For several days this summer, young people from across the Diocese of Allentown stepped away from the noise of everyday life and gathered to ask an important question: What is God calling me to do with my life?
Teens participating in the Diocese of Allentown’s “Quo Vadis” and “Fiat Days,” held June 28-July 1 at Kutztown University, were invited to listen – to God, to priests and religious sisters, to married couples, and to one another – as they considered the vocations of Priesthood, consecrated life, and marriage.
Prayer was central throughout the retreat, including a Holy Hour, Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, opportunities for Reconciliation, and a Eucharistic Procession.
Led by the Office of Vocations and Father John Maria, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Allentown, the retreat included separate activities for the boys of Quo Vadis and the girls of Fiat Days, along with shared talks, Eucharistic Adoration, Mass, meals, and fellowship.
The teens also had the opportunity to spend extended time with seminarians, religious sisters, and the six priests newly ordained for the Diocese. Their presence allowed the young people to see both the dedication required of a vocation and the ordinary yet holy humanity of those who have answered God’s call.
Father Maria reminded the teens that the sisters, seminarians, postulants, and priests they met were once asking many of the same questions themselves, “trying to hear God’s voice” and “trying to hear what God’s plan is.”
During one reflection, Father Maria pointed the young people toward SS. Peter and Paul. Both had humble beginnings and needed formation before fully embracing the mission God had given them.
“He had a particular role in mind for each of them. It was not clear at the beginning. They needed a lot of work. They needed formation. They needed to trust the Lord step by step, and they had to give up on insisting on their own way with God,” he said, reminding the teens that discernment requires openness to God’s plan and a willingness to surrender personal expectations.
The Holy Eucharist was another central theme. In a talk on Jesus and the Holy Eucharist, Father Maria spoke about how daily Mass became an important part of his own journey toward the Priesthood.
“For my discernment of the Priesthood, it got to the point where I craved Jesus in Holy Communion every day. There was a point of realization of how much He did for me, and that we need more priests to be able to bring these gifts to others. That was a key in my discernment,” he said.
He encouraged the teens to “prepare well” for the reception of the Holy Eucharist, to approach Jesus with reverence, their whole hearts and minds, and in a state of grace.
The retreat also explored chastity within different vocations. Father Jeff Tomczyk and the religious sisters helped the teens consider what chastity looks like for priests, religious, married people, and single people.
One sister challenged the idea that chastity is simply about giving up marriage or physical intimacy.
“A lot of people see chastity as, ‘Oh, those poor sisters, they do not get to get married.’ It is not supposed to be seen in the negative,” she said. “Chastity is supposed to be seen in the positive – for the building up of the Kingdom.”
She explained that chastity is not a refusal of love, but a particular way of living it. While celibacy involves refraining from physical intimacy, chastity is a call shared by the celibate, married, and single.
Conversations about marriage, dating, and Holy Matrimony broadened the teens’ understanding of discernment, framing it as a question: “Lord, where are You calling me to love and serve You?”
For Dominic Kimmel, who has been discerning the Priesthood for two years, Quo Vadis was “a great spot for [him] to find what kind of Catholic man [he wants] to be.”
“Here I found out that priests are very human and can relate to me,” he said. “They like to play video games and like to have fun and make jokes.”
The retreat concluded with Mass celebrated by Bishop Alfred Schlert, who thanked the young people, as well as the seminarians, newly ordained priests, and religious sisters who accompanied them throughout the week.
He highlighted the importance of praying for vocations during the 65th Anniversary Jubilee Year of the Diocese and encouraged the young people to remain open to God’s will. He also emphasized the role of holy marriages in fostering vocations, noting that faithful families help young people encounter a life of faith and learn to give of themselves in love and service.
The retreat ultimately reminded the teens that discernment is a gradual process. Like SS. Peter and Paul, they are called to be formed, to trust God, and to remain open to His plan.
The invitation remains the same for every person discerning a vocation: Allow the Lord to speak to your heart.
Anyone interested in continuing the journey of vocational discernment toward Priesthood or consecrated life can contact Father Maria at jmaria@allentowndiocese.org. More information is available through the Diocese of Allentown’s Office of Vocations at https://www.allentowndiocese.org/vocations.
Photos by Shane McKevitt and Norm Steinruck.
Copy Permalink
