In the first few months of our new partnership with Vianney Vocations, we can already see some big changes and very encouraging signs. Four discernment groups are up and running with about 30 men who want to learn more about diocesan priesthood taking part. In my five years as vocation director, the largest discernment group I can remember had 8-9 guys, and there was just one of them, and that group was only for men in the Jackson area. Now we have four groups in four different locations (Cleveland, Jackson, Oxford and Starkville). This is tangible evidence that there are many more young men who are open to the call to priesthood and who can benefit from accompaniment. Accompanying more men means that more men will apply for seminary and more seminarians means more future priests.
The next step in our accompaniment is to offer ‘Come and See’ opportunities to our discernment group members and other discerners. In mid-October Father Tristan Stovall is taking about eight men to the seminary in New Orleans and then in early November we will be bringing many more to St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana for their bi-annual ‘Come and See’ weekend. That weekend, Nov. 9-10, will also be a big weekend in our diocese. We are going to invite every priest in the diocese to share their vocation story at each Mass that weekend. We will also ask you to consider whether there are young men in your parish who you think would make great priests and could benefit from taking part in these new programs that we are offering. This ‘Called by Name Weekend’ will help us get even more participation in our discernment groups. If we have 30 or so men just from our personal contacts and conversations, think about what the Lord could do with everyone in the diocese calling forth men to seriously discern whether they have a call to be a priest in our diocese. I am very excited about this!
I will be briefing all our clergy and lay ecclesial ministers about this effort at our upcoming Continuing Formation Workshop, so they have all the information they need to help roll this out. Once we get names submitted the staff at Vianney is going to help Bishop Kopacz, myself and the vocations team reach out to all the men who are put forward to invite them to discern a little more formally and take part in these discernment groups and seminary visits. I’m grateful to the vocations team, our staff here at the diocese including our vocations staff, and Father Tristan (who has been an amazing source of new ideas and energy as assistant vocation director). I’d also like to thank all the generous donors from across the diocese who are supporting the Homegrown Harvest Festival Oct. 12. I look forward to discussing these exciting developments with them that evening!
Father Nick Adam, vocation director
