Praying for and encouraging vocations

This Sunday is the beginning of Vocations Awareness Week throughout the U.S. During this week, the USCCB encourages Catholics to pray for vocations and look at ways to promote vocations to the priesthood, religious life, holy sacramental marriages, and chaste single life at the

parish level, family level, and individual level. The most fundamental way that we encourage our families and youth to be open to their vocation is to foster a personal and familial prayer life. By making prayer a priority, we are making God’s voice a priority and God is the one who calls each of us to our vocation. By making a space for Him to speak to our children at home and in the church building itself, we enable our children to hear God’s call in their life as Samuel heard God’s voice (1 Samuel 3:1-20). Pray for vocations often, but also encourage the young men in your life to pray about the possibility of priesthood and the young women in your life to pray about the possibility of religious life. Allow the Lord to speak to them with our encouragement.

It would also be a good opportunity to mention that we will have two ordinations this spring from our Family of Parishes. First, we will have Deacon Patrick Blenman (from Holy Angels) ordained a priest in May. Second, we have Adam Berning (from Sacred Heart) who will be ordained a transitional deacon in April. A transitional is a seminarian who is ordained a deacon and will be ordained a priest in the following year. We also have Jacob Schmiesing and David Morand, both from Holy Angels, currently at Mount Saint Mary’s in Cincinnati studying for the priesthood. Please keep these men in your prayers.

On the religious side of things, this past August, Sister Xavier Schulze (from Sacred Heart) made her final vows with the Sisters of Martyrs of St. George. We also have Sister Imelda Joy Wilding (from Holy Angels) who is in temporary vows with the Sisters of the Children of Mary. Please keep these women in your prayers, as well.

In short, we already have a culture of vocations in our Family of Parishes, and we have much we can build on in our amazing families. So, please continue to bring your children to Mass and to encourage your children and grandchildren to pray about what God is calling them to.

Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for our Family of Parishes’ patron. I am encouraged by everyone who prayerfully considered who a fitting patron would be for our Family of Parishes. To be clear, each parish campus will retain its individual identity. St. Michael Church will still be St. Michael Church, Ss. Peter & Paul Church will remain Ss. Peter & Paul Church, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church will remain Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, and Holy Angels Church will remain Holy Angels Church. We, as individual communities, still retain our identity, though that identity is taken up into the larger whole of a Family of Parishes. Much like when one marries, they still retain the identity and connections with the families they came from; but they also become a part of their spouse’s family and then forge a new family and familial identity with their spouse. In the same way, we do not lose the individual identities as parishes, but we do take on a new, larger identity as a Family of Parishes.

Thank you to everyone who has shown such great care and concern for each other, your priests, and me personally. It has been a great gift to hear an encouraging word or someone sharing something positive that they have seen happen amid Beacons. Staff has encouraged me to take better care of myself. On that note, I will be taking a few days away starting November 6 until Wednesday morning, November 9. Please keep each other in prayer and deepen your friendship with Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother.

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Jarred Kohn