Dear Friends,
I hope this December issue of the newsletter finds you well, having had a nice Thanksgiving. It’s been a busy few months here in the office. Our monthly Vianney Dinners have returned to the House of Studies. We have also resumed the traveling holy hours for vocations, the next one being in Uxbridge, as has become customary in December. I also borrowed a program from the Diocese of Tulsa and ran a six-week small group book study of Priests for the Third Millennium with teenagers all from one parish. I hope to repeat this program after Christmas with college students. After Christmas we are also planning to launch small group Bible studies at Saint Paul Diocesan Jr/Sr High School where I serve as chaplain.
I hope this December issue of the newsletter finds you well, having had a nice Thanksgiving. It’s been a busy few months here in the office. Our monthly Vianney Dinners have returned to the House of Studies. We have also resumed the traveling holy hours for vocations, the next one being in Uxbridge, as has become customary in December. I also borrowed a program from the Diocese of Tulsa and ran a six-week small group book study of Priests for the Third Millennium with teenagers all from one parish. I hope to repeat this program after Christmas with college students. After Christmas we are also planning to launch small group Bible studies at Saint Paul Diocesan Jr/Sr High School where I serve as chaplain.
We are now in the season of Advent, during what continues to be interesting times. It seems like we will always now have new variants and be in need of treating this virus like the flu each year, with cycles that come and go. Almost daily we see on the news stories about supply chain issues and the difficulty of Christmas shopping. Maybe this is an invitation for us to focus on what truly matters like God, faith, gratitude, and family. Maybe we don’t need so much stuff, but by detaching from stuff we will have space in our hearts so that we can have more grace and more love. I pray that you have a blessed Advent and a holy Christmas season.
We are looking forward to having our first ever Advent day of recollection for young men. The topic is not specifically about vocation, so please share the word with any high school or college age males that you know. The speaker is going to be excellent; it is going to be a very good day.
During the Christmas season, we are also looking forward to our annual seminarian Christmas gathering. Seminarians will once again be going candlepin bowling.
Parishes were sent out giving tree tags as they have been in past years. As seminarians are not allowed to have jobs once they arrive at major seminary, these gift cards help with day-to-day expenses like their books or toiletries. We are immensely grateful for the generosity of the people of God in this regard.
As we reach the end of the year, many people who itemize on their taxes wonder about end of year giving. It is always possible to make tax-deductible donations on our website to the general fund or to any specific part of our ministry that you desire to support. The largest need is always tuition assistance for those studying theology. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that there are other ways to give besides regular donations such as direct donations from an IRA that meet the criteria of minimum required distribution or donating stock. Please speak to your financial advisor regarding all the different options for charitable giving.
During the Christmas season, we are also looking forward to our annual seminarian Christmas gathering. Seminarians will once again be going candlepin bowling.
Parishes were sent out giving tree tags as they have been in past years. As seminarians are not allowed to have jobs once they arrive at major seminary, these gift cards help with day-to-day expenses like their books or toiletries. We are immensely grateful for the generosity of the people of God in this regard.
As we reach the end of the year, many people who itemize on their taxes wonder about end of year giving. It is always possible to make tax-deductible donations on our website to the general fund or to any specific part of our ministry that you desire to support. The largest need is always tuition assistance for those studying theology. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that there are other ways to give besides regular donations such as direct donations from an IRA that meet the criteria of minimum required distribution or donating stock. Please speak to your financial advisor regarding all the different options for charitable giving.
Sincerely,
Father Donato Infante
Father Donato Infante
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Contact Info:
director@worcestervocations.com
director@worcestervocations.com
508-630-4473
My Experience at FOCUS Summer Projects
Brian James
My assignment for this last summer was to participate in FOCUS Summer Projects at Acadia National Park in Maine. Summer Projects is a program for college students that allows them to work full-time throughout the summer while also receiving Catholic formation. Throughout the summer, we had various priests from around the country serve as our chaplains who provided daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration for us as well as giving us an opportunity to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. We also had Catholic speakers from around the country come and give formation talks at our location.
Aside from the sacraments and speaker talks, the other formation that we received throughout the summer came in the form of Bible studies and discipleship teams with the FOCUS missionaries in which we discussed Scripture and how to grow in the faith together. We also had Incarnational days in which we would spend the day as a group to grow in fellowship, we did activities such as rock climbing, kayaking, and mini golfing among other things.
One of the most formative experiences over the summer was the job itself. At the location in Maine, we worked for the restaurant at Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park. The restaurant was constantly busy and very understaffed, which made the work days very long and difficult. Working at the Jordan Pond House is where some of my most difficult experiences with Summer Projects occurred, but they were also the most fruitful on more than one occasion. The difficulty of the job allowed me to grow in patience and to choose joy even when the day was rough and perhaps was not going well. In the most difficult moments, I was able to lean into my relationship with Christ to make every moment meaningful.
During the summer, we not only worked in Acadia National Park, but we lived there as well. When we were not working or doing the formation program, we were free to explore the park at our own leisure. Our dorm was surrounded by mountains and the ocean which allowed for scenic hikes and explorations in nature. Being in the national park helped me develop a deeper appreciation for God’s creation.
I believe that Summer Projects helped me to grow as an individual and to grow in my relationship with God. The job helped me to develop a stronger work ethic and to grow in patience. I was able to pray throughout the work day and offer up the work that I was doing to God which helped to make the work that I was doing meaningful amidst the struggle. The formation that I received helped to grow in fellowship with my peers as we learned more about the faith together. The frequency of the sacraments and Eucharistic adoration and the dynamics of our schedule transformed the way that I pray and caused my relationship with God to grow deeper than it ever had before.
Photos from top to bottom: The Bubbles, Adoration on a Mountain, Monique gives a presentation during the Father's House retreat, and Jordan Pond