Catholic Kermit

Yesterday (Monday) and today, we did “Vocation Talks” at Catholic high schools.  I, along with Nick and Fenley, spent the day at Archbishop McCarthy High School (AMHS) giving talks in theology classes about the vocations to Priesthood and Religious Life … mainly our personal testimonies of how we came to be in seminary.  There are about a dozen other seminary brothers doing the same thing at other Catholic high schools throughout the Archdiocese of Miami … all in an effort to promote Vocations.

The day was GREAT!  We were well received by all students and teachers with some excellent questions about vocations ranging from general to personal questions on our own discernment journey.  Each of us did about 8 to 10 talks throughout the day … I did fewer than the others cuz I spoke over my 10 to 15 minutes … 🙂 … but we eventually covered all students of the school over the two day period.

We started the day off with Mass with Fr Chris Bartos.  Fairly new to giving our vocation testimonies, we were a bit nervous about sharing out life journeys, but managed to connect with the teenagers very quickly.  The questions ranged from the simple (like “Can you still play paintball when you become a priest?” — my most common questions of the day) to the more challenging (like “How do you know where you’ll be assigned when you become a priest?” and “Why would someone choose to be a diocesen priest over a religious priest?”) to the super personal (like “Are you afraid you may want to get married after becoming a priest?”).  We could definitely feel the attention they gave toward Catholic vocations in their thought provoking questions and comments.

Thank you to the Serra Club for arranging the talks and the staff at Archbishop McCarthy High School for their great hospitality … with extra-special thanks to Fr Chris Bartos and the students who walked us around the beautiful campus as our “guides” each day [there were more than just in the pictures].  They all helped to make it an effective experience and lots of fun!  — Thanks again!

An AWESOME day full of graces, blessings and growth in the Kingdom of God!  — Lunch in their new cafeteria was awesome too … 🙂