VOCATION NEWS: “Come & See” Weekend

“Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” As part of our Redemptorist Vocation ministry, on the last weekend of October (26-29), eleven men joined us at our pre-novitiate formation house, Bronx, NY, to participate in our yearly “Come and See” program. We had five men come from our Denver province and six men from our Baltimore province.

Prior to all of us gathering in the Bronx for Mass at 4:30pm on Thursday, October 26, as Vocation Directors, Fr. Peter and I participated in the Vocation Fair that was sponsored by the Vincentians on the campus of St. John’s University. The program went from 10:00 – 3:00 p.m. and with other religious orders we set up our vocation booth on one of the main campus walkways. A good flow of student traffic. The weather was perfect and it was a great opportunity to witness with other religious orders, men and women, to the presence of the consecrated life in the church. Our students attending St. John’s were able between classes to stop by the booth and also to bring fellow classmates to hear a little bit more about the Redemptorists, our charism and mission.

I would say that the main grace of such a Vocation Fair Day is to show a presence and a witness to the students, however active/ inactive they are in their faith life. To witness to the consecrated life as religious sisters, brothers and priests. It is also a grace moment for ourselves as religious to witness to one another our living and sharing this consecrated life.

As mentioned, we all made our way to the Bronx on Thursday, the 26th as our men from the Baltimore province came from Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, DC and Florida. From Denver province, four men came from Seattle and one from New York.

Fr. Peter Sousa, one of the formators for our pre-novitiate program presided at the opening Thursday Mass with Vocation Directors Fr. Chuong Cao, Fr. Peter Linh Nguyen and Fr. Denis Sweeney concelebrating. Following our dinner meal, we again gathered at 7:00 p.m. in community chapel for Holy Hour. For the overnights during these days, because of our numbers, our Denver candidates stayed at the Bronx house with Fr. Chuong Cao and our Baltimore candidates stayed in the Brooklyn Guest House with Fr. Peter and Fr. Denis.

Friday had us gathering for Morning Prayer at 7:00 a.m. before heading back to St. John’s campus so the candidates could sit in on one of the classes our students are attending. Because of our numbers our students were able to get them into three different classes that all ran from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.. Again, the day brought beautiful weather to tour some of the campus before getting back to the Bronx for lunch. The afternoon was set up so that our eleven candidates could sit down with the two Redemptorist formators who are in charge of this stage of formation. Information was passed along about day-to-day life in the formation house, prayer schedule, house jobs responsibilities and a general sense of the human, spiritual, community, pastoral and academic dimensions that embody the Redemptorist formation program at this early stage and indeed for all of our life as Redemptorists. 

Following Mass and dinner, we took to the New York City subway system so we could visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral and then later Times Square. It is truly a city that never sleeps and the lights of Broadway do bring an energy and excitement as you take it all in. Thanks be to God we got back safely to the Bronx and Brooklyn and offered thanks to God for the blessings of the day.

Saturday, October 28th took us to our San Alfonso Retreat House on the Atlantic Ocean. Again, picture perfect weather as we arrived for our Retreat Day. Our students in the Bronx come here on a Saturday each month to leave the hustle and bustle of the Bronx, the noise of the city, and take in this “oasis” for quiet space, for the magnificence of the ocean and to walk with God along the shore. We were delighted to have Fr. Anthony Michalik, C.Ss.R. for our two conferences. Fr. Anthony is newly assigned here. In his conferences he shared his vocation story and it struck a chord with many of the men as his story was one of his many, many years search in coming to follow Jesus as a Redemptorist and as a priest. The day certainly offered to our candidates blessed moments of quiet reflection in their discernment time and to hear the voice of God in the beauty of such a place.

Sunday brought us Mass at 7:30 a.m in the Retreat House chapel with Fr. Denis presiding and Fr. Peter Linh preaching. His message was opening ourselves to the voice of God and not to be afraid to “Come and Follow” in the footsteps of Jesus. After a good Sunday breakfast, the time came for departures. For our students it was back to the Bronx. For others a ride to the airport or to the train station or a car ride back home.

 As Vocation Directors we give thanks and praise to God for this time of accompaniment in these men’s lives. We have allowed them to experience life with Redemptorists and to afford them this time in their life to walk with God and to talk with God and to see if this Redemptorist vocation brings peace and a sense of belonging to the consecrated life. Of course, we will continue to accompany them, to be helpful in their discernment any way we can, and to pray the powerful intercession of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, of our founder St. Alphonsus, of St. John Neumann and all of our Redemptorists Saints, Blessed and Martyrs to intercede for them.

For all of you reading this, pray daily for Vocations to the religious life and to the priesthood, to the Redemptorists. Pray each day especially for Vocations. And say a word of encouragement to those you see in family life, in parish life that you feel have a religious vocation within them. Say a word of encouragement to them!!