear them. Theodore was hoping to avoid being called to serve, yet Father Manuppella wouldn’t let him avoid serving.

“We need you on the altar,” Father Anthony would say to him as he’d pull Theodore into the sacristy where six or more servers would be waiting for him to vest.

Theodore was honest about his feelings during this period. “I was only disappointed because I knew he wanted me for himself, but I didn’t want to.”

At the end of his senior year of high school, Theodore reached a turning point. “I realized that I had to surrender; I had to dedicate my heart to this vocation.”

Now he studies at Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, NY. Theodore is two years away from being ordained, God willing. But he said his presence in seminary came from a community that refused to stay silent.

“If not for the support of my parishioners, and first and foremost, my family, I certainly would not be here today,” Theodore told the those at Mass.

His talk built toward a double challenge. One directed at the young men who might be experiencing a similar call and the other for the parishioners who see them every Sunday.

His message to young men was short and to the point. He told them to “have courage to pursue this vocation.”

But his challenge to the parish was more direct. Theodore urged parishioners to look around the church and take action. “Ask your server, lectors, and those young men dedication to Mass and prayer if they’ve considered the priesthood.”

He reminded the parishioners about something they may have forgotten. “You the parishioner, we come from you! We come from the pews to the altar.” His message was easy to understand. Seminarians don’t appear out of nowhere. They come from our parishes because our people had the courage to say what they noticed.

In his closing words, Theodore described the vocations crisis as a community calling: “Have courage, parishioners, to be God’s voice.”

His words change how we think about supporting vocations. It’s about becoming the instrument through which God speaks to someone who might be too afraid to listen on their own.

For the young men sitting in pews across the Diocese of Camden, who struggling with the same fears Theodore once faced, his story shows it’s okay to feel this way and that it works out. Resistance and fear are normal, but moving forward requires support.

For the parishioners, don’t let silence steal another vocation. Vocations are heard when communities encourage them. Every young man who feels drawn toward the priesthood is waiting for someone to confirm what he suspects but is too scared to say.

Theodore‘s story from a resistant teenager to a seminarian near ordination happened because people in his life spoke up. The question facing every parish this National Vocation Awareness Week: Who will speak up next?