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FSSP-led Vocational Discernment Programme for single Catholic women, hosted by Tyburn Convent on 13 April 2024, attended by 24 participants.
The Diocese of Rockford Vocations Office held the first annual Discernment Day for men between the ages of 16-35 who may be considering the priesthood.
The bishop gathers with and blesses the St Anthony's Varsity Lacrosse just before their season opener and shortly before mass. LI Catholic Youth Day was held at St Anthony’s High School in So. Huntington on Saturday March 30th, 2019. Bishop John Barres celebrated holy mass with priests of the diocese, seminarians, religious and the young church of Long Island in the Franciscan Chapel on campus. The young attendees heard about discernment and prayer, and experiencing God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Penance.
Peacemaking circles allow those who have experienced trauma to share their stories in a safe space, build solidarity, and begin to heal.
Photo courtesy of Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation.
Read article at: issuu.com/visionvocationguide/docs/2022_vision/94
Praise everybody, praise nobody.
— Samuel Johnson
Typeface: Palomino Script Regular
Merchandise available: www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/121445321
Praise everybody, praise nobody.
— Samuel Johnson
Typeface: Palomino Script Regular
Merchandise available: www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/121446324
Father Luis Romero, C.M.
Photo courtesy of St. John’s University.
Read article at: issuu.com/visionvocationguide/docs/2022_vision/104
This summer, our parish was blessed to host our very first Totus Tuus Catholic summer youth program. What a gift it was to witness our parish come alive with the joy of the Gospel.
Led by a team of three energetic missionaries (one being a seminarian for the Diocese of Grand Rapids) Totus Tuus is dedicated to helping young people encounter Jesus Christ and grow in their Catholic faith.
Throughout the week, our grade school and high school students dove deeper into the beauty of the Catholic faith through engaging catechesis centered on the Eucharist, Sacred Scripture, the Catechism, and vocational discernment. Each day included Mass, confession, adoration, lively games, music, skits, prayer, and opportunities to build lasting friendships rooted in Christ.
The name Totus Tuus, meaning "Totally or All Yours," was the personal motto of Pope St. John Paul II, expressing how he completed entrusted himself and his life to Jesus through the Blessed Virgin Mary. As we watched our young people throughout the week, we were reminded that this is the heart of the Christian life: to belong completely to Christ.
May the seeds planted during Totus Tuus continue to bear fruit, helping each of us who participated to joyfully live out the Gospel with our lives.
here are three photos, perhaps upside down, depicting three people? Two in front, announcing the person who is to come? And what is the person's purpose? This was my discernment of the photo.
Heedfulness Or Hypocrisy In Ourselves?
"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death." [1 John 5:16]
If we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us, becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him yourself. One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede. Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors. Hallelujah, God bless
__________
Sister Liz McGill, I.H.M.
Photo courtesy of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Read article at: visionvocationguide/docs/2021_vision/109
With support from Presbyterians Sharing, Two Rivers Church (TRC) in Guelph, Ontario, is exploring creative new ways of being the church. Two values that support their purpose of “inviting all to come alive in Christ” are “face-to-face church” and “every voice matters.” These commitments have literally shaped the way the congregation worships God. TRC’s Living Room and Liturgical practices invite people into circles and semi-circles to be seen and heard. Opportunity for conversation, asking and answering questions, offering testimony, and sharing in discernment of the Spirit’s voice creates space for the whole body of Christ at TRC to participate in worship and mission.
Sister Marsha Speth, S.P. (left) and Providence Associate candidate Mary Gemma take a walk during a retreat of the Providence Associates.
Photo courtesy of Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, In.
Read article at: issuu.com/visionvocationguide/docs/2022_vision/44
Father Honest Munishi, C.S.Sp. with a First Communion group at St. Edward Parish in Baltimore.
Photo courtesy of Father Honest Munishi, C.S.Sp.
Read article at: visionvocationguide/docs/2024_vision/86
Praise everybody, praise nobody.
— Samuel Johnson
Typeface: Palomino Script Regular
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Fourteenth Station - The Body of Jesus is buried
"Oh, my buried Jesus, I kiss the stone that encloses Thee. But Thou didst rise again the third day. I beseech Thee, by Thy resurrection, make me rise glorious with Thee at the last day, to be always united with Thee in heaven, to praise Thee and love Thee forever. I love Thee, and I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt."
-Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, C.Ss.R.
Chặng Thứ Mười Bốn - Đức Chúa Kitô vào huyệt đá
"Lạy Đức Chúa Giêsu đã chịu táng xác trong huyệt đá, con kính hôn viên đá mồ Chúa. Ngày thứ ba Chúa đã sống lại và ra khỏi mồ vinh hiển. Ôi! Cậy vì công nghiệp cuộc khổ nạn và phục sinh của Chúa, xin cho con ngày sau được sống lại vinh hiển cũng Chúa, mà lên Thiên đàng hưởng mặt Chúa và yêu mến Chúa muôn đồi. Amen. Lạy Chúa Giêsu là Đấng con yêu mến, con yêu mến Chúa, con yêu Chúa hơn hết mình con, và bởi con yêu mến Chúa, thì con hết lòng ăn năn đau đớn vì đã làm mất lòng Chúa. Xin Chúa chớ để con lìa mất Chúa. Xin hãy làm cho con yêu mến Chúa hơn. Xin giúp con biết phó thác đời mình trong bàn tây nhân từ của Chúa.”
-Thánh Anphongsô Maria de Liguori, C.Ss.R.
The tents in the background are set up by pilgrims for the annual Marian Days celebration, and I think it adds a little more atmosphere to the stations by not necessarily being silent but instead the feeling of a community praying with us in a way. That is a stretch and a little teasing, but I don't mind them as much as other people might.
Những căn lều ở phía sau được những người hành hương dựng lên trong dịp Ngày Thánh Mẫu hàng năm, và mình nghĩ nó tạo thêm bầu không khí cho các Chặng bằng cách không nhất thiết phải im lặng mà thay vào đó là cảm giác của một cộng đồng đang cầu nguyện với chúng ta theo một cách nào đó. Nói đùa thôi, nhưng mình không bận tâm đến họ nhiều như những người khác có thế.
This final Station of the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) is found along Calvary Hill Park on the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer campus in Carthage, Missouri. Please pray for my brothers and me, who are entering discernment of religious life with the Congregation this year, that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph may be our guides and help us to find our calling.
Trạm cuối cùng của Via Crucis (Đường Thánh Giá) này được tìm thấy dọc theo Công viên Đồi Canvê trong khuôn viên Dòng Mẹ Chúa Cứu Chuộc ở Carthage, Missouri. Xin hãy cầu nguyện cho anh em tôi và tôi, những người đang bước vào việc phân định đời sống tu trì với Dòng năm nay, để Chúa Giêsu, Mẹ Maria và Thánh Cả Giuse có thể hướng dẫn chúng ta và giúp chúng ta tìm thấy ơn gọi của mình.
Sisters belonging to the Korea Province of Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill serve Korean food during a Lunar New Year celebration at the community’s motherhouse in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Photo by Lynn Wagner, courtesy of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Read article at: visionvocationguide/docs/2024_vision/52/a>
Sister Arrianne Whittaker, S.P. ministers as a medical doctor in Indianapolis and belongs to the Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Photo courtesy of Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, In.
Read article at visionvocationguide/docs/2021_vision/26.
www.cagnz.org/the-coming-of-the-Messiah.html
Why Did the Jews Yearn for the Coming of the Messiah yet Oppose Him When He Truly Came?
By Xia Wei
The Pharisees, chief priests, and scribes were all the leaders of the religious world that held authority, prestige and position; they appeared pious, were well-versed in the Bible, were very familiar with the law, and served God in the temple for generations. Because the Jews worshiped power and status, they thought that, since the chief priests, scribes and the Pharisees had believed in God for a long time and had read the Bible for many years, they must be able to recognize the Messiah when He came, and thereby following them would not be wrong. Thus when the blind and ignorant Pharisees relied on their own imagination and conceptions to deny that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah and even to condemn and blaspheme the Lord Jesus, the Jews followed them in doing the same. Just as when the Pharisees said that the Lord Jesus cast out devils through Beelzebub, chief of the devils, the Jews thought that their condemnations couldn’t possibly be wrong, and thus followed them to condemn Him. Jews Yearn for the Coming of the Messiah yet Oppose HimEven when the chief priests yelled out to nail the Lord Jesus to the cross, the Jews still blindly played along with them, as recorded in John 19:6–7, “When the chief priests therefore and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him. Pilate said to them, Take you Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault in Him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” The Jews did not apply their discernment to what the chief priests said. When the chief priests said that Jesus should be crucified, the Jews chimed in and used the law to convict Him, following the chief priests in resisting God. And they even made the vow that the sin would be on them and their descendants, with the result that their offspring fled to countries around the world and many of them were killed.
Image Source: Daily Devotionals
Source from: Our Daily Devotionals
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St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison, Kansas welcomed these men as novices and invited them to a year of further study, prayer, and work in the community.
Photo CHRIS BRONSON/CHRIS BRONSON PHOTOGRAPHY.
Read article at: issuu.com/visionvocationguide/docs/2022_vision/54
Praise everybody, praise nobody.
— Samuel Johnson
Typeface: Palomino Script Regular
Merchandise available: www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/121445321
Brother Charles Manning, O.S.B. wears the cuculla, the garment of a monk in solemn vows. The cuculla is worn on Sundays, feast days, and other festive occasions. The monk is clothed in the cuculla on the day of his solemn profession. He is also buried in it as a sign of his life in the monastery,
Photo by Anne Stephens, Benedictine Oblate of St. Bernard Abbey, courtesy of St. Bernard Abbey
Read article at: visionvocationguide/docs/2024_vision/80
Sister Ana Gonzalez, O.P. shows off a book she read to elementary school students as part of a National Reading Day celebration.
Photo courtesy of Sister Ana Gonzalez, O.P.
Read article at: issuu.com/visionvocationguide/docs/2022_vision/84
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Brother Brian Poulin, F.M.S. is a vocation minister for the Marist Brothers USA.
Photo courtesy of Brother Brian Poulin, F.M.S.
Read article at: issuu.com/visionvocationguide/docs/2022_vision/73
Desire rarely introduces itself as a democratic process. It does not wait to be voted on. It does not stand at the threshold of the self asking whether it may enter. It appears first as arrival, as inclination, as orientation, as a subtle but unmistakable shift in the body toward something not yet possessed and perhaps not yet fully named. This image attempts to hold that strange and humbling reality. The man stands in the hallway, composed in posture, outwardly restrained, but already bent inwardly toward something beyond the frame. Nothing visible explains his orientation. The object of desire remains hidden. That absence matters. The image is not about the thing wanted. It is about the experience of finding oneself already turned.
That distinction belongs to the lived-world of Confessions to the Empty Chair. The book does not treat desire as a neat sequence in which a sovereign self calmly surveys options and then chooses one. Again and again, its world reveals desire as something encountered before it is managed. The heart is often affected before it is articulate. The imagination is already occupied before the intellect arranges its defense. Longing is not first experienced as moral argument or philosophical category. It is lived as pull, as atmosphere, as pre-reflective movement. One realizes it after one has already entered it.
Phenomenologically, this matters because it exposes the difference between willing and wanting. Modern people often prefer to imagine themselves as governed chiefly by decision, as though agency were the deepest fact of consciousness. Yet lived experience tells a more complicated truth. There are moments when wanting arrives with the force of disclosure. Something becomes salient. A person, possibility, memory, fantasy, or future begins to shine with a significance that was not consciously authored in that instant. The world gathers itself unevenly. One path thickens. One absence grows magnetic. One horizon begins to organize the attention. Desire is not yet action, but it has already changed the field.
This image uses the hallway precisely because hallways are spaces of transition. One is neither fully arrived nor fully gone. Such spaces embody the in-between condition of desire itself. The self has not yet acted, but neither is it untouched. The man is still. His composure remains intact. Yet his body has already confessed what his words have not. He leans toward something withheld from view. The scene therefore honors one of the deeper psychological truths: wanting can precede endorsement. We are often moved before we are persuaded. We are drawn before we have justified the draw.
That insight becomes especially significant in the world of Confessions to the Empty Chair, where desire is never reduced to appetite alone. It can reveal, distort, expose, or reorder. It may disclose what the self loves. It may also disclose what the self lacks, avoids, fears, or secretly worships. In that sense, desire is not morally simple. It is revelatory, but not necessarily trustworthy in every form. It tells the truth about our orientation, though not always about our rightful destination. This is why the book’s treatment of longing often carries both fascination and danger. Wanting opens the self, but it also removes illusion. It shows that the soul is not as self-possessed as it pretends.
Theologically, the image also gestures toward the ancient recognition that human beings are creatures of love before they are creatures of analysis. We move toward what appears good, beautiful, consoling, promising, or alive. Even our confusions testify to this structure. We do not merely think our way through the world; we are drawn through it. Desire names that drawnness. Yet the tragedy and dignity of the human condition lie here: not everything that calls to us deserves us, and not everything that deserves us calls loudly. The soul therefore discovers itself in tension between attraction and judgment, immediacy and discernment, movement and meaning.
Psychologically, “Wanting Does Not Ask Permission” refuses the flattering fiction that all desire is deliberately chosen. Some of the most decisive movements in a life begin below the level of announced intention. A person notices that he is already attentive, already preoccupied, already turning inwardly toward what he claims not to have chosen. That recognition can feel destabilizing because it weakens the myth of absolute control. But it can also become a moment of honesty. One cannot meaningfully govern what one refuses to admit. The first act of maturity is often not mastery, but recognition: this has already arrived in me.
The image therefore does not celebrate surrender, nor does it condemn desire with easy severity. Instead, it describes the first truth any serious moral or existential life must confront: the self is not the sole author of its own impulses. Something can appear within us before we have arranged ourselves around it. Something can call us before we have decided whether to answer. That is not freedom’s end; it is freedom’s beginning. Only what is recognized can be judged rightly. Only what is admitted can be offered, resisted, purified, or received.
In the world of the book, this is one of the enduring burdens and revelations of consciousness. We do not control what first appears in us. We control what we do with it, whether we hide it, worship it, deny it, confess it, feed it, or submit it to truth. But before all that, there is the humbling instant this image preserves: the soul discovering that wanting has already entered the room.