Joyful Witness / Kimberly Pohovey

Listen: God calls each of us to encourage vocations

It’s interesting how life comes full circle.

I sat in the gymnasium at my son’s school during the senior awards ceremony. Toward the culmination of the program, they introduced senior Liam Hosty as the recipient of their highest spiritual award, named for the school’s namesake, Angelo Roncalli, who became Pope John XXIII. It was explained that the following year he planned to attend Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis to discern a priestly vocation. As Liam made his way to the stage, the entire senior class spontaneously rose to their feet, clapping enthusiastically, giving him a standing ovation.

At the time, I did not know Liam. But I was moved by the support of his peers and the courage he had to decide to enter seminary. I brushed away tears thinking that the Church needs more young men like him, open to discerning a vocation.

At the same time, the Church also needs more people, like you and me, to support vocations. I remember wondering to myself, “What should I be doing?”

That thought stuck with me when, later that fall, I embarked on a new job working for the archdiocese. One of my new responsibilities was to support the marketing and development efforts of Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary.

Three years ago, I knew little about the seminary. Since that time, working with the staff and seminarians at Bruté has become one of the greatest joys of my career.

There are many misconceptions about a seminary. I have found Bruté to be a happy place, full of your typical college-aged young men who live in fraternity, play sports, pray daily, joke around, and are engaged students at nearby Marian University. The difference is that they are publicly declaring their willingness to listen carefully and pray unceasingly for God to direct their lives. Truly, shouldn’t we all be doing that?

When I am at Bruté, I feel an overwhelming sense of peace, joy and God’s presence. When I work with staff members there, I am in awe of their commitment to growing vocations. When I interact with seminarians, I am left with an enthusiastic hope for the future of our Church.

When I began my work with the seminary, my first initiative was to increase awareness of its existence. Many Catholics throughout our archdiocese have never heard of Bruté seminary. I felt the best way to market the seminary was by involving the seminarians who benefit from its formation mission. I created a seminarian marketing committee who help me brainstorm ideas, write blogs and newsletter articles, and take photos and video. I love working with these seminarians who are intelligent, creative, authentic and just plain fun.

The seminarian leading the committee this year is, yes, senior Liam Hosty. I have had the privilege of watching him grow and mature through his years at Bruté. As he embarks on his final year and inevitably discerns whether he will continue on to major seminary, I harken back to that day in his high school gym when hundreds of students rose to their feet in homage to his decision to discern priesthood.

What would happen if every young man who even has an inkling of becoming a priest received that kind of affirmation? What would happen if each of us prayed for an increase in vocations or did something tangible to support vocations?
 

(Kimberly Pohovey is a member of St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis. She is the director of mission advancement for Archdiocesan Education Initiatives.) †