St. John Neumann Catholic Church is grateful to start a new Vocations Ministry in hopes of increasing awareness and support of vocations. The committee recently held its first meeting where many wonderful ideas were discussed that will support vocations through prayer and action. We are excited to announce the new opportunities for prayer below and invite you to come alongside our Vocations Ministry in prayer.

• Vocations Holy Hour. The Holy Hour will take place on the 3^rd Thursday of the month from 6 – 7pm starting on January 19th.
• In February we will begin having First Saturday Mass at 8:45 a.m. immediately followed by Holy Hour for Vocations starting February 4th.

WHAT IS DISCERNMENT?

Vocational discernment is the diligent pursuit of knowing whether God is calling you to the priesthood, to consecrated life, or to marriage. The process of vocational discernment can be summarized in three steps:

1. Learn the basics
2. Take a step
3. Follow God’s direction

Vocational discernment precedes the choice of giving a definitive direction to your life – the fundamental way that you will follow Christ. As with all important decisions, it is essential in vocational discernment to have good information. There are three things to know:

1. You are called to holiness
2. The vocations of priesthood, consecrated life, and marriage are three ways of being holy
3. Celibacy is a foretaste of heaven that Jesus wants to give some of His friends already on earth

For extensive information, resources and updates you can follow the Austin Vocations Facebook Page
HERE

or The Austin Vocations Website
HERE

If you are discerning your vocation please use the following link to access a plethora of resources from the USSCB:
MORE INFO

Do you know a young man interested in learning more about becoming a priest? Please let them know about the Heart of Jesus Retreat offered by the Diocese of Austin. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the discernment of a priestly vocation.

Heart of Jesus Retreat December 14-16. Fr. Greg Gerhart, Vocation Director for the Diocese of Austin, along with other priests and seminarians, will lead the retreat for single men 18 to 40 years old. Seniors in high school are also invited.

For more information: austinvocations.com

If you are interested in learning more about priestly vocations please reach out to Fr. Dean or Fr. Kris.
We invite all our parishioners to pray daily for our priests and those who are discerning the priesthood.

“The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — St. John Vianney

 

Women are the pinnacle of creation (cf. Gen. 2). As such, God works with women to bring life into the world by their unique abilities of loving those around them, being present to the needs of others, and reflecting the compassion of God himself. When cooperating with God’s will in their lives, women reflect the truth, beauty and goodness of God in their vocations, inspiring the students, patients, husbands, coworkers, and children in their lives to pursue God’s goodness in their own lives.

Each of the particular vocations for women answer the deep ache in their hearts to bring God’s goodness into the world. By their ministry in the home, hospital, school, workplace, community, and convent, married women, religious sisters, consecrated virgins, and single women draw us all into a deeper relationship with God.

MARRIED LIFE

A married woman gives her heart to the Lord through her gift of herself to her husband and children. By loving and devoting herself to her husband as the Church loves and follows the Lord Jesus (cf. Eph. 5: 23-33), a wife both shows her love for God and allows God to love her through her husband. By God’s gift, that love can bring about new life, which she bears in her own body. Through her particular feminine gifts, a wife and mother nurtures and cherishes her children, making present the tender love of God. She makes the home a place where the love of God is given and received, and by the daily gift of herself to her husband and her children, she inspires them to holiness.

We’ll be working with the Family Life office to bring you more resources soon!
 

CONSECRATED LIFE

The consecrated life is a counter-cultural, love-filled, life-giving response to God’s love. In this vocation, a woman imitates Jesus Christ by taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and in doing so, finds a profound source of joy. She gives her heart to God alone, becoming a bride of Christ and an image of the Church — that is, a witness to the world of the dedication we all should have to the Lord. She witnesses by her life that God is enough to satisfy all the desires of our hearts! A woman who is called to this vocation lives in a community that prays, works, and ministers together, and that community is a profound source of support and joy.

Religious communities have different ministries (or “apostolates”) in which the women of the community can pour themselves out in service to others out of love for the Lord.

All religious women bear profound fruit in the Church by their life of consecration to God, whether their ministry is silent prayer and work in a convent, teaching in a school, giving retreats or spiritual direction, serving the poor, or missionary work. Religious communities all respond to a particular movement of the Holy Spirit in the Church, so they are distinguished by their charism–the particular gift they bring to the Church–as well as by the way they live community and by the work or ministry (called an “apostolate”) that they do. Religious communities fall along a spectrum, from strict contemplatives like the Carmelites, to very active communities like the Daughters of Charity.

The link to the right will help you explore the different religious communities of women serving in or near the Diocese of Austin.  Contact them for more information or to arrange a visit!

WEB RESOURCES:

Cloistered Life – A wonderful website sponsored by the Institute on Religious Life. You’ll find information about the contemplative life, how to discern it and some great discernment resources!
 

“PARENTS, GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD IF HE HAS CALLED ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN TO THE CONSECRATED LIFE.

“It is to be a great honor, as it always has been, that the Lord should look upon a family and choose to invite one of its members to set out on the path of the evangelical counseled?

“Cherish the desire to give the Lord one of your children so that God’s love can spread in the world What fruit of conjugal love could be more beautiful than this?”

~Pope Saint John Paul II

EVERYONE’S FIRST VOCATION IS TO HOLINESS. PARENTS CAN STRIVE TO CREATE A HOME ENVIRONMENT WHERE CHRISTIAN VIRTUE CAN FLOURISH.

Here are a few other ideas:

• Invite a priest, sister, or brother to dinner at your home.
• Show your children a good example of holy marriage.
• Attend an ordination (normally held in early summer)
• Pray the diocesan prayer for vocations at supper.
• Always speak with respect for clergy and the Church.
• Read and discuss the Bible stories of Mary’s response to God (Luke 1:26-39), and about Jesus’ calling the Apostles (Mt 4:18-22).
• Speak openly of vocations to marriage, priesthood, and religious life.

Sometimes, as every parent knows, children ask very insightful questions that aren’t easily answered! When this happens, look for the answer online together.

That shows that you take their inquiry seriously, and that it is worthwhile to get a good answer.

Next weekend throughout the diocese is Called By Name Sunday: an initiative of the Diocese of Austin
Vocations Office that celebrates God’s call to each of us to follow Him in a particular way. Bishop Vásquez has
written a letter to us about this event, which we encourage you to read in our bulletin or social media pages.
At every parish in the diocese, our priests will share the story of their vocation to the priesthood - how he
listened and responded to God’s call. As part of this special weekend, we are asking you to participate in two
ways:

1) Be open to God’s call. For those who are able – be open the call to the priesthood or
religious life. These vocations are beautiful gifts both to the Church and to those who are
called. So be open, and be courageous if you hear the call.

2) Spend time this week thinking about someone in our parish who God may be calling to the
priesthood or religious life - someone with the qualities that you would want in your priest or
religious sister.

Next week at all of the Masses, we will have envelopes in the pews for you to share that person’s name and
contact information. Bishop Vásquez and our Vocation Director, Fr. Greg Gerhart, will then send them a
letter of encouragement along with Fr. Greg’s contact information should they wish to follow up.
God is the one who calls, but He often uses our voice of encouragement and invitation to do so. With your
help, we can make this Called By Name Sunday a great success that will bear fruit in our diocese for
generations to come. Thank you for your openness and generous participation.