Our discernment groups continue, and semester number two is going really well for the Jackson high school group. I’ve tried to provide enough groups in the Jackson metro area so that we don’t have large age gaps, and my high schoolers group has really bonded. I have five guys that took part in the discernment group last semester, and four new guys who have come on board this semester. The curriculum is flexible enough so that the returning guys aren’t getting the same information as they got the last time, but the new guys don’t feel lost in the shuffle. The coolest thing that I’ve noticed is how the returning men are stepping up and leading, and they are also such a good influence on the new guys.
I would like to ask for your prayers for all the priests who are leading discernment groups this semester. It is a big commitment, and it takes a good deal of prep work, but I really think this is the key to having a healthy group of discerners in the diocese. Young men don’t just need to talk to me, or Father Tristan, or their pastor about the priesthood, they need to talk to one another about the path to holiness and encourage one another along the way.
The point of these discernment groups is not to get every single participant to be a seminarian. It is to give our young men who care about their faith a venue to grow and learn more about God’s call for them. That call, first of all, is to holiness. This is the call for all of us. But think about your friend group in high school or college, did it encourage you to seek holiness? I know that I wasn’t always a great example in those days, and it would have been a huge help to have a group of guys who I knew were serious about their Catholic faith to hang out with. These discernment groups are helping with cultivating more priestly vocations and helping to form young men to be holy and about the right things no matter what vocation God calls them to. So far, we’ve got groups in Jackson, Cleveland and Starkville off and running. St. John Oxford has also started a discernment group for women open to discerning religious life. We are also about to start promoting our summer camps for high school girls and boys who are serious about their faith but also want to have a lot of fun!
Our next big ‘thing’ in vocation promotion will be a seminary visit to St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana on Palm Sunday weekend. All the guys participating in discernment groups this semester will be invited, and any other young man aged 16-18 who would like to see the seminary can come, free of charge. Anyone interested can find out more.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

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