Posted on 08/02/2007 1:40:58 PM PDT by Coleus
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A powerful sense of devotion overtook Michael Burbeck in a medieval church in the small Czech town of Cesky Krumlov. The way he describes it, he was praying in the lofty, 125-foot-high sanctuary of St. Vitus Roman Catholic Church, when he looked up at a life-size crucifix and was overwhelmed by a sense of peace and belonging. He realized he would commit the rest of his life to Jesus. "It was like the classic movie scene: Guy sees girl across the room, knows she's the one," Burbeck said. "I had this moment when I realized that (Jesus) would be my all-inclusive love."
Next month, Burbeck will don a black cassock, or robe, as he begins six years of training to become a Catholic priest. When he graduates from Philadelphia's St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 2013, he will serve in the Diocese of Raleigh, N.C., which like other dioceses nationwide, is experiencing a severe shortage of priests. In a modern culture that glorifies material wealth, sex and self-promotion, few young people consider the selfless life of the priesthood.
In many ways, Burbeck is an unlikely priest. For starters, he's young. The average age at which priests are ordained is 35, and many come to the priesthood as a second career. Burbeck, by contrast, will be 29 when he is ordained. Plus, he didn't grow up Catholic. Only 6 percent of priests are converts. Burbeck grew up in the Church of the Nazarene, a small Pentecostal denomination with none of Roman Catholicism's elaborate rituals and centuries-old liturgies.
Finally, Burbeck showed no sign of spiritual searching in his youth. His mother, Christina, said he slept through most of his classes at Apex High School, where he graduated in 2002, with an attitude she called "mildly belligerent." Before he spent several months in Europe with his older brother, Danny, when Michael was 18, his chief passion was horseback riding.
"He's got a red-blooded American man in him," said friend Joshua Davis. "He likes rock climbing, cars, trucks, mudding." But Burbeck's parents, both of whom hold doctorates in experimental psychology, said that when he makes a decision -- such as his decision to go to Europe -- it's deliberate, reasoned and unwavering. Faith was the last thing anyone expected him to find in Europe. But the beauty and majesty of the continent's great cathedrals drew him. He found himself stealing a few moments to sit in silence -- first quietly, then reverently and prayerfully. He visited Il Duomo, a cathedral in Florence, the churches of Assisi, and, of course, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
He said the experiences left him breathless. "At St. Peter's, I spent three hours walking around in a daze," he said. "My experience of the presence of God that met me there was remarkable. I lost sight of everything else." Later, he would be able to explain what drew him to Catholicism: its rich body of teachings developed over thousands of years and its sacramental understanding that God works through physical signs, such as oil, water, bread and wine.
However determined Burbeck was, his path was not entirely straight. After taking a class at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Cary, he was accepted into the church at the Easter vigil in April 2003. Over the past year, Burbeck came into his own in a red-brick church on the outskirts of Clayton. As the pastoral intern at St. Ann Catholic Church, Burbeck taught Sunday school, attended church budget meetings and joined the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization for Catholic men.
Except for sacraments such as baptism and marriage, he did everything a priest does -- and loved every minute of it. The experience, in which he shared a home with the Rev. Scott E. McCue, the pastor of St. Ann, gave him a bird's-eye view of the priesthood and let him form ties to the people of the diocese. He said he learned that being a priest means "living my life in such a way that I am open and available to bring faith and hope to people, whatever their situation may be." To hear it from church members, he did just that. At a farewell cookout for Burbeck this month, school girls gushed about his unavailability, calling him "Father-what-a-waste." Adults praised the prospects of their newest recruit.
I googled him and am amazed at the amount of coverage that a single new priest has recieved. Is it really that unusual to have a good new American priest these days?
He’s not yet a priest. He’s a seminarian.
I think there is a Freeper who is also a seminarian. We say a prayer every night for vocations,.The girls who called Michael
Burbeck “Father-what-a-waste” should examine their consciences.
One has to be careful how they use numbers. Is the Catholic church really “growing” ?
Catholics traditionally baptize their infants (that brings them into the number count of Catholics), and they usually make sure the kids make their first communion, but very few are actually observant Catholics.Less than 50 % of Catholics in this country and 25% in Europe attend service on Sundays .
There are very few 3rd world conversions, in fact the Evangelical Protestants and Mormons seem to have the edge in getting Catholics there to convert to their faith.
The drop in priests might be tied to the societal acceptance of gays, they no longer have to hide out in the “celibate” priesthood to explain being without a wife to family and friends
I all depends what the diocese and parishes of the area are like. Traditional, orthodox congregations produce vocations, “progressive” ones dwindle. It’s as simple as that. It’s common sense: why bother taking the time and energy to even go to church, let alone become a priest, if God is just a big softy and we can clap our hands and be happy?
Hopefully the young priests that are being ordained will fill some of these spots.
Pray for the conversion of all in America!
May God continue to bless Michael Burbeck! What a great deacon he must be!
I agree. It's embarassing. It's not as if a man of his age was going to marry any currently school-age girl, even if he didn't have a religious vocation.
Ears,
How is having a wife going to make you a better priest? Of the married who are accepted to the priesthood from other confessions, I’ve never heard/read one say that having a wife makes it easier. Each calling has it’s own blessing. Paul explained it well.
Thanks,
ARAD
Both of his parents have doctorates in EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. IOW, RUN don’t walk to nearest catholic church, enter and use holy water, asap.
I agree. It's embarassing. It's not as if a man of his age was going to marry any currently school-age girl, even if he didn't have a religious vocation.
Burbeck is 23 and will be ordained in 6 years at age 29. Why couldn't he marry a current 17-18 year old? Exactly how old is too old to look at an 18 year old?
Well, most of the 3rd world in Latin America is already Catholic. Conversions are huge in the African part of the 3rd world, where the Church is growing rapidly.
The most difficult places for the Church in the 3rd World are India and the Muslim world. You say the Protestants and Mormons are making things happen in those places?
I’m saying that if your daughter looks at a seminarian and calls him a name that implies that it is a waste that he is going into the priesthood then you have not done your job as a Catholic parent.
Yeah, what he/she said!
I was thinking of a wider age gap, in fact. Nonetheless, girls with that attitude toward a religious vocation probably don't dream of marrying young and settling down to have ten kids. If you don't respect the priestly vocation, you probably don't respect the marriage vocation, either.
Catholics traditionally baptize their infants (that brings them into the number count of Catholics), and they usually make sure the kids make their first communion, but very few are actually observant Catholics.Less than 50 % of Catholics in this country and 25% in Europe attend service on Sundays .
There are very few 3rd world conversions, in fact the Evangelical Protestants and Mormons seem to have the edge in getting Catholics there to convert to their faith.
Please refer to the recently posted articles Global South as Growing Force in Catholic Church and The "Fastest-Growing" Fallacy .
The truth is that the top 3 Christian faiths that are growing in the global south are Evangelicals, Catholics, and Anglicans. The Mormons really have not made a dent.
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