Cars for clergy

A priest I know started driving a Fiat several months ago. I thought it was an appropriate make/model for his new ride. I hoped to start seeing more priests, deacons, religious and people pursuing lay vocations to start driving them as a reminder to follow God’s will.

This morning I pulled up at a red light next to a Kia Soul. A bumper sticker said “clergy” and a simple outlined image of a cross bookended the word. The license plate said (on top) “Jesus said it” and (on bottom) “I believe it.” I concluded the driver was likely a Christian or non-denominational pastor, but decided to offer a prayer for priests every time I passed such a vehicle.

Note to self: If you offer something to God, He’ll take you up on it a hundred-fold.

Well, as the Holy Spirit would have it, I passed two other Kia Souls in the next two or three miles. So my first prayer was for current priests, the second for current seminarians and the third for those discerning a religious vocation of any kind. Made another mental note to look up the prayer members of Serra clubs worldwide offer daily for current and future religious vocations. Phoenix’s diocesan vocations office also shares some great prayers.

I planned to share this much in a blogpost, but thought it might wait a week or so. I’ve been bogged down with event coverage and we’ve posted quite a bit online this week (15 items — blogs, local news and national news). Plus, I didn’t really have a decent photo.

Well, guess what email (and photo) awaited me overnight from 1stWay and the diocesan Office of Marriage and Respect Life:

Friends of Life,

Great pictures attached of a clever and attractive way to preach the Gospel of Life.  From one of our Phoenix priests!
 — Office of Marriage and Respect Life

Dear Friends,

There are many ways that we can build the Culture of Life together, but I’d like to share with you a very innovative way that one priest in our valley is supporting women in their pregnancies. See the attached photos.

The website he is promoting on his vehicle is GotBaby.org which he created. When someone sees his vehicle and then visits the website, they are led to one of many great pregnancy support centers for help.

Let us pray for the gift of this priest and his desire to build the Culture of Life in Arizona!  It makes me think…..what is lingering in your heart and mind that you might be innovatively called to do for Christ?
— 1st Way Pregnancy Center

The website is very simple and clean….ideally a welcome surprise to a pregnant woman who, as the home image — a shocked baby face — says, “Got pregnant? Now what?”

Very subtly on top, the website says, “life is babyful.” And very simply, the support ranges from resources of faith, hope and love. Each page, though a bit slow to load on this machine, offers logos and links to places that provide:

• “faith” — this page simply offers “health” and “healing” with a link to 1st Way
• “hope” — this page simply mentions “parenting” and “adoption” with a link to Maggie’s Place
• “love” — this page simply offers “support” and “well-being” with a link to Life Choices Women’s Clinic

A simple link at the bottom reads “I need help now” which offers a direct email to Fr. Don Kline, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish and creator of the website.

Highway patrol, insurance adjustors and possibly secular media will tell you our cars are deadly weapons. Clearly, our vehicles don’t have to come equipped with stretchers and paramedics to be life-saving weapons instead.