Do you know a young man who has expressed interest in discerning a vocation to the priesthood? Do you know a young man who you think would make a great priest and might be open to investigating the possibility of this call in his life? As part of our work to help young men discern the Lord’s call for their lives, the Vocations Office is compiling a list of such men with the intent of keeping them informed about various vocations promotion opportunities such as retreats, mission trips, Operation Andrew Dinners, seminary visits, and so on. If you know of someone who we should add to our list, please contact Emma Murtha at emurtha@sfcatholic.org or 988-3772.
College Connection
Dear Pastors and Parish Administrators,
This summer, Bishop DeGrood will send a letter to the graduating seniors in our diocese so that he can personally congratulate and encourage them to seek God’s will in their lives. To make this possible, we are requesting the following information from you: names, cell phone number, parent’s names, addresses, sex and plans after graduation for all seniors.
In conjunction with Bishop’s letter, in the past several years, the Vocations Office has used college information to help keep our youth connected with their Catholic faith while they are at school. This has been done with the aid of the SERRA Clubs in our diocese through a program called College Connection.
Through this program, letters are sent out to the seniors, encouraging them to get involved in the local Catholic community at the school they will be attending. The information given will only be forwarded on to the Newman Centers and Catholic Campus Ministry organizations that they will be attending in our diocese. This will help our campus ministers connect your students to other Catholic students and Catholic events.
It is our hope that with this information we can keep more of our young people connected with the practice of their Catholic faith and continue to encourage the growth of their spirituality.
Google Form you can share with your senior parents to fill in for their seniors
Please fill in the Google form by May 1. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for all that you do to promote religious vocations.
In Christ,
Operation Andrew Dinner
As part of our work to help young men discern the Lord’s call for their lives, the Vocations Office is organizing an upcoming Operation Andrew Dinner that Bishop DeGrood will be attending. Operation Andrew Dinner at Pope Pius XII Newman Center in Brookings on March 21 from 5:15-8 p.m. If you know of someone who should go to this dinner, please contact your priest.
Prayer for Vocations
Looking for a good prayer to use for an increase in vocations? Here’s one many of our parishes have been using for years.
Lord Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father and Mary Immaculate, grant to our young people the generosity necessary to follow Your call and the courage to overcome all obstacles to their vocation in life. Give their parents that faith, love and spirit of sacrifice which will inspire them to offer their children to God’s service and to rejoice whenever one of their children is called to the priesthood or religious life. Let Your example and that of Your Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph encourage both young people and parents and let Your grace sustain them. Amen.