“A vocation is really just an answer to how God has made your heart. God has crafted each of us in a specific way to serve a specific purpose on this Earth, and your vocation is an answer to that unique calling. It’s something you think about all the time; something...
What if I admire the priesthood but don’t feel personally attracted to become a priest? What if everyone tells me I should be a priest, but I can’t bring myself to seriously consider it? What if I feel that out of duty, I should at least consider the...
How to speak with a young man about priesthood There’s a young man you’ve noticed around the parish. He’s fairly devout, seems friendly, and has an obvious love for the Faith. “Perhaps he could be a priest someday,” you think to yourself. But what should you do? Do...
Is it possible to form a discernment group in the midst of a pandemic? For most Vocation Directors, contact with discerners and candidates has dwindled to a bare minimum. Overnight retreats aren’t possible. Day-long events are being cancelled. Even casual gatherings...
Slideshow – Stations of the Cross with Scenes from The Passion of the Christ POWERPOINt DOWNLOAD PDF DOWNLOAD Stations of the Cross for Children WORD DOWNLOAD PDF DOWNLOAD
by Sam Alzheimer If you’re discerning the priesthood, you have a choice over the next thirty days. You can either bemoan your isolation and put your discernment in “lazy limbo” or you can treat this challenge as an opportunity to dive deep. Since you’re a man striving...
How Vocation Offices can stay effective & relevant during the coronavirus slowdownBy Sam Alzheimer As normal life grinds to a halt, how can your Vocation Office still help young men? Guys have more time on their hands and may be experiencing isolation. The...
An excerpt from Chapter 14 of Fr. Brett Brannen's To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide to Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood When should I go to seminary? Virtus in medio stat (virtue is always in the middle). When it comes to timing, don’t be either a jumper...
by Sam Alzheimer This coming Sunday, Catholic parishes will no doubt honor mothers in the congregation. But because May 12 is also World Day of Prayer for Vocations, some priests will wonder how they can also work in a vocations message at Mass. Why not do both? Below...
by Sam Alzheimer A couple of months ago I ran across my great-grandmother’s prayer book, a small leather-bound tome which had obviously seen a lot of use. As I fanned through the pages, a prayer card fluttered out. It was a prayer for vocations written in 1964...
New book A Living Sacrifice offers guidance for men discerning religious life When Fr. Benedict Croell was vocation director for the Eastern Dominican Province of St. Joseph, over one hundred men entered his province in just eight years. By any measure, that is a...
By Matt Yogus Back when Fr. George Elliot was in seminary, he ran into a dilemma. He knew he was being called to the priesthood, but after about a year of study, he met some wonderful religious priests from several different orders, and began to wonder, “What if I’m...
