“Vocation” comes from the Latin word vocare which means “to call.” In the Catholic context, God is the one who calls people into a certain lifestyle, career or ministry. One who hears the call and freely embraces it is said to have “found their vocation.” Since God is the Creator of all people, He is calling everyone in a particular way. Over the centuries, the Church has developed special esteem for some vocations because of their service to the Church. Among these are marriage, priesthood, diaconate and consecrated religious life. Next weekend, our parish will focus on our Stewardship of Vocations. It’s a good opportunity to ask, “How have we been helping people to hear God’s call and to embrace their vocation? Let’s start with marriage. Currently at IHM we have 23 couples in our marriage preparation program which is directed by Susan Anderson. She and her team prepared an additional 32 couples who were married in 2024. So, I would say, our parish is doing really well with our stewardship of vocations to marriage.
Regarding vocations to the priesthood, Doug Blondin, the Grand Knight of our local Knights of Columbus Council, has been doing some research. He has discovered that IHM has nurtured three priests of the Archdiocese of Denver: Fr. James Richard Fox, Fr. Scott Bailey, and Fr. Trevor Lontine. Regarding vocations to the diaconate, Doug Blondin discovered that thirteen parishioners of IHM became deacons for the Archdiocese of Denver. Their names are too numerous to mention here. One other parishioner is currently in diaconal formation, and two others were recently accepted into the next formation class. So, I think we are doing really well in promoting vocations to the diaconate.
Regarding vocations to consecrated religious life, I am only aware of two and they are both from the same family! Carleena Lim has been in formation with the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. And her brother, Caden, was recently accepted into the novitiate for the Dominicans. It’s amazing how the Lord has been growing vocations in our parish. Surely, God is calling more people today, but how can we help them hear His call?
Through our Stewardship of Vocations campaign next weekend. But first, please note that our campaign is not related to marriage. (Personally, I’ve never been successful at match-making!) With 32 weddings this year and another 23 couples in the cue, it seems that couples are hearing the call well enough. Our campaign focuses on vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life. It’s really quite simple. Here’s how it works:
First of all, pray for religious vocations. Secondly, consider our parishioners and others whom you know, and prayerfully consider if God may be calling any of them to a religious vocation. Thirdly, if you think of someone, you have this week to try to get their name and some contact information. Next weekend there will be Stewardship of Vocations cards in the pews. After the homily you can write this information on a card and place it in the offertory basket. (You may nominate yourself, if you’d like.) And fourthly, one of the priests, deacons or members of our parish team will attempt to contact that person. If contact is made, they will tell the person that someone from our parish thinks God may be calling them to a religious vocation. We will not tell them who nominated them. We will simply invite them to prayerfully consider this and, if they wish, they may talk with us about it. That’s all!
That’s how you can play a part in helping our parish to be a good steward of vocations. In this world so filled with other voices, God may be counting on you to help someone hear His call. And you can even do so anonymously! Pray about it, and listen for His call.