Devotion to Mary is a significant factor in discerning and sustaining the call to priestly and religious life, according to a new study. Source: Catholic Review.
“As a religious, Mary has played a big role in our religious life, and I am just excited to see the report as a kind of confirmation that Mary indeed is our model,” said Sr Thu T. Do, a Sister of the Lovers of the Holy Cross and a research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, Washington DC.
On July 16, CARA made public a report titled “Impact of Mary, Mother of the Church, on Ecclesial Vocations,” which Sr Thu and fellow CARA researcher Jonathon L. Wiggins prepared in response to a request from the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan.
Spearheading that request was the diocese’s theologian and permanent diaconate formation coordinator, Daniel Osborn. He said the “main genesis” for the project was Pope Francis’s November 2023 call to members of the International Theological Commission for greater study on the Marian dimension of the Church.
“On a personal level,” he added, “I owe my own ecclesial vocation as a lay theologian to the Blessed Mother’s intercession.” So the study, Mr Osborn said, was also “a way to honour and thank her personally for how she intervened in my own life,” which saw him return to his childhood Catholic faith after a period of drifting away.
The survey, conducted between March and May through mailed paper forms and emailed questionnaires, represented responses from 1091 respondents, a mix of US Catholic bishops, diocesan priests, permanent deacons, deacon directors, and major superiors of men and women religious.
Among those six groups polled, an average of 59 per cent said Marian devotion had either a “meaningful” or “great” impact on their discernment of a vocation to serve Jesus Christ and the Church. Of the groups, religious priests (71 per cent) were most likely to cite Marian devotion, while deacon directors (49 per cent) were the least likely.
The Rosary topped the list of common Marian devotional practices during one’s discernment of a vocation, with 71 per cent reporting private recitation and 52 per cent saying they prayed the Rosary with others.
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Study: Devotion to Mary has significant impact on discerning, sustaining vocations (By Gina Christian, OSV News via Catholic Review)
