In a four-page section on vocations in this week’s edition of The Record, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz writes: “Our growing conviction is both constant and simple: Christ continues to call. ... His call remains fresh and ever new.”

Some Catholics might wonder about this in light of the decline in recent years of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. However, the reality is that Christ’s call to serve in the church continues, and men and women are responding to it.

For example, Archbishop Kurtz has noted on several occasions that six men entered the seminary program in the Archdiocese of Louisville during the past year, and indications are that a similar number of applicants will be accepted this year.

There also are other indications that many young men and women are open to or have considered the call to serve. The recently released preliminary report of a national online survey of 1,300 or so young adult Catholics provided encouraging responses.

The survey, “Young Adult Catholics and Their Future in Ministry,” said most of the respondents viewed lay ministry as a call from God. Respondents said they were responsive to the concepts of answering God’s call, helping others and passing on the faith.

Also, nearly half of the men and about 40 percent of the women in the survey said they have seriously considered ministry in the priesthood or religious life.

“We are heartened at their level of interest, and we need to find ways to translate this attraction into the active ministry that our church urgently needs,” said Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, S.D. “It’s time for us to engage these young people and find out how we can get them on board.”

Bishop Cupich is episcopal adviser for the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project, which commissioned the survey. The survey itself was conducted by sociologist Dean Hoge of The Catholic University of America’s Life Cycle Institute and by Marti Jewell, director of the project.

There also are other encouraging signs.

VocationMatch.com, in its second annual survey, reported in February that Catholic religious communities reported on average a 30 percent increase during the past year in the number of individuals in initial formation — the period before final vows. Also, the survey said that 62 percent of the participating religious communities reported an increase in vocation inquiries in the past year.

The 2008 survey continued the “positive trends” in religious vocations reported in a 2007 report, according to VocationMatch.com.

“The church has commissioned the faithful to create a culture of discernment, and it seems we are beginning to see the fruits of our labor,” Brother Paul Bednarcyk, executive director of the National Religious Vocation Council, said of the survey’s findings. “This is very good news for the future of consecrated life and the life of the church.”

What does this mean for men and women who are considering or discerning a vocation to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life or lay ministry? And what does it mean for all members of the church?

Regarding the first question, Father Bill Bowling, Archdiocese of Louisville vocation director, writes in the vocation section in this edition of the newspaper: “Most often, the Lord chooses ordinary people like you and like me to become his means to call others to faith and service. ... Never underestimate your value in being chosen as the Lord’s instrument of call.”

For the church at large, it means encouraging those who are considering a religious vocation, supporting those who have answered the call and who are in preparation for ministry, and praying for vocations. Last Sunday, April 13, was World Day of Prayer for Vocations, but prayers should not be reserved for just one day of the year. They need to be continuous: at Masses and other times of personal and communal prayer, at eucharistic adoration and holy hours, and in the home and at school.

Pope Benedict XVI said: “It is not surprising that, where people pray fervently, vocations flourish. The holiness of the church depends essentially on union with Christ and on being open to the mystery of grace that operates in the hearts of believers.”

It’s everyone’s responsibility, as the pope has said, to cultivate the “spiritual soil” of church vocations.