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Diocesan Church Highlights - Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting, May 18, 2002 Sister Roselle Zollar to celebrate 50th anniversary as a SSND Father Ernest H. Muellerleile dies at the age of 82 U.S./Canada delegates attend 3rd Continental Congress on Vocations
Parish Life Entering into full communion in the Catholic Church Soul Food Series Lecture - Is Conscience Enough?
Special Report Father Alexander Berghold Committee launches Capital Campaign for historical memorial park
Education Diocesan Lay Ministry Scholarship recipients announced 44th Annual Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Convention
Worship & Spiritual Life Catholic Family Bible Camp in August
Calendar June Formation & Education Calendar
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Diocese of New Ulm - June 2002 by Mark Steffl What does a call from God to the priesthood or religious life sound like? This is a good question, and there are many possible answers to this question. When one considers a call from God, usually the great calls of the Old and New Testament come to mind. Many of the great saints had marvelous calls. Saint Paul received his call on his way to persecute Christians. We read: On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, why are you persecuting me?' He said, 'Who are you, sir?' the reply came, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do" (Acts 9:3-6). The "Call of Matthew" is another extraordinary call, one that resonates in a special way for me. As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him (Matt 9:9). Matthew must have been quite taken with Jesus, and indeed, there is no mistaking the clarity of this call. "If I could just be sure that God is calling me to a vocation. If He would just give me a sign." Not all the calls that God makes are this unmistakable and succinct as those of Paul and Matthew. The prophet Samuel in the Old Testament was called in the silence of the night. At that time Samuel was not familiar with the Lord because the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet. The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am, you called me." Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, 'Speak, O Lord, your servant is listening" (1 Sam). Therefore, in evaluating a call, it is important to be mindful of the fact that some calls are as clear as the "Call of Paul" or the "Call of Matthew," but for each of those, there are thousands of calls that are more subdued like the "Call of Samuel." In discerning a call to the priesthood or religious life, do not discount the small things. Sometimes the "call" can become clear in one particular moment, or sometimes it can take years to develop or unfold. Perhaps a comment was made to you by a priest who thought you would make a good priest or sister. Perhaps your parents suggested the idea to you. Or perhaps someone you don't know has suggested the idea of a vocation to you unexpectedly. I often think about the lovely lady in my home parish, who, for many years would come up to me and grab my hand and put a very precisely folded dollar bill in it and tell me to put it towards the seminary! If you have a small inclination in your heart, follow it, explore it, and most importantly, pray about it. Kneel in front of Jesus in the Eucharist and say to Him, "Lord, if it is your will that I follow a call to the priesthood or religious life, I am ready to go." Or perhaps more eloquently in the words of young Samuel thousands of years before us, "Speak O Lord, your servant is listening." The Holy Father in a book he wrote in 1996, Gift and Mystery, describes his call to the priesthood. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. The Holy Father says, "But looking at the fuller picture, I clearly see that a number of other situations and individuals had a positive influence on me, and that God was using them to make his voice heard." (pg. 19). The Holy Father goes on to talk about the role his family, his co-workers in a stone quarry, and his parish priests had in his discernment. All these people played a part in helping him to develop a call to the priesthood, and ultimately to the Chair of Peter that he now holds as Pope. Just as all of these people shaped his priestly vocation, so too, today the same is happening throughout the world and specifically in the Diocese of New Ulm! Parents, ask your children to consider a priestly or religious vocation! Parishioners, do not be afraid to ask young men and women to consider vocations! Finally, if, through prayer you might have a call to the priesthood or religious life, answer Jesus' invitation. "Come, and you will see!" (John 1:38) Seminaries frequently have weekends dedicated to giving young men an idea of what seminary life is like, and religious communities have similar opportunities for young men and women to come and experience their way of life. They are great ways to introduce and open one's self to a more comprehensive idea of a life dedicated in a very special way to the service of God's People. Mark Steffl is a seminarian from St. Mary, New Ulm. He is currently in his second year of theology studies at the North American College in Rome.
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