NEWSLETTER of the St. John Vianney Vocations Ministry of SavannahJune 2016

One of the highlights of the year for the Savannah Vocations Ministry is the Annual Clergy and Religious Appreciation Supper. We gathered at the Knights of Columbus Hall on

Liberty Street on Thursday evening June 2nd to say thank you to the priests and sisters in the Savannah Deanery who have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord and the people

Thank You to All Who Serve the LordBy Peter Paolucci — Photos by Paul H. Camp

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of God. It is wonderful to see so many of the dedicated sisters who serve in our schools, hospitals, parishes and social ministries, as well as visit with some of the younger priests like Fr. John Johnson, who we remember during his seminary years and now is Pastor of St. Christopher in Claxton.

It was also a chance to reconnect with the seminarians who are in the midst of their spiritual exploration. They have acknowledged God's call to serve Him and are pursuing a serious discernment in order to make a spiritually sound, morally certain decision. The grace of the Holy Spirit is paramount to this process as they look for signs from our Lord to help guide them in their decision.

Initially the seminarians are just faces on the Annual Vocations poster but before long we have gotten to know them better and prayed for them throughout their seminary years. Some of them are our Pen Pals that

individual members communicate with regularly and support over the years. Two of them are now deacons, about to be ordained to the priesthood of Melchizedek.

Our table was an eclectic mixture of all of the above. Barbara and I plus Josie and Dick Lee had the privilege to have dinner with Frs. Doug Clark and Brett Brannen plus soon to be ordained Deacon Brian O'Shaughnessy and seminarian Patrick May.

We got to know Fr. Doug very well during his many years of service at the Cathedral as well as his tenure as Editor of the Southern Cross. He is still a regular contributor to the Southern Cross and his recent article on the transgender issue is worth a read. He spoke to our Savannah Vocations ministry about St. Paul and had so much to say that it took two meetings. Although he has been gone from Savannah for a while, he is still as endearing as ever and it is always fun to be with him.

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During the introduction of the seminarians, when Chris Hassel was mentioned, Fr. Clark called out proudly, “Chris and I both went to Kettering Fairmont High School back in Ohio.”

Although we didn’t know Brian that well, we became a little better acquainted on Thursday evening. As it turns out he’s from Nashua, NH and spent a good deal of time hiking in the White Mountains, near where Barbara and I spend our summers in Maine. He attended Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, MA, which is committed to the pastoral formation of mature candidates. Brian was the youngest candidate when he entered the seminary and now he is scheduled to be ordained a priest on Saturday, June 4th. He is excited about his assignment as Parochial Vicar at St. Anne Church in Columbus.

Patrick May’s home parish is St. Mary on the Hill in Augusta. He just finished his second year of Theology and had a chance to catch up with Josie and Dick Lee who are his Pen Pals.

Fr. Brett is an old friend from the

beginning of the Vocations Ministry here in Savannah. He was the Director of Vocations when we initially organized the Serra Club of Savannah and his support was instrumental in those early days, helping to sustain our endeavor. Now he’s back in Savannah as Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church where he is engaged in the ambitious Seeds of Change Campaign to renovate and build the church campus.

Both Fr. Clark and Fr. Brett are celebrating their Anniversaries of Ordination this year, 40 years and 25 years respectively. We are truly blessed to have had these !ne priests serving our diocese all these years.

Bishop Hartmayer thanked the Knights and the St. John Vianney Vocations Ministry for sponsoring the evening and our support of Vocations in the Diocese of Savannah.

He made a particular point of thanking the religious who were in attendance saying that we are very fortunate to have so many dedicated women serving in our diocese.

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In a recent article in the Southern Cross, Fr. Pablo Migone observed that this year, 548 men will be ordained to the priesthood in the United States.

On Saturday June 4th, we were blessed to witness our prayers being answered as two of that number, Brian O’Shaughnessy and John Wright, were ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. This brings the number of priests ordained for the Diocese of Savannah to 33 since the Savannah Vocations Ministry began back in 2002.

In his homily, Bishop Hartmayer proclaimed that Brian and John will become Missionaries of Mercy. Here is a condensation of those remarks:

“This is a day of great joy for the Church of Savannah...Brian and John, today is a day of great joy, for, in the presence of those who have nurtured and supported you over the years...I will ordain you priests of Jesus Christ for ministry in the Diocese of Savannah.

“In the !rst reading we heard that God anointed the prophet Isaiah to ‘announce a year of favor from the Lord’; a Jubilee. Pope Francis has announced that this year is also a ‘year of favor’; the Year of Mercy.

“Today, you will become Missionaries of Mercy with the mandate to transmit the Christian message by embracing those in di"culty, by embracing the outcast, the marginalized and the sinner.

Our Prayers Have Been Answered

Photo provided by Cathedral Productions

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“My dear brothers, as a priest, you are called to be salt for the earth, a light in the world, and a Missionary of Mercy. You can really make a profound di#erence in the lives of many, many people.

“You can also make a positive di#erence in the life of our society by your witness to social justice. You will be exercising priestly ministry in a mission diocese where there are small pockets of Catholics spread throughout

middle Georgia who long to hear the Gospel of Joy.

“Many of our immigrant Catholics are afraid to be seen. They are living in the shadows. Many are working hard to provide a better life for their family but do not always feel welcome. They must feel welcome in our parishes and missions. This is where they encounter Christ and we, as priests, as Missionaries of Mercy and Good Shepherds, must make that happen.

Photos by Michael J! Johnson"Southern Cross

Photo provided by Cathedral Productions

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“The priesthood is not the kind of position which provides much opportunity to become a mover and a shaker in our society. You are choosing a life of service in order to build up the kingdom of God.

“My dear brothers, you are being ordained in the Jubilee Year of Mercy. That fact should resonate in your heart for the rest of your life. You should be known as the ‘priests of the Year of Mercy’ and not by any other de!nition or label.

“My dear parents of the ordinandi: Thank you for the faith that you have shared with your sons. You have taught them well. We have built on the foundation that you provided your sons in your home. Thank you for supporting their call and for your constant

prayers during their years in the seminary. Thank you for giving the gift of your sons to do God’s work in the Diocese of Savannah. May God bless you a hundred fold.

“And so my dear brothers, my prayer for you this day is that you will !nd great joy in the priesthood of Jesus Christ and that you will be a messenger of joy and mercy to the people of this local church who so hunger and thirst for God.

“On this feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we pray: Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for those who do not have recourse to you, especially the enemies of the Church and those recommended to you. O Mary, mother of priests, pray for us. Amen.”

Photo by Michael J! Johnson"Southern Cross

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Published by the St. John Vianney Vocations Ministry of Savannah Supporting Vocations in the Diocese of Savannah

President: Gretchen Reese; VP Communications: Peter Paolucci; Editor: Walt Kessel 912-354-9493 <waltkessel@comcast.net>

Selecting the topic for the 2016 Vocation Essay Contest has been a truly iterative process. Mike Johnson of the Southern Cross initially suggested a possible topic:

Statement: "The idea of vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward speci!c purposes and a way of life"

What are your gifts and talents calling you to do with your life?

Frank Campbell and the St. John Vianney Vocations Ministry of Augusta discussed possible essay topics at their April meeting. They looked at the previously used essay topics to see if one of them could be reused or would generate ideas for this year’s essay question. Based on this review of previous topics, the one with the most votes was last year’s essay topic - What is your favorite memory of a priest, deacon or religious. In what way does this memory inspire you to consider a vocation to the priesthood or religious life?

But they also suggested a modi!cation of

Michael’s suggested topic as they were concerned that it would not necessarily lead the students to write essays concerning vocations that are not religious vocations. No one wanted to read essays about how a talented 7th grade athlete plans to become an NFL star or a talented tutor plans to become a wonderful teacher. Both require a great use of God given gifts, and both are vocations, but somehow we need to have the topic lean more toward a religious vocation.

Building on Michael’s idea that a vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward speci!c purposes and a way of life, they suggested: What are your talents and how can you use them to serve the church and build God's Kingdom?

In the end we came up with:What are your God given gifts and talents

calling you do with your life? Which of your talents might be used as a good priest, sister or brother?

We have a Topic

By Peter Paolucci