This Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday, is as ever a Day of Prayer for Vocations. Well, first the bad news. This year was the first year on record when the Diocese of Portsmouth presented no candidates whatsoever for the annual 'Selection Conference' which decides who will be accepted for seminary training. In other words, in the year 2004 (given the 6-year formation period) there cannot possibly be any ordinations to this diocese as, even though inevitably some do not proceed to ordination, this time there are none to start - let alone proceed!

Now low numbers does not in itself mean the end of the world. There is more than one religious order whose numbers have gone from a great height to an extreme low, back to a great height and back to an extreme low, and so on. But they do tell us we need to do things differently and that 'differently' does not mean pseudo-clericalising all the laity, as one of our diocesan priests, Father Paul Beaumont, has recently written with much emphasis.

This is clearly a 'hinge time' in the Western Church as the world changes very rapidly and there are doubtless many reasons why few are coming forward as priests. I remain to be convinced that the celibacy issue is the great stumbling block (though it is, no doubt, in some cases). To put it bluntly, I think we have to ask the question: do priests leave because they want to marry, or marry because they want to leave?

However, there are two things which are worth bearing in mind. One is: do we, in whatever state of life we are actually encourage the notion of vocation? I do not speak purely of religious vocations. Do we see what we do as "just a job"? The world does, of course, and that is why there is so much callous 'downsizing' and work dissatisfaction. It is not just a question of encouraging our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fellow parishioners to ask themselves "Is God calling me, to be a priest/brother/sister?" As Christians we need to get away from the idea that 'vocations' are only something for the ordained.