The Year for Priests will end June 19th 2010 with an international gathering of priests in Rome with the Holy Father.

FATHER JAMES GOULD
We search out one among many good priests:  Fr James Gould of the relatively small Diocese of Arlington VA. Why? To more fully understand why, read the book  'PRIEST'  by Michael S Rose (Sophia Institute Press). He writes about 'Heroes of the Priesthood Today.' Of Father Gould he says: 

"The vocations director who defied conventional wisdom to create a vocations boom for his diocese".

Please follow the links below for more of the reason why! 

CHAPLET  - 'VOCATIONS'
ST JOHN VIANNEY MEDAL   -   FATHER JAMES GOULD
  -   ST JOHN VIANNEY    -   YEAR FOR PRIESTS   -  LOOKING BACK
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"All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man." - St. John Vianney, Cure d'Ars

This rare medal of St John Vianney has been hand cast from an antique piece in sterling silver and soldd bronze then antiqued to restore original patina. Click icon below for more information and availability. Reverse image of Our Lady of the Rosary.

"Without the Holy Eucharist there would be no happiness in this world; life would be insupportable. When we receive Holy Communion, we receive our joy and our happiness. The good God, wishing to give Himself to us in the Sacrament of His Love, gave us a vast and great desire, which He alone can satisfy. In the presence of this beautiful Sacrament, we are like a person dying of thirst by the side of a river — he would only need to bend his head; like a person still remaining poor, close to a great treasure — he need only stretch out his hand. He who communicates loses himself in God like a drop of water in the ocean. They can no more be separated," - St. John Vianney

He adapts himself to our weakness...  In heaven where we shall be triumphant and glorious, we shall see him in all his glory; if he had appeared before us now in glory, we should not have dared to approach him; but he hides himself like one in prison, saying to us, 'You do not see me, but that does not matter; ask me for all you want, and I will grant it you.'" - St. John Vianney

"When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other," - St. John Vianney

FISHERS OF MEN
But that is not all, his parishoners love him too! Fr Gould also has a remarkable reputation for encouraging young men to recognize the call to the priesthood in their hearts. He also teaches us, the laity, all of us, 'how to fish' and become more like the apostles.  His example helps each of us to grow in the desire to become fishers of men. Nothing profound,  just 'to the point' and basic;  to listen, to live it and love it. The message is true, clear and direct. And in our hearts, we recognize it!

LOYAL TO THE TEACHINGS
 Why is his message so clear? He lets the Holy Spirit work through him and does not cloud the message. He listens, he cares, he teaches. He supports and holds dear the true teachings of the church.  He does not slip away from these teachings.  He is loyal to the Holy Father and the Magesterium. He stays on target and cuts through the unnecessary. This has inspired record numbers of young men to enter the seminary.

VOCATIONS DIRECTOR
When Father Gould was the Vocations Director for the Arlington Virginia Diocese under the support of Bishops Welch and Keating (1985 - 2000)  he encouraged, promoted and fostered  more men to become priests in a year setting records throughout the US when there was little interest.  He wasn't looking for numbers, he was looking for a few good men. People liked that. They liked his honesty. They liked the fact that he didn't form committees but just went out and talked to churches, groups and one on one. And he lived it.

By the year 2000, the average age of priests in the Arlington Diocese was an unheard of 42. (22 years under the national average) He was known as one of the most successful Vocations Directors in the US.

UNSWERVING ALLEGIANCE
The formula for his success? "Unswerving allegiance to the Pope and magisterial teaching; perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in parishes, with an emphasis on praying for vocations; and a strong effort by a significant number of diocesan priests who extend themselves to help young men remain open to the Lord's will in their lives," Fr Gould says.

PRAYER COMES FIRST
Father Gold says of the candidate in seminary, prayer comes first. "He has to develop a solid prayer life - going to Mass every day, saying a daily Rosary, and he should pick a saint who is clearly an advocate for him," suggests Fr Gold, who says that, as a child, he picked St. Joseph - figuring he wasn't busy, since everyone was talking to the Blessed Virgin.

THE DAILY MASS
Without prayer, Fr Gould emphasizes, the ordained priest can't even hope to partake properly in the source and summit of the Catholic priesthood. And that is, of course, the Holy Mass. "It's the most important part of the day. Every intention I have for each day goes into that Mass. If you're going to represent the Lord in persona Christi [in the person of Christ], you've got to be able to talk to Him, and you have to want to talk to Him. For the priest, preaching, teaching, and sanctifying is rooted in the Catholic Mass." Prayer is the absolute-bare-minimum prerequisite.

HARD WORK
Hard work is the second mark. "I always said I'd like to send every seminarian to a hardware store to work for a summer. In a hardware store, you not only learn the practical skills of plumbing, electricity and mechanics, but you also learn personalities. You learn about people from those who come in. You learn something about the business world. You interact with people. You're always talking. And you're always service-oriented.

"The greatest malady in the priesthood today," adds Fr Gould, "is not 'liberals' or 'conservatives.' It's laziness and indifference. In this age of 'collaborative ministry' with the laity, many priests may have slipped away from the meaning of hard work. They don't do house calls. They don't teach CCD. They don't visit the grammar school, and they don't teach RCIA - and that's a problem."

GENEROSITY
Generosity comes next, he says. "The candidate has to be able to answer the question: What are you going to give these people? That's what generosity involves. I've got that old Irish superstition that says that if you're not generous to people in need, then you're not going to get what you need" - and he makes it a point to live by that maxim. 

Fr Gould is very optimistic about the future of the Catholic priesthood in the United States. In every era there have been problems in the priesthood; but these problems, as serious as they sometimes have been, have always been overcome by the grace of God and with fidelity and obedience to God's will by clergy and laity alike. (From the PRIEST (Michael S Rose, Sophia Institute Press)

You may have seen him on EWTN talking about his priesthood or working with Raymond Arroyo when he covered the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Or, maybe at St Raymond's Parish in Springfield Va. He is loved by his parishioners not only because cares - and his gregarious nature - and he challenges one to think, yes, all of these - but also because he is true to his calling as a priest.  

What you wrote about Fr. Gould and his approach to vocations is excellent.  I think the key behind his success as vocation director was three-fold.  One has to do with his bishop and two with him. 

First, as you wrote on your website, he is a man who loves his priesthood.  He loves the Church.  He loves our Lord Jesus Christ, and he knows his faith through and through.  That's the sine qua non of good vocations work. 

Secondly, he is an impressive personality.  I know many priests who have the same love and knowledge of Our Lord and the Church as Fr. Gould, but his personality is catching.  He certainly is a mirror image of Pope John Paul II in this respect. 

Pope John Paul II's great personality and boundless energy was the instrument God used in the '80s and '90s to breathe new life into His beloved bride.  Fr. Gould utilized the same resources in his work as vocations director.  Young people like excitement.  Both he and John Paul II gave them examples of excitement with roots. 

Finally, Fr. Gould's bishop at the time took a bold step in choosing him as vocation's director.  I know he would seem to be the obvious choice for anyone outside the diocesan offices; however, I'm sure there were many forces within the bishop's inner sanctum working to deter him from choosing Fr. Gould as vocation director. 

Many may have seen his unapologetic love and defense of the Church and the Magisterium as divisive and rigid, as unrepresentative of the majority of priests in the Arlington Diocese.. 

Some may have seen him as unable to work with more broad-minded people.  Some may have argued that tradition and obedience aren't attractive to young people.  "Young people like options," they may have argued.  I don't know any of the details, but I bet that his bishop had to do some real soul searching before he chose Fr. Gould as vocation director.
    

THANK YOU FATHER
FOR THAT SEED OF TRUTH – it has deep roots
  We need our priests today, priests like Fr Gould, to feed us, lead us to sanctification by not being afraid of teaching and living these truths himself. I believe St John Vianney said it clearly, 'We hunger for God --- '.  Merge that with our own individual calling in life and the message becomes clear - we are to seek His grace and justice through truth until we are one in Him. 
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To fight for it, to back it, to nurture it, is not easy as you say above. And it has to be hard to be obedient to a superior who does not have the same vision or is trying to please the people, or living in his own agenda.  Oh the graces that root and grow from obedience! 
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How blessed a parish with a good priest - a diocese with a good bishop!  How blessed is a church with a good Holy Father! And at the Rosary Workshop we are blessed to have all three! Thank you Father, for being who you are called to be.
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And it all starts with one good man recognizing the call to the priesthood!  RW

.... If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and eternity. Let us open the door of his sacred and adorable Heart, and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of his love, and we shall see what a God who loves us can do. O my God, who shall be able to comprehend?"  - St. John Vianney