More than 60 attend Quo Vadis
Not every man who pursues studies in the seminary is called to the ordained priesthood. Similarly, not every man who attends a Quo Vadis vocational discernment retreat will end up in the seminary. Nevertheless, much as how a large number of seminarians bodes well for the quantity of men who eventually will receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, a good turnout at Quo Vadis points to the likelihood of a strong class of new seminarians.
And according to Fr. Garett Burns, who serves as the Diocese of Wichita’s director of vocations promotion, the latest Quo Vadis, held Dec. 27-29, was the diocese’s best attended such retreat of which he is aware.
“It was very fruitful; more than 60 young men attended the retreat to further discern God’s will,” he said. “That’s the most we have had in at least a decade.”
The retreat was led by Fr. Ed Pelrine, who Fr. Burns said was stationed at Mundelein Seminary during his time as a student there. “He gave some great conferences that were strongly based in Scripture and just led them through some meditations to help them in their prayer and vocational discernment,” Fr. Burns said. “I am confident it bore a lot of fruit for those men.”
That can be the case even for men who end the weekend with no clearer understanding of their calling than when they began it. “I told the guys on the retreat that I didn’t have a great experience at the one Quo Vadis I attended,” he said. “I may have left even more confused than when I arrived, but the Lord worked through that. I needed to take some further steps to deepen my own spiritual life and my prayer. It’s funny: I left the retreat pretty confident I wasn’t going to the seminary, but was applying for the seminary two months later. You never know how the Lord is going to work.”
Joyful witnesses
Fr. Burns said it has been a blessing to accompany young men and see God at work in their lives as they seek to know their callings. “It’s about helping them by sharing my own experience of discernment and the joy of the priesthood,” he said. “It’s about helping them understand that and discern their own vocations.”
According to Fr. Burns, the retreat’s most potent moments include the Emmaus walks, in which discerners and priests are paired off for walks throughout the expansive Spiritual Life Center grounds. “It’s a chance for them to get one-on-one guidance, direction, and advice,” he said. “That’s always one of the most powerful parts of the retreat.”
That is largely because it builds on examples priests set both at the retreat and long before, Fr. Burns said. “The biggest thing is how great of a job the priests have done in their own joyful witness of the priesthood,” he said. “That includes being very intentional ghghghgh about saying when they can envision a young man as a great priest: ‘Have you thought about this? This could be a good retreat for you to check out the possibility.’ I really commend them and all the faithful of the diocese for their persistent prayer for vocations.”
The Quo Vadis panels are two other highlights of the retreat, Fr. Burns indicated. “There is a priest panel and a seminarian panel,” he said, “The retreatants can submit anonymous questions about anything that’s on their minds about seminary, discernment or life as a priest,” Fr. Burns said. “Then they get to hear responses from men going through it. The seminarian panel is particularly great because they are more like their peers and speak the same language to really connect with them.”
The Quo Vadis retreat also screened a brief documentary about Fr. Emil Kapaun, he said. “Anytime the Lord calls, he elicits vocations through inspiring witnesses of priests we can admire and seek to emulate,” Fr. Burns said. “Our diocese is so blessed to have one we believe is a saint. That’s a great way to draw good things out of young men – what’s going on in their minds and hearts – and see if that that sparks anything.”
As for young men wondering if God is urging them to attend the next Quo Vadis, Fr. Burns offers straightforward reassurance.
“Be not afraid,” he said. “There are always excuses or fears or reasons not to go. But even if you go on the retreat and figure out you’re not supposed to be a priest, that’s a great blessing, so there’s nothing lost in going.”
To the contrary, he adds, the experience can be not only profound, but even fun.
“It’s a great time of fraternity to see other men your age going through the same things,” he said. “You get to meet the seminarians and spend time with the priests, which helps humanize them. So yeah, if the Lord has placed it on your heart, just go for it.”