February 21, 2014
I continue to marvel at the ways the Holy Spirit moves in the lives of the men I encounter in my role as the Paulist Fathers’ Director of Vocations. When I first took on the position, I had some fear that I’d spend long, lonely days in the office, staring at the phone waiting for it to ring. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Not at all!
Instead, I get several contacts every week from men who are engaged in active discernment of their vocation, who have sought out information about the Paulists (usually online, through Google searches and social media). Some are in the very beginning stages of discernment, others have been at it for a while and zeroed-in on the Paulists as their “best fit.” Of course, we still have to determine if we think they are a good fit with us!
But the bottom line is that God is still calling men to the Paulist priesthood. Over the Valentine’s Day weekend (I know, I know), 15 men gathered at St. Paul’s College in Washington, D.C., for a “Come and See” weekend. Had the winter storms not impeded their travel, we would have had twenty. These weekends are a vital part of the discernment process, when potential candidates can meet more of the Paulists, talk with our novices and seminarians, learn about Servant of God Father Isaac Hecker, and gather information about the Paulist community and our formation program.
More importantly, these “Come and See” weekends allow potential candidates to imagine themselves as novices, seminarians and priests. For many men, the process of discernment can be a bit isolating. If you’re considering such a radical change in the direction of your life, with everything that commitment entails, most of your peers and friends probably don’t understand what you’re going through. To gather with a group of men who are in a similar circumstance, and meet other who have taken those first steps toward priesthood, can be very liberating.
This most recent gathering brought together a very diverse bunch of men. They ranged in age from 20 to 42. Some were still in college, other are at the peak of their professional careers. Some were converts to Catholicism – like so many of the Paulists’ founders. We hosted potential candidates whose backgrounds were Mexican-American, Haitian, Egyptian, Filipino and Kenyan. And yet, it was the same Spirit drawing them together, to consider priesthood in the Paulist community in the footsteps of Father Hecker.
At the end of the weekend, some of our guests told me that they had come to the conclusion that priesthood wasn’t their calling. I rejoice that they’ve found some clarity, and can begin moving in other directions. Other men told me that the weekend reinforced their interest in the Paulists or reaffirmed their decision to apply. Where they will all end up is, of course, in God’s hands. But I am pleased and humbled to be part of their process of discerning God’s will. It’s the best part of being a vocations director.