For many people, the priest is the one whom people go to for their spiritual needs, for prayer requests, for Mass offerings, and other sacraments. Have you ever wondered how a priest is sustained spiritually for the work they do? Should we be praying for a priest as...
Vocation
The Question All Catholic Parents Need To Ask Themselves About Their Child’s Vocation
I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day and he asked me where my fourteen-year-old son was at with his discernment of the priesthood. He wanted to know what I was doing to encourage him to be open to this vocation. My initial response was….to cringe. ...
This Is What A Catholic Priest Of 50 Years Wants Today’s New Priests To Know
Fifty years is a lifetime for most people. Fifty years in the same profession is almost incomprehensible in the modern age. Priesthood, however, is not a career. It is a vocation, and one that a priest takes seriously. As a lifelong commitment, it is akin to marriage,...
The Documentary FREE Shows Us What We Can Learn From Monks And Nuns
Very few films have captured the cloistered life. Typically, those who are vowed behind enclosure do not wish to have their life broadcasted to the world. Perhaps the last popular film was Into Great Silence, and if memory serves, it took months, if not several...
3 Simple Ways To Help Children Learn About And Foster Vocations
God is calling your child to be a saint. But how? Which vocation will He lead them to? Teaching your children to listen to God’s call in their lives and uncover how He wants them to love and to serve Him in this world is a great gift. There are a few simple things we...
How Is A Catholic Marriage With God At The Center Different?
Marriage is truly an adventure that requires careful packing. After saying "yes," you leave your childhood home, bid your farewells, say your see-you-laters (definitely not goodbyes), pack your entire life into a handful of suitcases, and embark on a new journey with...
The Advice You Need To Discern Your Vocation
There are really two camps when it comes to discernment. On the one side, some believe that discernment is discovering what is the will of God so they can do it, and on the other side, some believe essentially that a person’s vocation is just a free-willed response to...
5 Excuses That People Often Make When Discerning A Religious Vocation
The moment when we start to ask and pray, "What is God calling me to do?" in regard to a religious vocation can be intimidating. However, discovering the vocation that God has intended for each of us is something marvelous. It's truly wonderful... but that doesn't...
Making The Most Of Mother’s Day: Queen For A Day…Or Not
As Mother’s Day approaches, if you have a house full of kids, like I did ten years ago, you may be trying to keep expectations low. You doubt as to whether your loved ones will show you appreciation in any significant way on this day traditionally devoted to honoring...
Fr. Rob – History of the Priesthood with Fr. Joe Rampino Part 3
Fr. Joe Rampino discusses the priesthood in the context of rural chapels.
4 Lessons I Learned In Seminary That Help Me In Marriage
Four years ago, my future seemed clear to me. I thought I’d spend my days living in small-town Minnesota and ministering to country parishes as their priest. I love my home state, and I love the people there very much, but God had other plans. After...
What I Wish I Knew When I Left The Seminary
It was December 24th, 2019, and I was on my way to Rochester, Minnesota to serve at the Christmas Vigil Mass at our co-Cathedral for my Bishop, John Quinn. I showed up early to get things set up, but I was distracted like a teenage boy trying to clean his room. My...
60 Seconds: God’s Plan
Yes, discernment can be tricky, but we already know His plan for us. Dont know what that is? Tune in and find out.
5 Things Catholics Should Look For In A Mentor
Mentors have been an instrumental part of my life. While I was in high school, the college advisor did little to motivate me to pursue the first college of my choice. It was Helen who guided me through the process that ultimately helped me get accepted. After college,...
An Inside Look At How The Knights Of The Holy Eucharist Encourage Individual Spirituality
Since Pope Francis became pope, the way of life and the spirituality of Franciscans have received closer attention. With the pope’s announcement of the Year of St. Joseph, there has been even more focus on the spiritual life of...
Just Don’t Ask Me To Be A Sister Or A Priest! | Encouragement For The Reluctant Discerner
God, I’ll do anything you want, just don’t ask me to be a Sister (or a Priest)! That was the first thing both of us thought when we found ourselves pursuing God’s plan for our lives. We were ready to do something radical and bring Christ’s love to a needy world, but...
8 Practical Ways To Be A Catholic School That Promotes Vocations
Did you know that studies consistently show that 70% of the newly ordained first heard the call to the priesthood between birth and 18 years of age? (1) At the risk of stating the obvious, these are the prime educational years for faith formation. Children should...
Ordinary Work Is An Expression Of Prayer | Kimberly Hahn
Graced and Gifted with Kimberly Hahn || Biblical Wisdom for the Homemaker's Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuAFxl-oW0A Catholic homemaking done well creates a domestic church, where your home becomes a sacred space to live out your vocation. Kimberly Hahn is a...
7 Things Not To Say To Someone Discerning A Religious Vocation
Open foot, insert mouth. Wait. I mean the other way around. Fr. Michael Zimmerman here, assistant director at Vocations Boston. I’ve probably said a few items on this list myself, and I’ve been on the receiving end of far more, but how can we actually encourage...
This Order Founded By Mother Angelica Is Calling Young Men To Become Saints
“It’s times like these when God is going to call great saints to come forth, and beyond any doubt, you were called to be one," says Brother Angelo in the new vocations video for the Knights of the Holy Eucharist. The Vocation To The Religious Life...
Better Than Happy: The Joy Of Your True Calling
I was a postulant with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity when I learned that there is a difference between being happy and being joyful. Up until then, I had thought the terms were interchangeable. Someone could be happy being able to see their friends. A...
A Vocation Story: On The Path of Love
“And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) Growing up I had never been around religious sisters as my entire education was in the public schools, and it was not until I was an undergraduate in college that one...
A Seminarian Shares 5 Ways To Support Your Parish Seminarian
Summer months allow for seminarians to spend time in parishes and embrace pastoral and apostolic work more readily. Many priests recall lasting, grace-filled lessons, friendships, and memories that began on summer assignments or in home parishes as seminarians.As...
Class of 2020 This Is Your Time
"The road may not be the direct route you were hoping for, but direct routes are rarely fulfilling or transformative. God thinks too highly of you to rush the divine work he is doing in your life." Read the full letter here. Use this video to start discussion with the...
Three Thoughts From A Priest About Quarantine
You are missed. In his magnificent biography of Saint John Paul II, George Weigel writes that to Father Karol Wojtyła, “a priest without a parish was a vocational absurdity.” A priest is ordained to be a man for others, “to go from men to God and offer Him their...