Super Bowl, Super Discernment

If you ask many people what they did this past weekend, they would say that they watched the Broncos take on the Panthers for the coveted 50^th Super Bowl Championship. However that was the only super event of the weekend if you ask some members of our Salesian family. This past weekend was not only marked by Super Bowl, it was also graced with one Super Discernment Weekend by the Office of Vocations. The vocation team led by Fr. Jim Berning, Br. Bernie Dube, and Fr. Dennis Hartigan hosted a special large contingent of high schoolers and young adult men who participated in the winter Come and See held at Don Bosco Residence from February 5-7.  The program provided the participants with fruitful Oratorian interaction with Salesian life in a variety of ways through ice-breakers, community-building games, festive meals, prayers, vocations stories, and even an engaging in-door soccer recreation at the Our Lady of the Valley Gym.  Given our overnight accommodations with the Salvatorian Fathers Monastery in Verona, NJ, the panoramic scenic overview of New York City was the “awesome” cap to the weekend as stated by the participants.

There was a diverse group of participants in attendance that brought members of the Salesian family from all over. The young men who made the journey to attend were:
Francis Vu of Allen, TX
Timothy Ripka of Salesian High School
Tommy Stika and Kevin White of Don Bosco Preparatory High School
Nikolas Filice of Toronto
Jonathan Rafael, Christopher Espinoza, Santos Rivera, Jude Eguia, and Dhivyan Grille of Don Bosco Christo Ray, Washington DC. 

The vocation team helped to foster an oratory environment that enabled the participants to feel right at home and aided them to search for the manner in which God was calling them to pursue their heart’s desire.  Nevertheless, an additional twist was added to this discernment weekend.  Tommy Stika, who made the discernment weekend earlier last October, was asked to be a young discernment team member.  The fact that Tommy shared from his own lived experience allowed the other participants to relate with a fellow journeyer on the same path of discernment.

The “take home” experience for many of the participants was a resounding sense of community.  The fraternal life from the weekend attracted the discerners to really consider Salesian life, an integral aspect of our living that is a centerpiece in General Chapter 27. As we thank God for the opportunity to facilitate the needs of these discernment participants through prayer, community, and understanding the Salesian charism, let us all commit to promoting the next discernment program scheduled for the Easter Tridium from March 24-26, 2016.  There will be an informational flyer posted soon!