The culture of the Midwestern plains state is also one of those "intangibles" that nonetheless is an important contributing factor that encourages vocations, Arnold noted.
The diocese is mostly made up of small, rural towns where churches are often the center of social life, big families aren't an anomaly, and the idea of stewardship is embedded in the culture.
"It's deeply embedded in the spirituality of this diocese that the gifts that we have - whether those are material or personal or what have you - come from God and we have an obligation to return them to God in some fashion," he said.
Wichita also offers catechetical programs and initiatives through which young people get to interact with priests and seminarians. Among the offerings is Totus Tuus, a summer program founded in the Wichita diocese in which teams of college students and seminarians teach religious education at parishes. Similarly, Prayer and Action sends high school students and seminarians throughout the diocese to perform works of corporal and spiritual mercy.
"Totus Tuus...allows the men an opportunity to live their faith in a profound way," Arnold said. "It gets the seminarians out in front of the kids and shows them that they're enjoyable and normal people."
Arnold said there are also several retreats and events throughout the year that are specifically aimed at young men who may be interested in considering the priesthood. He said he also makes regular visits to the Catholic schools and major colleges in the area to talk about vocations and to answer any questions that young people may have.
"I am fond of telling people I don't do a lot of recruitment, I just facilitate," he said, noting that his job is simply to provide opportunities for young people to encounter priests and seminarians who are already joyfully living their vocations.
"Sometimes I worry in vocations work that we can get gimmicky, and I don't think that serves what we need," he said. "I think again it just comes back to living the faith as well as we can...it comes from an authentic renewal of our own priesthood, living the faith sincerely and in line with the teachings of the Church, seeking the Lord's assistance and taking joy in the gift that he has given us in our own priesthood."
When he meets young men who are considering the priesthood but are hesitant, Arnold says he encourages them by telling them that "the Lord is never outdone in generosity."
"The most common words of our Lord in the Gospels that he says over and over again are 'Be not afraid.' So if we can take that courage and say yes to the Lord...whatever we give to the Lord, no matter how big of a sacrifice we think we're making, it's nothing in comparison to what he wants to give to us."
Mary Farrow worked as a staff writer for Catholic News Agency until 2020. She has a degree in journalism and English education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.