How Do You Hear God’s Call?

By Donna Koros Stramella

It was a different twist on the usual career day. Seventh and eighth grade students from St. John the Evangelist School in Severna Park, Maryland participated in a vocations day that provided a realistic, up close and personal look at the life of a priest, Sister, Brother and seminarian. The day was a culmination of vocational awareness week, a school-wide focus on the lives of the religious.

There was no shortage of questions for Sister Kathleen Pales, S.S.J., vocation director for the Sisters of St. Joseph.

“How did you know that God wasn't calling you to marry or to remain single,” eighth grader Ashley Lang asked.

“I felt this deep down peace,” Sister Kathleen responded. “Like I knew this was right for me. And that peace continued to grow stronger and stronger.”

Another hand shot up. “When you were younger, did you have any other expectations, like becoming a scientist?” student Brittany Samon wondered.

“I never was the kind of person who hoped I'd be rich and famous one day,” Sister Kathleen explained. “I wanted people in my life to love, and people who would love me. I wanted to help others.”

The vocation director was one of four speakers who rotated through seventh and eighth grade classrooms. Others included Brother Kevin Strong, F.S.C., president of Calvert Hall; Father Richard D. Hilgartner, associate pastor of St. John the Evangelist; and Charles Rice, a seminarian in his pastoral year at St. John.

Students asked a wide range of questions, ranging from the personal, (“Did you date when you were younger?”) to the practical, (“How many hours do you work a week?”) to the complex, (“Why are only men priests?”) The speakers responded candidly, providing an honest look at their lives and feelings.

Mr. Rice admitted to students that he was initially reluctant to work at a school.

“Now I'm glad I was sent to work here,” he said. “I see a lot of God's image in this school.”

Principal Sister Linda Larsen, S.S.J. said the middle school age is a time when students are starting to look at their future.

“We're hoping this will help plant the seeds for future choices in their lives,” she acknowledged. “They're at an age when they are very impressionable.”

For the eighth grade students, learning continued during a luncheon provided by Monsignor Edward F. Staub, pastor of St. John. While students ate pizza, they continued to talk about vocations with the religious seated at their table. Joining the speakers, Sister Linda and Monsignor Staub at the afternoon lunch were Father McLean Cummings, associate pastor of St. John; Father Joseph J. Cosgrove, associate pastor of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Pasadena; and Father James P. Kiesel, associate pastor of St. Andrew by the Bay, Annapolis.

The luncheon also included time for a guided meditation and an art activity, to help students begin to discern what gifts they have to offer.

Bonnie Wolf, one of the organizers, said the school basically started from scratch in devising vocation awareness week.

“There's no existing program in this archdiocese,” she said. “This is something we think all Catholic schools should be doing. Hopefully this will be an annual event for us, and useful to others as well.”

The school plans to continue addressing the subject and is currently looking at other ideas, such as a field trip to a seminary.

(This article courtesy of The Catholic Review.)