Seeking Vocations Through Our Lady

         Our faith teaches us that Mary, the Holy Mother, is always interceding for us, always guiding us to grow closer to God through the ways of her sacred son, Jesus. It is fitting when we pray, we ask the Blessed Mother to help guide those who are discerning to fully listen to and follow Gods call. Br. Sal Sammarco and I had the opportunity to do just that at a location quite appropriately named for Our Lady. We  drove to Ave Maria University from St. Philip Benizi Church in Belle Glade Florida to attend the annual Vocations Fest celebration on April 13.  This Catholic university located in sunny south Florida is a community-based school with an enrollment of 1,100 students. The admissions process brings in about 100 new students each year, but strives to maintain a more personal approach to higher education than many universities.

        The Vocation Fest helps to facilitate student intentionality in discerning a vocation to the priesthood, religious life, marriage, lay missions, or consecrated secular life.  Thirty religious and diocesan institutes attended the day to meet and greet students.  In addition, students from a local high school and some home-school students came to participate from the Ave Maria community. 

              By sharing an exhibit booth with the FMA vocation director, Sr. Theresa Lee, we kept the students engaged through conversation, carnival styled games, and faithful joy.

        Br. Sal’s friendly approach and creativity captivated audiences of all ages throughout the day.  It was enriching to witness how, like Don Bosco, he could strike up interest and conversations about life and faith through just a happy hello.    

         The Fest concluded with a barbecue, live music, testimonials, and brief talks by vocation directors and lay coordinators describing their founders, their charisms, and their ministries. For sure, the faith-based community of Ave Maria offered an environment that was essential to the promotion and nurturing of vocations.  Don Bosco once said, “Be devoted to Mary, most holy; frequently call on her. Never was it known that anyone who trustingly had recourse to her was not promptly heard.” This was feeling I left the campus of Ave Maria with has I prayed for an increase to vocations and the guidance in continuing to minister.

Encountering the Faith as a Community

           While many tend to travel to Florida for fun in the sun or the thrills of attractions such as Disney World and the Everglades, there is a growing number of Catholics who travel to Florida for a faith encounter. It is in those trips that many come to know Christ or to grow deeper in their faith through moments of fellowship, prayer, and Adoration. For the fourth consecutive year, thousands gathered at the Florida Eucharistic Congress for prayer, worship, keynote addresses, and breakout sessions that were geared for all who attended. Held on March 11-12 at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in Jacksonville, FL, the congress brought families together, religious men and women, and young people for a powerful two days which included some highlights like: a dramatic presentation of the Living Stations by the men and women of Comunita Cenacolo; and the presence of Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, who delivered the main keynote address and presided at the liturgy.   

Br. Branden Gordon and I worked at the vocation booth in the exhibit hall with gaming, arts & crafts, and educating congress attendees about our Salesian life.  Besides the local Floridians, we met a host of people from our Salesian family that came from New Jersey & New York, California, Europe, and Central America.  They related joy-filled stories of being affiliated with our camps, schools, and experiences they had during the Don Bosco relic tour.
 

            The Eucharistic Congress in Jacksonville continues to shape Catholics communally through faith, education, and prayer. Seen in a Salesian context, the Florida Congress expressed the Oratorian criteria:  a home that builds the ecclesial family, an education grounded in the catechesis of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a lived faith encounter of the Passion of Christ through the Living Stations.

Rejoice - Rebirth - Renew

Thirty Salesians gathered at Bethany Center in Lutz, Florida from last week for their annual retreat. And being among that number- surrounded by my fellow Salesian brothers was a blessing through and through.  The Bethany Center, owned by the Diocese of St. Petersburg, is home to 200 acres of protected wildlife and game.  Toward the end of our retreat, an alligator, which grew curious about us, hunkered down just thirty feet from our cottage. This brought an entirely literal meaning to communing with nature.

The preacher for our retreat, Fr. Manuel Camilleri, SDB chose the theme to be, “Rejoice-Rebirth-Renew”. This theme sought to remind and recommit us to our callings as Salesians during the Bicentennial of St. John Bosco’s birth. Early on in the retreat, Fr. Manuel pointed out the need for balancing what had occurred in our lives over the last year with conversion. Through this process that leads us to be more accepting of our daily crosses, we were called to think of Jesus and his example of steadfast faith even in the face of trials.  Conversion, in turn, opens us up to an attitude of renewal so that we can listen attentively to The Word and place God as a protected sanctuary of our lives.

Conversion also takes us from one way of looking at life to look at life in another way. That is to say, we move from being focused inward and on the self, to looking outwardly and seeing our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Through conversion we are also moved to open hearts and embrace positivity in place of the negativity that is sometimes all around us.  Luke the evangelist identifies how Martha was moved from negative to positive energy by looking at life through the lens of contemplation (10: 38-42).  For Martha, conversion became the way to take in the Lord’s presence in her life, and then take His presence to others. 

I walked away from the retreat experience with a deeper understanding of how I can use my own conversion to find moments to rejoice in my vocation each day. Though we all may accept and carry our daily crosses in all that we do, like Don Bosco we must remember that true joy lies in the love of God and doing the ordinary extraordinarily well.