At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Mt 9:36-38)

Some folks like to think that the current crisis in vocations is somehow to be blamed on the reforms, especially the liturgical reforms, of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). But, of course, that is pure nonsense. From the very beginning of the church, there has always been a crisis of vocations—there has never been enough workers for the harvest. As Pope Francis points out repeatedly, what is needed is not a great number of shepherds, but rather shepherds that smell of the sheep.