Last issue I shared a little about our brand-new partnership with Vianney Vocations as we have formed a Vocation Team of priests across the diocese to start running discernment groups for young men. These discernment groups are very well organized and each of the priests running a group has gone through four sessions of training to help them understand how to make the group fun and beneficial for the men. The groups meet once a week for six weeks in the fall and in the spring, and they include one service project and one social outing.

The folks at Vianney have been very insistent that we follow their model for these groups. Speaking for myself, I know it is easy to think “well, I know that they said to do it one way, but I’m going to do it another way.” We have been strongly encouraged to avoid this thinking. These groups have been serving young men well in dioceses across the country, and they help guys build fraternal bonds and grow in their faith, whether they end up in seminary or not.

These groups have already kicked off. I know that Father Kent Bowlds has started one in Cleveland, and mine will start Sept. 29 in Jackson. The goal of these groups is to create sources of accompaniment for young men who often feel very isolated in their discernment. Not that many guys in high school or college or in the workforce are comfortable talking about their faith, and even less are seriously open to discerning a call to the priesthood. With these groups, guys will have the opportunity to walk with each other and find encouragement. It also allows them to have regular conversations with a priest who can share with them about his life.

The overarching concern that I have as vocation director is – how can we best accompany young men who are open to God’s call? This is a concern that is difficult to address in a diocese that is so big, and so when Vianney Vocations approached me with their plan and offered their support, I was incredibly interested. As these groups launch, I ask for particular prayers that the priests responsible for them will be inspired by the Holy Spirit to overcome obstacles, think creatively, and be renewed by their service to the men in their groups. I really believe that this will be the key to achieving a sustainable, Spirit-led increase in vocations, and, if God wills it, even an abundance of them.

Also – we just finalized the design for our new seminarian poster, so be on the lookout for those and be sure to keep our six seminarians in your prayers.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director