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March 1, 2019

Year for Vocations: Father John Connors

REGIONAL

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During this Year for Vocations in the Springfield Diocese, Catholic Communications has invited seminarians and priests, both active and retired, to participate in a “mini-survey” by submitting answers to three questions. Their answers will be posted in The Catholic Mirror, on iobserve.org and the Catholic Communications Facebook page, and in the Parish Packet for use in parish bulletins.

Here are the responses from Father John Connors, pastor of St. Anne Parish, Chicopee.

  1. What gives you the most joy as a priest?

For me, the joy comes when I sense that the hope and encouragement of the Gospel reaches someone. It may be someone who is sick, or apart from the church, or someone who feels rejected or outcast, or someone who just faces everyday challenges. When I was with Catholic Relief Services in Ghana in West Africa, I ran across a priest who said his mission as priest was “to bring hope to my people.” I took that for my own mantra in my priesthood. To bring hope to my people: That is what gives me joy.

  1. What do you find most inspiring about the Catholic faith?

I am not sure I could single out one thing. I gave a homily once in which I pointed out 20 things about the Catholic faith that can be inspiring to us. Whether it is our social justice outreach, our missions to far-away lands, the Sacrament for the Sick for those who long for reassurance, or the energy of a newly baptized adult: There are so many ways to find inspiration in our Catholic faith. We have work to do in the church, but since the time of Jesus we have had the Catholic faith in the world to be our compass, our guide, and our inspiration.

  1. What gives you hope for the future of vocations in the Catholic Church?

The call to priesthood, religious life, and the diaconate goes out to each generation. We believe that Christ is the head of the church and will continue to call those to be priests, religious sisters and brothers and deacons as well as lay leaders. In various ways, leadership will be filled. Let us be open to the many ways God responds to our prayers for vocations.

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