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October 22, 2020Vocations office serving young people, discerners during modern challenges
Some men hear the call to be a priest as a child. For many the first thought of a vocation to the priesthood is when a pastor or someone in the parish says, “I think you would make a great priest.”
Whatever the path or the expectations of others, men discerning the priesthood “have to come to know their own heart,” said Father John Paul Lewis, pastor at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Lawton and associate director of vocations for the archdiocese.
Father Lewis along with Father John Herrera, who also serves as an associate director of vocations, help young men discern if the priesthood is what God wants for their lives.
“My role is being with them where they’re at and being there when they’re ready to take the next step,” said Father Herrera, associate pastor at Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Gregory the Great in Enid.
The call from God – whether to someone in Scripture or to a young man today – is commonly met with fear, but those who push through find a greater good and peace, he said. Father Herrera encourages discerners to pray daily: “Lord, help me to know your will in my life and to do it with great courage.”
Discernment is a process that may not lead to priesthood. If a man discovers he is not being called to be a priest, even after years in seminary, that is not a failure, said Father Lewis.
“What we want is for them to come to know the Lord, come to know his will and respond to it generously,” he said. “We pray that for a lot of them God’s will is to be a priest because we need priests, but God also calls men to religious life and to the vocation of marriage.”
Modern culture tells people happiness comes from doing whatever you want, but that is fleeting, Father Herrera said. Those who choose the priesthood – to become a servant to the people of God – will find true and lasting happiness, he said.
During the coronavirus pandemic, connecting with young men has been more difficult because the usual dinners and retreats had to be canceled or held virtually, the two priests said.
“But, God is working in the middle of this pandemic,” Father Lewis said. “He doesn’t stop calling young men. He doesn’t stop calling young women.”
Young women interested in exploring religious life can turn to Vanessa Baquera, the new coordinator for vocations to the consecrated life.
“I’m so excited to be in this role,” said Baquera, who also serves as the office manager at Saint Joseph Old Cathedral in downtown Oklahoma City.
Baquera leads weekly digital discernment sessions to help teenagers and young women discover where God is calling them. It starts with getting to know God in prayer and letting him guide you, she said. Each time participants log in is “a little ‘yes’” to God, she said.
Baquera said yes when God called her to join the Catholic Church six years ago. “I was not looking,” she said. “It’s definitely a mystery how God works.”
She was open to religious life and visited the Carmelite sisters in Colorado, “but I never felt called.” Now, she is encouraging other young women to discover where God is leading them.
“They may think going into a community is letting go of their dreams,” Baquera said. “God wants to fulfill the desire of your heart. He wants to use the talents he gave you.”
She tells young women that choosing religious life does not require giving up their work as nurses, teachers, musicians or other professions.
“There are so many types of ministries,” she said. “We need to be able to respond with freedom and creativity.”
K.S. McNutt is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
To learn more about vocations, retreats and events, visit okcvocations.com.
Photo: Fr. John Paul Lewis, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Lawton, smiles as a young parishioner tries on a priest’s stole before a Penance Rite. Photo provided.
