Second ‘Called by Name’ initiative under way in diocese

It will be an opportunity for us as the Church to acknowledge the gifts that the Lord is pouring out on his young people, and also a chance to encourage a response to those gifts.”

Father Paul Clark, diocesan director of vocations and director of seminarians

People involved in vocation ministry hope to match or even exceed the success of last year’s “Called by Name” initiative in this diocese, through which parishioners identified and lifted up in prayer people they believe to be good candidates for the Priesthood or Religious Life.

The second annual calling-forth will take place in parishes throughout the diocese the weekend of April 18-19.

“The abundant response of names and interactions that followed last year’s ‘Called by Name’ have been beautiful fruits!” said Father Paul Clark, diocesan director of vocations and director of seminarians.

About 550 names were submitted anonymously during last year’s initiative.

“We’re going to keep the momentum going and continue to normalize this process of raising up our young people to be encouraged and accompanied,” said Fr. Clark.

“Their eyes were opened”

The gospel reading for Sunday, April 19, tells of Jesus, risen from the dead, encountering two disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).

He visits with them while they’re walking, opens their minds to the Scriptures that point to his inevitable death and resurrection, and answers their invitation to stay with them for a meal.

He blesses the bread and breaks it, only at which time do the disciples recognize him.

“With that gospel reading, it seems appropriate in the themes of accompaniment and mindfulness of movements in the heart,” said Fr. Clark.

As part of the initiative, Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell has been urging parishes to include the diocesan Prayer for Vocations in every opportunity to gather and worship.

Families are also encouraged to pray the prayer together at home.

Parishes are being asked to set aside and promote regular prayer time and Holy Hours specifically for vocations.

Pastors have been directed to bring together a vocation ministry team for each parish, and to send the members to a training workshop.

All priests will be encouraged to preach about vocations and share their own call stories the weekend of April 18-19, and encourage people to submit the names of young men and women who have demonstrated lives of prayer and service.

“It will be an opportunity for us as the Church to acknowledge the gifts that the Lord is pouring out on his young people, and also a chance to encourage a response to those gifts,” said Fr. Clark.

The names will be sent to the diocesan Vocations Office, so the individuals can be invited to upcoming vocation events.

Creating a culture

This year’s process will be similar to the one that yielded such an encouraging response last year.

“We had the official weekend where the priests were asked to share their call story,” said Fr. Clark. “We made the forms for submitting names available in every parish — in pews, in the back of the church, and an online version.”

He was delighted to see that some parishes, particularly small parishes, turned in 20 to 30 names last year.

Duplicate names were removed, yielding an opportunity to encourage 550 young men and women throughout the diocese.

Those people received a letter from Archbishop Shawn Mc­Knight, who led this diocese from 2018 until last May, inviting them to events and activities that could help them discover what God has planned for them.

“The idea of names being submitted are so that individuals can receive a reply from the bishop in response to the person that God is building them up to be,” said Fr. Clark.

But the main goal of “Called by Name” is much broader.

“This is really about changing the culture,” the priest stated. “By nature, this can’t just be a ‘one and done’ campaign.”

He noted that everyone in the Church has a shared responsibility to raise up, encourage and grow his or her own gifts and talents and those around them. 

“Sometimes, we get in trouble when we think our discernment is something is about us or is something we choose,” the priest noted. “Our vocation is often revealed through an invitation from another, to be in service of others.

“There’s a real responsibility for us to be outward-focused in our discernment of our gifts or other’s gifts,” he said.

Encouragement, not pressure

Fr. Clark said all of this is about helping parishes in the diocese create environments that promote free and healthy vocational discernment, that help people grow in the knowledge of the Priesthood and Consecrated Life and happy and healthy marriages, “so that our young people know how to listen to and respond to what the Lord is calling them to, and do so with the support and encouragement from their community and their parish and their families.”

“One of the most encouraging things I’ve seen in the past year and several months is the way that people speak about vocations,” he stated. “The healthy language and excitement, to be hearing all of that has been very encouraging.”

He noted that an essential aspect of cultivating a culture of invitation is fostering it among parents with children.

“Young people are looking for affirmation from their parents,” he said. “And even the slightest sharing of what the Lord may be putting on their heart, how a parent reacts to that can have a huge impact.

“We have a lot of families who you can tell are very open and encouraging to their children,” he said. “That makes it very clear when a family is not.”

He pointed out the difference between pressure and encouragement.

“Pressure complicates discernment,” he noted, “because a vocation, a choice to love, has to be free.”

“That’s why the idea of a ‘Called by Name’ program is not to put pressure on those whose names are turned in,” he noted. “And that’s why those names are not used publicly or advertised.

The point of those names is affirmation to that individual, “that they are seen and recognized,” he said.