Hello everyone and greetings in Christ!
I am sending this message to extend my personal invitation to each of you who are still discerning God’s call. We are starting up again our monthly gatherings at St. Mary’s Seminary. I would like to invite you to pray about this invitation and consider attending one or all of the scheduled gatherings starting in February 2012 @ 6:30pm in room 1 & 3 in John Paul II Bldg.
Discover the Road Less Traveled is a once a month gathering and an opportunity to meet other young men who love the Lord and who desire to know with more clarity God’s will. The hope is that there you will foster solid friendship that will strengthen you in your faith. There you will learn the tools of each day to be more attentive to God’s presence and His voice. Whatever vocation God might be leading you, its main purpose is to invite and challenge you to grow in deeper holiness and firm trust in the Lord!
I entrust you all to the sacred and merciful heart of Christ. I pray and hope that many of you will be able to join me and others for good fellowship, food, music, prayers, adoration and great talks.
Till we meet again, Christ’s abundant blessings be with you!
Fr. Dat
Download and print the Discover Spring 2012 flyer here (47)
Download and print the Discover Spring 2012 poster here (26)
Download and print the Discover Spring 2012 postcards here (25)
Tags: brothers, call, christ, church, discernment, discover, faith, god, hope, houston, love, pray, prayer, priest, priesthood, religious, seminary, sisters, st. mary, trust, unity, vocation
¡Hola a todos y saludos en Cristo!
Es un gusto enorme estar en contacto con ustedes de nuevo. Espero que esten pasando un hermoso tiempo de adviento con sus familias y amigos esperando la llegada del Niño Jesús.
Estoy enviando este mensaje para extenderles una invitación personal a cada uno de ustedes que todavía están discerniendo la llamada de Dios. Este próximo Febrero del 2012 empezaremos las reuniones mensuales de discernimiento vocacional “Descubre el Camino Menos Recorrido”. Me gustaría invitarlos a que oren sobre esta invitación.
Estas reuniones son una oportunidad para conocer a otros jóvenes que aman al Señor y que desean conocer con mayor claridad la voluntad de Dios. La esperanza es que ahí ustedes fomenten amistades sólidas que fortalezcan su fe. Ahí aprenderán las herramientas de cada día para estar más atentos a la presencia de Dios y a Su voz. Cualquiera que sea la vocación a la que Dios les esté conduciendo, su principal propósito es invitarlos y desafiarlos a crecer en santidad y en una confianza firme en el Señor!
Os encomiendo a todos en el corazón sagrado y misericordioso de Cristo. Rezo y espero que muchos de ustedes puedan acompañarme junto a otros jóvenes, sacerdotes, religiosas y religiosos en estas tardes de buena compañía, música, oración, adoración del Santísimo Sacramento y buena comida.
Que las bendiciones abundantes de Cristo esté con vosotros!
En Cristo,
Padre Dat Hoang
Director
Oficina de Vocaciones
www.houstonvocations.com
Recursos para imprimir y promover:
Flyer de Descubre Verano 2012 (28)
Poster de Descubre Verano 2012 (18)
Postcards de Descubre Verano 2012 (19)
Tags: christ, church, Descubre, discernimiento, discernment, houston, priesthood, religious, sacerdocio, spanish, vida religiosa, vocation
His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo will celebrate the 5:00PM Mass at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. This will be our official kick-off celebration of National Vocation Awareness Week. All are cordially invited.
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 5:00PM Mass for National Vocation Awareness Week
January 9-14, 2012 National Vocation Awareness Week.
National Vocation Awareness Week Set For January 9-14
WASHINGTON—The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week (NVAW), January 9-14. The celebration heralds a week dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education.
This distinctive week gives Catholics an opportunity to renew prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations.
“It is our responsibility to help children and young people develop a prayerful relationship with Jesus Christ so they will know their vocation,” said Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. “Through a culture of vocation in families, parishes, schools and dioceses Catholics can nurture an environment of discipleship, commitment to daily prayer, spiritual conversion, growth in virtue, participation in the sacraments, and service in community. Without this environment, promoting vocations becomes simply recruitment. We believe we have much more to offer our young people.”
People can visit the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/usccb) during the week to see examples of clergy and religious. They also can view reflections under the Vocation Retreat Tab where each day a scripture passage, reflection and prayer will be posted.Resources for promoting National Vocations Awareness Week, such as prayer cards, Holy Hour materials, prayers of the faithful and bulletin-ready quotes, are available on the USCCB vocations webpage at http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations.
National Vocation Awareness Week began in 1976 when the U.S. bishops designated the 28th Sunday of the year for NVAW. In 1997, this celebration was moved to coincide with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which falls on January 9 in 2012.
Archbishop Robert Carlson, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Vocation Awareness Week, Jesus Christ
# # # # #
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sr. Mary Ann Walsh
O:202-541-3200
M:301-325-7935
Note: Below are the corrected flyer, poster and postcards as of December 14, 2011, 12pm. If you dowloaded these files between Dec. 6-14 before noon, they had an error on the date and time for the Mass. We at the Office of Vocations want to apologize for any inconvenience it caused. Thanks for your understanding.
Download the National Vocation Awareness Flyer here (31)
Download the National Vocation Awareness Poster here (21)
Download the National Vocation Awareness postcards here (18)
Tags: bishop, brothers, call, cardinal, christ, diocese, discernment, faith, god, houston, jesus, pray, prayer, priest, priesthood, religious, sacraments, sisters, unity, vocation
The Men’s Discernment Retreat will be held in St. Mary’s Seminary in January 6-8, 2012. This retreat is an opportunity to set out some time of silence to listen to the voice of God in your life; listen to inspiring talks and guidance for discernment process; learn the tools of discernment, sharpen your discerning skills and have a one on one visit with a priest and seminarian. Pre-register for the Men’s Discernment Retreat by filling the form to your right.
Download Men's Discernment Retreat Flyer here (31)
Download Men's Discernment Retreat Registration Form here (56)
Tags: archdiocese of galveston houston, call, christ, church, discernment, god, houston, Men's discernment retreat, priest, priesthood, seminarian, seminary, st. mary, St. Mary's Seminary, unity, Video, vocation, vocations
On Friday, March 9, 2012 we will have our annual Myriam Dinner at 6:30pm in St. Catherine Convent of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Immaculate Province (5250 Gasmer Dr., Houston, TX 77035). This dinner is a program for young women ages 18-35 who are discerning a call to Religious Life. Members of Various Religious Communities will be present to share with them and about their vocation stories.
Registration for this event is required for the preparation of food. You can register at vocations@archgh.org or 713-652-8239 or by using form to the right of this page.
Download or print Myriam Dinner flyer here (24)
Download or print Myriam Dinner poster here (22)
Download or print Myriam Dinner postcards here (12)
Tags: archdiocese, call, cardinal, christ, diocese, discernment, galveston, hope, houston, Myriam Dinner, prayer, religious, vocation, vocations, women
Archdiocesan Celebration of Consecrated Life, February 5
The 16th World Day for Consecrated Life will be observed in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on Sunday, February 5, 2012. Cardinal DiNardo will celebrate the 11 a.m. Eucharist in the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. All are invited and welcomed. For additional information, contact Sister Heloise Cruzat, O.P. at 713-741-8733.
16th Archdiocesan Celebration of Consecrated Life, February 5
On February 5, women and men in consecrated life will gather in celebration with Cardinal DiNardo at the 11 a.m. Mass at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. In our archdiocese, there are approximately 450 women and 220 men in religious life who serve in a broad variety of ministries.
Women and men in the archdiocese belong to approximately 74 different religious groups: 32 priests’ groups and 42 groups of religious women. Some of these are ancient Orders of the Church: Benedictine, Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan, Order of Virgins. Others are religious institutes – clerical and apostolic congregations of sisters, brothers, religious priests.
Our religious offer a variety of ministries: as priests, as educators, as ministers in health care, retreat work and spiritual direction, pastoral care, and services among the poor and marginalized. The Discalced Carmelite nuns in New Caney are a small community of contemplative women whose lives are dedicated to prayer for the Church and for all people.
In the words of Pope Benedict: “… consecrated men and women are granted to show the primacy of God, passion for the Gospel practiced as a form of life and proclaimed to the poor and lowliest of the earth .” (Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI, Vatican Basilica, February 2, 2011)
All are invited and welcomed to attend the February 5 Eucharistic celebration.
Consider planning a special event in your school or parish honoring men and women who are members of Religious Communities. Visit http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/consecrated-life/ for more resources.
Tags: archdiocese, cardinal, catholic, celebration, consecrated life, diocese, god, houston, john paul II, pope, religious, vocation, vocations, world day of consecrated life
Vocation Expo! is a one day event to assist Parish Vocation Committees, Vocation Directors, Priests, Deacons, DREs, Youth Ministers and Campus Ministers and all others interested in working promoting vocations. The activities include motivational speakers, successful Parish Vocation Committee members, useful information about working with young adults and college students, time for Parish Committees to work on Action Plans, Exhibits by Religious Congregations, and practical advice and ideas from the Office of Vocations.
There is a $50 fee per parish for all day and lunch is included. Registration is required and it can be done online, by mail, fax, telephone or email.
Join Cardinal DiNardo’s priorities by participating and learning ways how everyone can encourage and support people who hear God’s call.
For more information and registration contact the Office of Vocations at 713-652-8239 or email vocations@archgh.org
Download flyer for Vocation Expo 2012 here (41)
Download poster for Vocation Expo 2012 here (25)
Download postcards for Vocation Expo 2012 here (22)
Download Registration form for Vocation Expo 2012 here (16)
Expo de Vocaciones 2012: Baje hoja de registro aqui (7)
Tags: call, cardinal, Cardinal DiNardo, discernment, expo, god, houston, leader, parish, priest, program, religious, resources, seminarian, seminary, speaker, training, vocation, Vocation Expo, vocations
With Praise and Thanksgiving to Almighty God,
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Joyfully Announces the Ordination of
Thomas Erle Hawxhurst
and
Martial Flodort Oya
To the Sacred Order of the Priesthood
Through the Imposition of Hands
and the Invocation of the Holy Spirit
By
His Eminence
Daniel Cardinal DiNardo
Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
Saturday, January 14, 2012
10:00 A.M.
The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
1115 St. Joseph Parkway
Houston, Texas
Reception following at Cathedral Centre
Priests and Deacons please bring alb.
Tags: archdiocese, bishop, cardinal, cathedral, deacon, diocesan, diocese, galveston, god, holy spirit, houston, Martial Oya, ordination, priest, priesthood, priesthood ordinations, priests, religious, seminarian, Tom Hawxhurst, unity, vocation
Good Shepherd Sunday, a World Celebration of Vocations
On May 14th of this year, on the eve of World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Bishop Vincent Rizzotto will ordain 7 seminarians from our Archdiocese to the Order of the Diaconate at the Co-Cathedral of Sacred Heart. What a gift, a joy and blessing for our local church! I want to invite everyone, especially the young people, to come and join us in this celebration, which will take place at 10:00 o’clock that morning. Then on Good Shepherd Sunday on May 15th, the day after the diaconate ordination, Pope Benedict XVI calls on Catholics throughout the world to join him in prayers for priestly and religious vocations. The theme, which our Holy Father chose for this year’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations is “Proposing Vocations in the Local Church.”
In his letter for the occasion, the Holy Father expressed his special gratitude and encouragement to all who are laboring to promote vocations. As Vocation Director of the Archdiocese, I wish echo my deepest gratitude to our priests, religious and the many of you who are working tirelessly and praying fervently for vocations. I feel very blessed to be able to witness the zeal and the care that the people throughout the Archdiocese have for vocations. It reassures me that the Holy Spirit is at work and good things are happening in our Archdiocese. The number of applicants to seminary formation is increasing. As I travel throughout the Archdiocese, I encounter many incredible, courageous and faithful youths who continue to inspire me. Sometimes in prayer, I feel so full of hope and excitement that I want to scream at top of my lungs for everyone to know that what the Holy Father said in his letter is very true: “The Lord does not fail to call people at every stage of life to share in his mission and to serve the Church in the ordained ministry and in the consecrated life.” It is the responsibility and mission of the Church, as the Holy Father explains, to encourage and promote a prayerful and attentive listening environment so that the voice of God may not be “drowned out” in a world full of competing noises. The Holy Father teaches that we can learn from Jesus in his way of dealing with vocations. The first thing he did was spending all night alone praying for his disciples, listening to the will of the Father before calling them to follow him (Lk 6:12). On May 15th, I will celebrate a mass for vocations at St. Mary’ Seminary Chapel at 9:30 a.m, after which I will spend the whole day in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament to pray for vocations in our Archdiocese. I am inviting seminarians, discerners, and everyone throughout the Archdiocese, especially the young people and those involved in vocation ministry, to come out to St. Mary’s Seminary for prayers anytime during that day. I humbly implore my brother priests to preach on vocations and on their own wonderful call. I ask the Religious, Catechists, Parents, Serrans, Knights, Vocations Committees, all Church groups and associations and everyone to make May 15th a day of true celebration of Vocations throughout our Archdiocese. For ideas, resources and the full message of the Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of World Day of Vocations, please go to our website at www.houstonvocations.com . May the Lord our Good Shepherd bless each and everyone of you for your effort in proposing and building a culture of vocations in our great Archdiocese.
Tags: archdiocese, brothers, christ, church, consecrated life, discernment, galveston houston, god, prayer, priest, religious, sisters, St. Mary's Seminary, vocations
The Office of Vocations has a great number of programs and events as opportunities that help assist young people in High School and adulthood in their discernment of God’s call to priesthood and religious life.
Please look on the “Programs” tab under “News and Events” and “Calendar” for more details of such great opportunities for discernment.
For men and women discernment opportunities offered by religious orders please click Discernment Opportunities 2010-2011 (0).
Tags: christ, discernment, Discernment Opportunitities, priesthood, priests, religious, religious life, Seminarians, sisters, vocations
Tags: archdiocese, Christmas, Christmas message, discernment, fr. dat's blog, holidays, houston, Season's Greetings, seminary, Video, vocation, vocations
(Top row, left to right): Will Bailey, St Michael-Houston; Clark Sample, St. Michael-Houston; Matthew Graham, St. Thomas the Apostle, Huntsville; Andrew Bicarell, St. John Vianney; Justin Cormie, St. John Vianney; Sean Michael Hazuda, St. Jerome-Houston; Luis García, Prince of Peace; Jordan Camerino, St. Ignatius.
(Bottom row; left to right): Stephen Schietinger, St. Thomas, Austin, TX; Truong Son Nguyen, St. Christopher; Alex Piña, St. John Vianney; José Alonso, Prince of Peace; Hao Huynh, Vietnamese Martyrs.
It is with great joy that we want to present the 13 new seminarians of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston who have just begun their journey towards priesthood. We are grateful to God, their families and parish communities for their prayers and support in their response to God’s call of priesthood. Please pray for our 13 new seminarians and for the other 33 current seminarians as they begin this new school year.
Men of Daring Surrender
(by Fr. Dat Hoang)
He is only 18 years old, just graduated from high school this summer. He has great a passion for music and loves playing the guitar. He is loyal to his family and friends and enjoys meeting new people. But when God’s mysteriously prompts his heart, he simply submits. Jordan Camerino is now studying his first semester at Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas. Luis Garcia was so happy to be admitted to the University of St. Thomas. He always dreamt of studying in a solid catholic university. His dream came true when everything came together and he was among the most excited new students at St. Thomas University last semester. But God has a different plan that Luis could not resist. He ends up at Holy Trinity Seminary this semester as a new seminarian. Justin Cormie, on the other hand, has been in the working force for awhile. At the age of 30, he has what his peers would probably consider a “nice life” with a good and steady job that affords him solid independency. Through the years, the Lord had taken him on a journey of conversion. He found himself frequent to masses and holy hours of adoration, where he experienced tremendous peace and where his call began. By the time school resumed this year, Justin was still trying to put his house up for sale as he gave up his independency to join the seminary.
Jordan, Luis and Justin are among the 13 new seminarians for the Archdiocese this year. They each have different background and story; but they all have one thing in common: a willing surrender to God. They do not know for certain where the road ahead will take them, but they dare to expand their hearts to submit to Christ, knowing that the Lord will lead them by their hands and will bless them. Please join me to pray for these men and their brother seminarians. More details of their stories will be coming soon to our website under the meet our seminarians tab.
Tags: archdiocese, call, christ, diocese, discernment, galveston, god, holy trinity, houston, journey, love, new seminarians, pray, prayer, priest, priesthood, rome, seminarian, Seminarians, seminary, service, vocation
My dear seminarians!
Easter Blessings to all of you!
I pray and hope that all of you had a Blessed Holy Week and Easter. For me personally as a priest, it was indeed a beautiful and moving experience, to renew my vows of priestly service to Christ and His Church on Tuesday evening with Cardinal DiNardo and all the priests of the Archdiocese at the Chrism Mass at the Co-Cathedral. In walking the way of the cross with Christ these days, I begin to reflect on how courageously Christ embraced His cross and suffering to walk to Calvary in order to offer the priestly sacrifice of Himself to God the Father for the salvation of the whole world. It is an invitation for you and for me to embrace our own cross. No wonder the Cardinal, in asking us to renew our commiment asked the priests:
“Are you resolved to unite yourselves more closely to Christ and to try to become more like him by joyfully sacrificing your own pleasrue and ambition to bring his peace and love to your brothers and sisters?”
My dear seminarians! I am convinced that only in prayers and deep rooted relationship with Christ would we find the strength to do so. Pope Benedict XVI in his message to the world for the 47th World Day of Vocation this coming April 25th mentioned that a priest and conscecrated religious must be a “man/woman of God” and “man/woman of communion.”
In that light, I am sending you the list of prayers partner. Please pray for your prayer partner seminarian everyday and, if possibly, send occasional emails/phone calls to encourage one another. In doing so, you allow yourself to be men of prayers as you lift each other up in the love and affection of Christ: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another!” (Jn 13:35) Please pray especially for your brothers Jude, Eurel, Victor and Phong who are preparing for their deaconate ordination on May 15th.
Know that my thoughts and prayers are with you! Let us pray for one another that we may grow in charity and holiness!
In the Love of Christ the High Priest,
Fr. Dat
Tags: Blog, priesthood, seminarian, seminary, vocation
“Please pray for me Fr. Dat, I cannot find a job!” said a student who recently graduated from the university. He shared with me his struggle, explaining that now a days, one not only needs to have a good education but also some job experience on the resume in order to find a good job. In my prayers for the student, I also began to mediate on the resume of the very first Pope, who was handpicked by our Lord Jesus Christ when he walked on this earth. Do you know what would have been written on his resume?
The Resume of the first Pope
Name: Simon; nickname “Peter”
Education and Experience: Heavy labor fisherman (Mat 4:18)
Virtues: “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8)
Faith: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mat 13:31)
Spiritual Depth: “Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings!” (Mat 16:23)
Prayer Life: “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?” (Mat 26:40)
Loyalty: “Amen, I say to you before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” (Mat 26:34); “I do not know the man [Jesus.]” (Mat 26:74)
It was this man with such a humanly terrible resume that Jesus called, renamed him Peter and chose him as the Rock upon which Christ builds his Church. It was to Peter that the Resurrected Christ said: “Feed my sheep!” and placed him as the first Pope of the Church. Why? Because, as Saint Paul said in 2 Cor 12:9, in human weakness, God’s grace shines ever more brightly.
Remember that at the end of his life, Peter heroically witnessed to Christ by dying upside down on the cross. From the moment of denying Jesus 3 times to his courageous martyrdom years later was an amazing story of God’s grace, transforming and molding Peter from a coward to saint, ready to die for Christ.
In my encounter with young people throughout the Archdiocese, I often run into men and women who might feel God’s call to the priestly and religious life; yet they push aside the prompting in their hearts because they feel a sense of “unworthiness.” They recognize on their life resume elements that they may not be too proud off: “I struggle with impurity,” “school is hard for me,” “I like girls/guys,” “I don’t pray too much,” “I get distracted in mass,” “I don’t know if I can live without a family.” To these responses, I say that when Jesus called Peter at the seashore, he did not expect Peter at the time to readily die upside down on the cross for Jesus. If that was the case, Peter would be the last person on earth to be invited by Christ. What Jesus saw in Peter was the willingness to let go of his net and to follow Christ; then the story of grace began to be written.
So for those who are discerning God’s call to priestly and religious life or the call to serve in some capacity in your parishes, remember that “God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called!” Despite our life resume, if we are ready to let go of our nets, our fears, our unworthiness, then we will see how the Masterful Creator, who formed the beautiful universe out of nothingness, begins to make wonders out of who we are as children of God.
Fr. Dat Hoang
Director
Office of Vocations
Tags: archdiocese, Blog, call, catholic, christ, diocese, faith, god, houston, jesus, peter, pope, pray, prayer, priest, priesthood, religious, vocation
It was the New Year of 1988, the saddest and toughest New Year in my life. Only some weeks before that, I said good-bye to my parents, my family and friends and my beloved homeland of many beautiful childhood memories. In the search for brighter future, for freedom and for the possibility of entering the seminary, I left Vietnam together with my aunt, my younger brother and four cousins. We fled on a small boat, tightly packed with 40 people. After some days on the ocean, we arrived at an island in Thailand; and our very first encounter in the new land was with the pirates, who took all our money and valuable belongings. For a period of about 2 months, while waiting for help to arrive, we lived as beggars. Every day we went to the small Thai village to ask for food. Some days we were lucky, and some other days we came home empty. It was the time of New Year. I remembered feeling very sad. I thought of the joyful colors of the New Year festivity in Vietnam, the family visits, the greetings and the delicious dishes in the presence of my family and friends. Now I was far away from home, penniless and the future ahead of me was a complete uncertainty. I recalled swallowing my pains and walked down to the Thai village with my brother and my cousins to beg for food. It was a bad day for us. We came back to our place sad, hungry and tired. As soon as we climbed into the wooden cottage, we noticed our aunt sitting there with a plate of food. “Did you find anything today?” she asked. She could tell from the look on our faces that it was one of those unlucky days. She handed us the plate and said: “I had some already, go ahead and eat!” Within a split second everything was gone.
A little while later, I walked around the wooded area and noticed my aunt crying under a tree. I walked over, sat down next to her and found out that she had not eaten all day. My heart ached. A painful thought ran through my mind: “Oh auntie, where can I find you some food?” At the same time, I felt as if a mystical arrow of love had just pierced through my heart. In her presence, I glimpsed and tasted the unconditional Love of God. What she did left an imprint in my heart; and till this day it reminds me to live my vocation as a priest so that I may love and serve others.
“My vocation is to love!” Saint Therese of the Child Jesus once exclaimed. Like her, I am convinced that at the heart of all vocations is the call to love God and others. I believe Saint Paul knew it deep in his heart when he wrote: “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13: 2).
So my dear friends! As I send you my warmest New Year Greetings, I invite you to join me this year to be heroically different. While our culture keeps telling us we have to have a lot for ourselves, our Lord is challenging us to make sacrifices and to die to self as He did on the cross. I am reminded of Pope Benedict’s words to the young people of the world: “We were not created for comfort, but for greatness!” If we each day try to mirror the Lord in dying to self for others, we will find our true great self and our vocation!
God’s abundant joy and blessing to you in this New Year!
Fr. Dat
Tags: fr. dat's blog, Vocation Director
In his book Pilgrims on the Road of Hope, Cardinal Francis Van Thuan wrote about a boy named Valentia, who was orphaned at the age of 5 in a poor town. He started to polish shoes for a living. Every time a customer paid him, he made a sign of the cross in gratitude to God. His friends made fun of him: “you don’t even have food to eat and you are trying to keep your faith?” When Valentia turned 17, the town’s theater group allowed him to play the role of the devil in a theatrical play. During the actual performance, all of a sudden the rain came with loud lightning. Like all the other times of fear, Valentia knelt down to make the sign of the cross, forgetting that he was in the play. The crowd broke out in laughter, thinking the “devil” was making a joke without realizing that he was truly praying. Later, the people of the town came to know about Valentia and his situation. Together, they pitched in their money to help the young man, who obtained his doctorate and became successful at the age of 30. So, even the “devil” made time to pray. What about us? Do we pray always and in all situations of life? As vocation director, sometimes parents approach me and asked me what they can do to teach their children about vocations. I always tell them that the very first thing they have to do is to teach their children to pray by praying together as a family, taking them for a short time of adoration before going out for pizza or movie, etc. And for those who are trying to listen to God’s will or discerning a vocation in your life, the very first step in the process of discernment is to deepen one’s prayer life. To discern God’s Will and God’s call is not to solve a puzzle or a math problem but rather to encounter Christ. Once we have met Him and know Him, He will never fail us. He will strengthen us and show us the way we should walk. Pope Benedict XVI once said: “Whoever wants to be a friend of Jesus and become his authentic disciple – be it seminarian, priest, religious or lay person – must cultivate an intimate friendship with him in meditation and prayer.” So if we want to cultivate a culture of vocations, we must first cultivate in our home and in our parishes a culture of prayer and silence against a world bombarded with noises and information. For those who are beginners, it could be as simple as committing to 15 minutes of silent prayer a day, or stopping by a church for the 15 minutes of silent prayer, especially in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Fifteen minutes is really nothing, especially compared to the time we watch a football game or a TV show; but you will be surprised how just a few minutes a day set aside to lift your hearts up the Lord can begin to transform your lives in an incredible way because God’s love and generosity is beyond our imagining.
[If you have questions that you want Fr. Dat to answer on his blog, please send an email at vocations@archgh.org]
“Listen to me for one moment and you will see that only the service of God will console us and make us happy in the midst of all the miseries of life. To accomplish it, you do not need to leave either your belongings, or your parents, or even your friends, unless they are leading you to sin. You have no need to go and spend the rest of your lives in the desert to weep there for your sins. If that were necessary for us, indeed, we should be very happy to have such a remedy for our ills. But no, a father and a mother of a family can serve God by living with their children and bringing them up in a Christian way. A servant can very easily serve God and his master, with nothing to stop him. No, my dear bretheren, The way of life that means serving God changes nothing in all that we have to do. On the contrary, we simply do better all the things we must do!”
– St. John Vianney
Tags: christ, god, houston, priest, vocation, year of the priest
