“The Church prays everyday to the Holy Spirit for the gift of vocations. Gathered around the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, as in the beginning, the ecclesial community learns from her how to implore the Lord for a flowering of new apostles, alive with the faith and love that are necessary for the mission” (Benedict XVI, Message for the 45th World Day of Prayer for Vocations). This prayer of Benedict XVI was answered in Dallas this month, as the diocese held its “Vocations Week.” Tammy Grady and Yvonne Fontaine, consecrated members of Regnum Christi, attended the Vocations Days at John Paul II High School, along with priests, seminarians, sisters, and youth directors.

“Our goal was to create an environment where the students could feel comfortable and open in meeting different religious or consecrated persons,” says Tammy, who has been helping to organize vocational activities in the Dallas diocese for three years. She pointed out the importance of the students discovering that “those whom the Lord calls are normal, happy and fulfilled people who have chosen to walk in the footsteps of Christ.”

The presenters spoke to more than 600 students between January 11th and 12th. The first day began with a presentation by Yvonne Fontaine for the girls, and youth minister Jason Deuterman for the boys. The students then split into small groups and spent about 20 minutes with one of the “vocation guests” to listen to his or her story and to ask questions.

The Vocations Days were a great experience for students and organizers alike. Tammy described her experience in the following words:   

“I especially enjoy working with the other religious sisters, consecrated women, priests and seminarians because it reminds me of the richness of the Mystical Body of Christ. Whenever I have the opportunity to work alongside other men and women who have dedicated themselves to God in the consecrated life, my heart echoes the same sentiments as stated by Saint Bernard: ‘I admire them all. I belong to one of them by observance, but to all of them by charity. We all need one another… All our diversities, which make manifest the richness of God´s gifts, will continue to exist in the one house of the Father, which has many rooms.’

It is also a joy for me to see the young women interested in learning about the different ways of living the consecrated vocation. Even though they might not feel called to this style of life, most are open to learn and are genuinely interested in hearing the different stories. We need to rebuild within the hearts of young people and modern culture an openness toward the religious, consecrated or priestly vocation. Doing things like participating in a vocations day is one small step towards this goal.”

Let’s join Benedict XVI in prayer and action to present the beauty of the priestly and religious vocation to young people!