Thirty-nine young men from the diocese attended the annual Quo Vadis vocations retreat during the final week of July at the Pontifical College Josephinum for three days of activities that included prayer and contemplation while seeking to hear God’s voice in their hearts.
The Latin phrase Quo Vadis is translated to mean “Where are you going?” The theme of the retreat is to help the high school-age men discern the Lord’s calling in their lives.
“Obviously, it’s focused on the priesthood, but it’s also about growing closer to Jesus in being with Him and being one of His disciples,” said diocesan seminarian Sam Severence, who is entering his second year of theology at the Josephinum and organized the event.
“We know that not all of these guys are going to be priests, but we need more priests so we’re opening the door for them to think about how Jesus is calling them into His life and into deeper union with Him.”
Similar vocations retreats are held in other dioceses throughout the country for high school and college students who might be discerning a call to religious life.
Diocesan seminarians help lead the activities for the young men at the retreat. Attendees participate in games, listen to talks about faith and seminary life, and attend Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, community prayers and Mass.
“The Quo Vadis retreat is a great opportunity for young men to have an experience with seminarians so they can visualize what they may be called to,” said Father William Hahn, diocesan vocations director.
“Having the retreat at the seminary keeps it from being such a foreign idea and makes it more concrete as to what it might be like for them.
“Also, the flow of prayer and talks gives the boys the opportunity for them to be apart from their everyday lives and to listen more clearly.”
The young men also could talk one-on-one with the seminarians. In addition, Father Hahn and Father Brian O’Connor, the associate director of vocations, were available to describe the seminary process and discernment.
Bishop Earl Fernandes attended Vespers on Sunday evening at the start of the retreat and returned on Wednesday to celebrate a closing Mass and join the young men and their parents for lunch.
He asked the participants to consider their plans for their lives and how their hearts might be directed.
“We have to recognize the reality of our personal situation and of the world around us,” he said. “We also have to interpret what we recognize in order to know what is good, including faith which comes to us from the Gospel, through the liturgy, through prayer, and which has been transmitted through our families. Sometimes things are truly mysterious, and we have to begin to interpret them in the light of faith.”
The second part of discernment is to choose to say “yes” to God, Bishop Fernandes told the group.
“Think about Mary when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her,” he said. “She had to think: ‘Is this angel really from God?’ And she had to use her mind: ‘How can this happen to me since I do not know a man?’ But she used her reason and said also, ‘Let it be done to me according to your Word.’”
The bishop pointed out that Mary listened to the Word of God and lived a life of prayer that helped inspire her as the mother of God, and Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, had to choose after Gabriel appeared to him between his earthly plans and God’s greater plan to be the guardian of the Redeemer.
“Mary and Joseph’s path wasn’t clear,” Bishop Fernandes said. “We are similar in that sense. We have to recognize, to interpret, and, with prayer and discernment, we choose.
“Mary and Joseph were simple people who had great faith, and they said ‘yes’ to God. And so, we try to follow in their footsteps.”
