The Highlight of Summer

It is said that summer is a time of relaxation, fun and getting away from stresses of school, homework and tests. But this year my summer has been the complete opposite. I have been hired to work two jobs; one at my home parish, St. Matthias, and the other at Heritage Assisted Living Nursing home as a dietary aide. This is my second year working at my parish as a maintenance assistant. Even though it is only a seasonal job and considered part-time, I work a full day, Monday through Friday, from six in the morning until two in the afternoon.

Sometimes I leave one job and directly go to the other. Even though working through the summer is not something that people usually look forward to, I consider myself very blessed to be able to have not only one job, but two.

With that being said I am pleased to be able to take some time away from work and return to the Seminary Summer Camps for the fourth year in a row. I treat every year that I go as a small retreat. Each camp brings special opportunities to relax, to meet new people who share the same interests and thoughts that I do, to be able to grow in my prayer life, and also to gain further insight into what God wants me to do with the rest of my life. I can easily say that it is the highlight of my summer each and every year. Each camp truly sets me on fire with the Holy Spirit, to continue to seek what God has in store for me in the upcoming months and years.

As I have done in the past, the next few posts that I write will be sharing some of the experiences and highlights of this year's camp: sessions and talks about subjects that influence both my own discernment process and those of my fellow campers, service projects and the impacts that they had, and I also will include guest posts from fellow discerners who camped with me this year and who want to share how they were inspired or influenced by the things that they participated in over the past few days. And so I invite you to continue to visit this blog to read, learn and discover the many ways God calls us to vocations (particularly to the priesthood) and how he constantly works in us and influences us to do His will.

Stay Tuned!