I hope you have enjoyed getting to know our seminarians over the past several issues of the Mississippi Catholic, we still have two more men to feature, starting with Will Foggo this week. Our seminarians are getting back to their academic commitments this month as they return to study at St. Joseph Seminary College and Notre Dame Seminary. St. Joseph is where most of our men start out their studies and then everyone goes to Notre Dame for their graduate work in Theology.

But this summer our men were spread throughout the diocese engaging in pastoral work and getting to know priests around the area. This was one of the greatest gifts of the “Tour de Priest.” I was able to spend time with a few of our men as they engaged in a different part of their formation. I spent a good while in Starkville with Carlisle Beggerly and listened as he delivered a very impressive reflection in the context of evening prayer and did the same in Jackson with Andrew Bowden.

Prior to their return to the seminary, our seminarians and I gathered in Natchez for some time to build community amongst ourselves. I am so pleased with the men who are in formation for our diocese as I believe they are authentically seeking God’s will in their lives and only that. In my mind now the calendar turns over and I look to the future. Who is the next young man who wants to respond to the mysterious call the Lord has placed on his heart? That call that says: “you need to see if priesthood is for you, I want you to go and see.” I’m in the midst of scheduling out the rest of my year. I’ll be visiting schools in person and via Zoom/YouTube/WhateverElseINeedToUse and traveling to parishes and campuses around the diocese. But I could always use more help. The best thing you can do is pray for more vocations, but if you want to do one more thing, tell a young man you admire that they would make a good priest, and encourage them to get in touch with me. They can go to www.jacksonpriests.com to find out all they need to know and send me an email or give me a phone call.

We have six men in the seminary, and they are a great gift, let’s continue to call forth more men to consider this path, a path that leads to answers, a path that leads to challenge, a path that the Lord could be calling them to take.

Vocations Events

Friday, October 9, 2020 – First annual Homegrown Harvest Gala and Fundraiser (virtual)

Email nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org if interested in attending this event.

The theological virtue of hope played a big part in my Tour de Priest excursion this past month. At our baptism we are infused with faith, hope and love through the sacramental grace gifted to us by the Lord, and hope is the recognition that this world is not the end, that even through the sufferings and challenges of earthly life we can live with joy and confidence that God accompanies us through suffering and will bring us to everlasting life.

I must say, I thought about this often during my 270 miles or so biking down the Natchez Trace. After my first day of riding (a 60-mile jaunt between Tupelo and Starkville), I sat in pain in an easy chair at the rectory in Starkville, wondering how I would feel in the morning, and wondering honestly whether I had bitten off more than I could chew. But that was the whole point of the Tour de Priest, to be a joyful witness to the hope we have in the Lord and to radically trust that he is with us in our need.

I did complete the journey. I rode into Natchez tired but invigorated because during my bike ride I met with so many supporters of vocations, either virtually or at Mass or prayer, and it gave me great hope as vocation director. I want to thank the clergy and parish leadership in Tupelo, Starkville, Kosciusko, Jackson and Natchez for their collaboration.

The Lord’s work continues in our diocese, and he is calling laborers to his harvest. Our job is to pray for them and encourage them, and I thank the many parishioners and priests who supported this bike tour. The event rose about $8,000 for seminarian education, and it helped to publicize our website, www.jacksonpriests.com and our Facebook and Instagram feeds @jacksonpriests. It also served as a great precursor to our first annual Homegrown Harvest Gala and Fundraiser. This event, scheduled for Oct. 9 at 6:30 p.m., will be live-streamed this year and will connect parishioners to our seminarians and those who form them to be the best priests they can be. This year’s keynote speaker is Father Jim Wehner, the Rector of Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. Father Jim is a dynamic speaker and a great ally for all those who desire to bring forth more vocations in their diocese.

The department of vocations has partnered with “One Cause,” an online platform that makes virtual gatherings easy to participate in, and so we are developing our giving center as we speak and will have much more information on sponsoring the event and buying tickets very soon. Thank you for your support of the Tour de Priest, there is so much hope to be found in our diocese, and I was filled with it during my ride, thanks to your prayers.

Vocations Events

Vocations Events

Friday, October 9, 2020 – First annual Homegrown Harvest Gala and Fundraiser (virtual)

Email nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org if interested in attending this event.

(The following text is from a homily I gave at St. James Catholic Church in Tupelo on the 15th Sunday or Ordinary Time. This was the first day of the Tour de Priest, a 300+ mile cycling journey that I took to build awareness for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.)

What if each one of us simply sought to do what God wanted us to do, and nothing else? What if we made no excuses, had no other motives, felt no outside pressure, and just did the will of God. If we all did that, there would not be a shortage of priests and nuns, and the priests and nuns that we had would all be faithful and fruitful and joyful in their ministry. If we all sought God’s will, not just in word, but in practice, in habit, by every day entering into prayer, by seeking out the sacraments as taught by the church, and by seeking to stop sinning not because we are terrible but because we need to allow space for God’s mercy to reign, the we wouldn’t have to think about churches closing, or the future of the faith in this country. What if each of us simply sought to do what God wanted us to do, and nothing else?

Loving God is an art. There are parts to it that come naturally to us: We intuit that God is there, but we need help reaching out to him. St. Francis de Sales says that the first thing we must keep in mind is the assurance of God’s mercy. So much of our avoidance of God comes down to the things that we believe are wrong with us or the things that indeed we have done wrong. But this is the whole point of God, to wrap us in his mercy and assure us of his love. But do we seek that out? Or are we too afraid? Too embarrassed to go to confession, too used to avoiding the difficult parts of our life to trust that God will bring healing and peace?

That was me at 23. I knew that there was more to life than what the world could offer, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. It was easier to be steeped in my sin, to seek peace in relationships or experiences that were always passing. Then I entered a Catholic church for the first time after many years away, and I had an experience of God’s presence that could not be mistaken. It was transcendent, it gave me a peace that I could not produce on my own. This is the love that God can give us if only we open ourselves to it.

The world will tell us that this is impossible. The world will say that it is slavery to abandon yourself to the will of another, but remember, the will we are giving ourselves over to is love itself, how in the world is that slavery? So, we need priests and nuns, and I think specifically the Lord has called me to seek out priests and nuns from this soil, from Mississippi. With all our diversity and beauty, and all our baggage and eccentricities, we need men and women to come forward to serve. And my job is to make the soil rich. My job as Vocation Director is to help young people understand how to listen to God’s will and follow it. Because otherwise they may have an initial love for God or impulse to do his will, but their attention can be snatched away in an instant simply because they were not taught anything different. They are like the seed on the path that is taken before it can bear fruit.

I see this in a young man or woman who assumes that their life’s course will be the typical one. “Hey, I want to get married and have a family, therefore, God is calling me to do that.” Well of course you want this for your life, that is only natural. But God calls some to be a witness to the supernatural, a witness to the fact that everything on this earth should be done with eternity in mind, and our most pressing, most rewarding, most urgent relationship is with the Lord. Every young person who takes their faith seriously should come with an open heart. Lord, I may want this, but what do you want?

My job is to help young men and women discern so that the persuasive voice of the world does not obscure the voice of the Lord in their discernment. The church’s teachings are radical, and they will always be challenged and rejected by many. But the church’s teachings are rooted in our belief that Jesus, and no one else, is the way and the truth and the life, and that truth can only be found when we seek to know God. Our world is in a desperate search for justice, but without God true justice will not be found. So someone who is open to God’s will is going to be open to being conformed to the truth that comes from God, and they will not seek to conform God to the truth as he or she sees it.

My job is to help young men and women see that worldly success will only take you so far. Many times we make decisions about our future based on fear. “What if my needs and those of my family are not provided for?” “What if I am misunderstood or ridiculed for not taking a more typical approach to success?” When our only goal is to do God’s will, God will give us the grace we need to overcome that fear. My needs have always been provided for as a priest in amazing ways, and often I have come to realize that I don’t need the things I think I do, and that those hang ups were actually keeping me from a deeper freedom in the Lord.

The church’s job is to provide rich soil for seeds to grow. Seek that out. Find good Catholic voices online when you have a question about the faith. Ask a priest or nun or sister or parish leader if you are struggling to follow the Lord’s will. Take advantage of the sacraments and make them a part of your life. Live fearlessly. And please, ask the question, “am I seeking to follow the Lord’s will?” If so, be open to the call to priesthood or religious life. If you have not been seeking to do God’s will, ask yourself, “where has this gotten me, am I fulfilled, or is there something missing that I can’t pinpoint?” That was the case for me, and if it’s the case for you, know that you are loved, and there is nothing to fear in coming to the Lord and his church and making a change.

What if each one of us simply sought to do what God wanted us to do, and nothing else?

Three months ago, as we started down the road of quarantine and shelter-in-place, I dusted off my old road bike, which actually was a hand-me-down from Msgr. Elvin Sunds by way of Father Matthew Simmons, and I started spending many late afternoons on the Natchez Trace. As I rode I had time to think and to dream. I believe that we can create a culture of vocations and we can call forth men and women who are feeling called to religious life from our communities, and we should do it now because they are waiting for us. They are waiting for someone to encourage them, someone to inspire them, someone to simply mention to them that they should be considering what their call from the Lord is. A culture of vocations is born from a culture of encounter.

So back to the bike. I would spend those evenings riding and thinking about how incredible the Natchez Trace is. It connects the people and parishes of our diocese in a way that is unique. Its beauty is transcendent and leads one to ponder big ideas and big dreams, and its name calls to mind our origins as a diocese. I found myself wanting to see more of it, explore more of it, and explore our diocese in the process. And of course as full-time Vocation Director I want to build a culture of vocations in all parts of the state.

And that is how the Tour de Priest was born.

Starting in Tupelo on Saturday, July 11 at St. James Tupelo, I will begin touring the diocese and visiting parishes as I ride the Trace from Tupelo to Natchez. I plan on stopping in places like Starkville, Kosciusko, Jackson and Port Gibson along the way. I am still working out the logistics of each stop, but even if you can’t meet me out on the road you will be able to follow the ride via our @jacksonpriests Facebook and Instagram feeds. Each day I will post updates with interesting sights and sounds, and I will be introducing you to our seminarians and young priests who I will meet along the way.

This Tour will also build awareness for our Homegrown Harvest Gala and Fundraiser benefiting seminary education. The Gala is on October 9, so save the date, but you can contribute to our Seminarian Education Trust now through the “Givelify” app. Just download the app, search for the Diocese of Jackson, tap “Tour de Priest,” and give as generously as you can! The dividends we earn from the trust offset tuition costs each year, so the healthier the trust, the more seminarians we can support! Right now we have seven seminarians studying for our diocese, four of whom entered diocesan formation this year alone, that is awesome, but there is more good work to be done!

I am so excited to begin this journey, and I hope that this Tour is a fun way to get everyone fired up about creating a culture of vocations in every corner of this big ole diocese. Every city on this tour has a story, what if every city on this tour brought forth a seminarian or a religious novice? It could happen! God will provide, but we have to pray … and ask!

Another “homegrown” seminarian will enter the ranks for the Diocese of Jackson this fall. William Foggo of Brandon was officially accepted as a diocesan seminarian on May 28 by Bishop Kopacz. Foggo is an alumnus of St. Richard Elementary School in Jackson and St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison. He spent the last three years at Mississippi State University where he was heavily involved in the Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM). This past school year he was the service chairman for CCM, and he has been closely involved in the diocesan SEARCH retreats for the past several years. He is also an Eagle Scout.

With Foggo’s admission, the diocese currently has seven seminarians. He will enroll at St. Joseph Seminary College in the fall to begin his philosophy studies. Will studied engineering while at MSU. He joins fellow St. Joe alumnus Grayson Foley at St. Joseph Seminary, which is a Benedictine Abbey located near Covington, Louisiana, while five seminarians continue to study at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. Will grew up attending St. Paul Flowood, and was very involved at St. Joseph Starkville while in school.

Candidates for the seminary go through a thorough application process, all designed to help a young man discern whether he is being called to formally discern priesthood. The first step anyone who is feeling called can take is to contact me in the Office of Vocations. It is a great joy to walk with someone who is open to the will of the Lord in their lives, and anyone can be assured that their interest will not result in pressure to “be a priest.”

Saturday, June 27, 2020 – Priestly Ordination of Deacon Andrew Nguyen and Deacon Cesar Sanchez, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle Jackson, 9:30 a.m.

Friday, October 9, 2020 – Homegrown Harvest Gala, Cathead Distillery
Downtown Jackson

If you are interested in visiting a seminary or house of religious formation,
contact: vocations@jacksondiocese.org

During the time of COVID-19, our circumstances have changed in the Office of Vocations, but our mission has not, and the seeds of faith are still growing in our diocese. We have several young men either actively applying for the seminary or seriously discerning whether to enter the seminary. I am in contact with several young women who are discerning whether the Lord is calling them to religious life. We will also celebrate the ordination of two new priests in late June, and six seminarians continue their formation to the priesthood this summer. I want to honor these men and women by making sure our vocations department continues to grow with them.

With this in mind, the Vocations Office is hosting the first annual Homegrown Harvest Gala and Fundraiser on October 9, 2020 at Cathead Distillery in Jackson. The staff at Cathead have been great with the uncertainty of this time, and they are dedicated to working with us as social distancing protocols are updated throughout the summer.

I hope this column has helped you to see how your financial contributions to the vocations department are being spent. I want to continue to offer regular opportunities for young people to see what religious formation is really like, and with two new seminarians expected to enroll this fall, tuition and room and board remain a substantial need. The proceeds of this annual event will provide immediate support to our programs and will greatly bolster our long term plans in vocation promotion and seminarian support. But this celebration will also simply be an opportunity for us to rejoice that the Lord is calling men forth to serve His people.

Tickets to the Gala will be available this summer, and I will be hitting the road and finding ways to reach out to your parishes and ask for your support as the summer wears on. Our diocese is growing because the Holy Spirit is moving in the hearts of young men and women, and it is our job to support them. I pledge to do that as vocations director, and I want you to get to know our seminarians who have already answered the call to discern. In the next several issues of Mississippi Catholic, you will be introduced to all of our seminarians, and I look forward to giving you more information on this exciting event, which I pray will be a great celebration of what the Lord is bringing forth in our Diocese.

Vocations Events

Saturday, June 27, 2020 – Priestly Ordination of Deacon Andrew Nguyen and Deacon Cesar Sanchez, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle Jackson, 9:30 a.m.

Friday, October 9, 2020 – Gala, Cathead Distillery in Downtown Jackson

If you are interested in visiting a seminary or house of religious formation,
contact: vocations@jacksondiocese.org
www.jacksonpriests.com

All it took was a pandemic for the church to get online. Mega-churches have been streaming for a long time, and they had figured out camera angles and installed sophisticated multi-media set-ups in sanctuaries well before the outbreak of COVID-19, but now mother nature has forced our hand. On Holy Saturday I spent two hours at St. Richard Jackson with my pastor trying to plan the Easter Vigil: “OK, now we need to move here and the camera needs to be here so that you can see the Easter Candle and the baptismal font,” said Father John or I at some point that morning.

This is one of the blessings of this time of trial. Many priests can now easily stream content to parishioners, where two months ago this would have seemed like a huge task. And yet, the physical nature of the sacraments is still missing, the one-on-one encounter of the communicant with the Bread of Life is lacking, and catholics are feeling that loss, even though they may be able to click and see their parish church instantly.

The Catholic Church’s genius is in the encounter that we have with the Lord in the sacraments, and in the encounter we have within the building itself. For young people who are discerning God’s call for them, the chance to speak with a priest about real life, about their concerns, about their dreams, and ask them questions is vitally important. This is one of the things that is difficult right now in this time of quarantine, but there are still ways to honor those who are seeking and try to reach out.

In April I took a group of middle schoolers on a virtual tour of one of our seminaries, St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana. We video conferenced and I shared my screen with them and used Google Earth to describe the grounds to them and talk about the day-to-day life of the seminarians. It was not the actual tour that I had planned at the start of the year of course, but it was real opportunity for young men to encounter a priest, ask questions and have fun. During this time technology can help us connect, but we still must be creative in order to make a real connection. The Lord invites us to an actual encounter each time we come into the church, and we have to continue that mission even during this time of quarantine, and live-streams are a great start, but we must be creative and seek to provide for the people of God as best we can.

May 3 was the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. I ask that everyone say a special prayer for the men and women in our diocese who are seeking to follow the Lord’s will in their lives. The seminarians have completed another semester and we are thankful for them and for the two men, Deacon Andrew Nguyen and Deacon Cesar Sanchez, who will be ordained at the Cathedral of St. Peter in June.

Vocations Events

Saturday, June 27, 2020 – Priestly Ordination of Deacon Andrew Nguyen and Deacon Cesar Sanchez, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle Jackson, 9:30 a.m.

If you are interested in visiting a seminary or house of religious formation,
contact: vocations@jacksondiocese.org
www.jacksonpriests.com

It’s not often an Alabama alumnus uses an LSU football analogy, so be sure to read this:

If we don’t make time for prayer as a Catholic community, then we will continue to struggle bring forth men and women for priesthood and religious life. Young people must be taught not just how to pray, but how to build a habit of prayer. This way they can discern the things of the world and discover amongst the noise what God is calling them to do, not just what they think would bring about the most security.

Now for my LSU football analogy to drive this point home: The best quarterbacks do not always make the safe throw. The best quarterbacks push the ball down the field, recognizing that sometimes the defense could get the better of them, but they make throws that win games. Joe Burrow is a great example. Last year, he sought the safe throws, and LSU was mediocre. This year, he trusted his coaches and his gifts and took risks, and LSU morphed into an historically great team.

Prayer brings forth greatness, not in the eyes of the culture, but in the eyes of God. Jesus Christ made choices that were impossible to comprehend to the outside observer, but because he was rooted in relationship with his heavenly Father, his choices led to triumph.

Our screens are loud. Talking heads are loud. They are convincing. So how much time are we spending away from those sources and listening to the Lord in the silence of prayer? I know the arguments, because I present them to my own spiritual director all the time! “I am too busy right now to pray, it is impossible.” For busy families, silence is at even more of a premium. But we make time for other pursuits, and we simply must make time for prayer. And it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming amount. So much of our life is built on the habits that we have. It is easy to make time for youth sporting events and other activities, because we are in the habit of doing them. They are what everyone does. So why isn’t prayer one of these habits for many families? Why does it seem so abnormal?

So, if you have not been praying – start. And you don’t have to pray a crazy amount. Just start by reading one chapter of the gospel per day and spend as much time as you can in silence as you read. Consider your life in light of Jesus’ words and actions, and close it with a Glory be to the Father. The more you build up the habit, the more you will be attracted to silence and reflection and conversation with the Lord, and the more you will make time for it. And don’t strive just for security and comfort. Listen to what God wants you to do, he created you, you can trust Him.