Why God’s call is missing in several countries? Why churches were shut down?

  What’s the status of the church in European countries? Where’re the priests and nuns? “When I visited the UK some years ago, I was shocked to hear that 14 out of 15 churches in a region closed down. Some of them were sold and became Sikh Gurdwaras, some of them turned into Hindu temples and Muslim mosques…,” says Rev Fr Mathew Elavumkal, VC.

 “There’re no believers. Convents have closed down. There’s no one to listen to God’s call and accept priesthood as a vocation,” says Fr Mathew, an inspiring Catholic charismatic preacher who touched and changed the lives of many people across the world. Through his powerful sermons and prayers, he has brought many believers and non-believers closer to Jesus. I happened to hear the sermon of Rev Fr Mathew, who is also the Director of Divine Retreat Centre, Kerala, India, at the Marian Convention organized by St Mary’s Church, Nakapuzha, Kerala, recently.

 The scenario is bad in Rome, where the headquarters of the Catholic church  -- Vatican -- is situated. I have noticed that every third building in Rome is a church, but most of them wear a deserted look. Even Sunday masses are sparsely attended. It was missionaries from European countries who spread Christianity across the world some five centuries ago. Now developing countries like India are sending priests to European countries to man their churches.

  “If we want more priests and nuns in our church, we should stop this practice of having only one or two children in our families. Parents should be role models for the children, we should take them to the altar of our Lord,” he says. In Holy Bible, please read 1 Samuel 3:1-10. Samuel was a young boy serving in the temple when he heard a voice calling his name. He assumed this voice was that of the priest, Eli. Eventually, Eli realized that Samuel was hearing God’s voice calling to him and instructed him to respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." Samuel needed Eli to tell him that the voice he heard was God’s. He didn’t recognize God’s voice on his own.

 You will get a priest from a good family which follows our Lord Jesus. “If we get good children in our families we can help them hear or understand God’s call. It’s a myth that God calls only children from poor families. Children in rich families are not hearing God’s call. They are busy with their worldly life,” Rev Fr Mathew says.

  He says family life is also an equally important God’s call. “God will find a partner for you in the marriage life. It’s not you or your parents or a marriage bureau which should get a partner for you. When you enter into a marriage vow, you will be filled with the paternity and maternity from God. You become a husband and wife only through the sacrament of marriage,” he says.

  Rev Fr Mathew narrated an incident: Parents of a six-year old child came to him. “This child had several bad habits… which I’m not mentioning as children are sitting here. When I talked to the parents, they told me they used to watch porn movies after the marriage to get maximum pleasure. This child was born when they were indulging in such sexual pleasures. Hebrew 13:4 says ‘let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous’.”

  In short, when husband and wife get a child when they were indulging in worldly pleasures and leading a sinful life, that child will have some handicap. It can be mental or emotional or psychological handicap.

 Rev Fr Mathew spoke about a married woman. This woman and her mother came to him when the wife was pregnant and one doctor said the growth of unborn child in the womb is weak and the child, when born, could become mentally retarded. “I strongly advised them not to abort the child. Anything is possible for God. Years later, I saw this woman at a retreat centre. She cried and told me they disregarded my advice and aborted the child. While aborting the child something happened and her uterus got infected. Her uterus had to be removed,” he said.

  While her unborn child was killed, she wouldn’t be able to conceive again. She went into depression. Rev Fr Mathew asked her why she aborted the child against his advice. She said her mother prevailed upon her to get rid of the child as she didn’t want a mentally retarded child.

  When it comes to heeding to God’s call, a country like India is in a better position. But Rev Fr Mathew says there’re ominous signs. Lets pray that more people listen to God’s call – be it for priesthood or family life.