National Vocations Awareness Week is Sun, Dec 3-9. Follow our social media campaign with daily themes using #dsjvocations. View the following quotes as they appeared in our exclusive social media carousels by clicking here. 

Seminarians

What inspires and challenges you personally and spiritually on this journey? I am constantly discovering who God wants me to be, always in a relationship with Him and others.  Michael Silva 

How has your experience in seminary transformed your faith and personal relationship with Christ? There was this one Mass in the seminary when one of the deacons preached about how he found God amidst all the difficulties he encountered in his life. It was so real that it made me see God's goodness through his words and gave a lot of encouragement in my vocation. Quizzer Besinio

How has your experience in seminary transformed your faith and personal relationship with Christ? The transformative seminary experience has allowed me to answer God's call in a more personal and intimate way ... Engaging in parish ministries on the weekends has solidified and affirmed God's calling for me to serve his people. Thanh Ho

Priests

What major influence contributed to your considering entering the priesthood? My mother's faith, family faith practices, and some religious priests.  Roberto Rodriguez, M.M.

What inspires and challenges you personally and spiritually on this journey? We are a Missionary Community that serves migrants and refugees. As an immigrant myself (my family emigrated from Malta to Canada), their struggles inspire my service in the Church. Helping in their faith formation nurtures my spiritual life.  Bro. Charles S. Muscat, Missionaries of St. Charles Scalabrinians, Holy Cross Parish

How has becoming and serving as a shepherd of Christ, transformed your faith and relationship with Jesus? My awareness of my responsibility and duty towards God and His people has grown acutely.  Fr. Andrew B. García, S.J., Most Holy Trinity Parish 

What major influence contributed to your considering entering the priesthood? I have a sister who is a contemplative nun who, I believe, began to pray for my vocation. Participating in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest, the Good Shepherd, is an incredible and unfathomable gift.  Fr. Brian Dinkel, I.V.E. 

How has becoming and serving as a shepherd of Christ transformed your faith and relationship with Jesus? As I serve Jesus, I grow in my faith because I continue to root myself to Jesus by praying, immersing myself in the Word of God, and in the reception of the sacraments. Fr. Eric Piczon, St. Maria Goretti

Contemplative Men

How has becoming and serving as a shepherd of Christ “on the hill” or in a contemplative setting transformed your faith and relationship with Jesus? Entering religious life and serving at the monastery has made me into a totally different man than I was just a few years ago. The contemplative life and the ministry that flows from it have conformed me to Christ in ways I could not have imagined before.  Br. Charbel Mary of Christ the King, O.C.D. 

What major influence contributed to your considering entering the monastery? The writings of Our Holy Mother, St. Teresa of Jesus: I read them at a particularly painful and confusing time of my life and found that she answered all my questions (as she still does to this day) with such maternal love and attention.  Br. Theresio of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, O.C.D.

How has becoming and serving as a shepherd of Christ transformed your faith and relationship with Jesus? Knowing my weakness more acutely, I'm more dependent on the sustenance of seeking loving union with Him in prayer and on His Holy Spirit for inspiration and power. Without Jesus, I'm nothing, and my ministry is impotent.  Fr. Matthias of the Immaculate Heart, O.C.D.

Postulants and Novices

What major influence contributed to your considering entering a contemplative life? Each of our sisters had a different answer: 1) It was reading about St. Therese of Lisieux, 2) Spending time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, and 3) I was first in a religious community that was both active and contemplative. They were very faithful to the contemplative aspect of their life, making me thirst for more. from the Poor Clares

Religious Sisters 

Before entering your religious order, how did Faith influence your decision to pursue this path? Was there a notable figure or something else that inspired you? Attending Mass and participating in the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement strengthened my faith. Before entering my religious congregation, I volunteered to help children in the catechism class at my parish. I was impressed by a sister's kindness and compassion. Sister Catherine Phuong Dang, QuiNhon LHC

How has the experience of serving as a religious community, within your community, and in the world transformed your faith and relationship with Jesus? I have developed a personal and living relationship with our Lord. Without my community and the guidance of my sisters, I know with certainty that I would not be where I am today.  Sister Catherine Teresa Bui, O.P.

Before entering your religious order, how did Faith influence your decision to pursue this path? Was there a notable figure or something else that inspired you? I was born and raised in a Catholic family, and my mother used to tell my siblings and me many saints stories. Attending Eucharistic celebrations daily and saying daily night prayers in my family has created in me a deep relationship with God.  Sister Theresa Xuan Lan Vu Luu, DHM

What inspires and challenges you personally and spiritually on this journey? I see the inspiration and witness of fidelity in the sisters in my community. My Sisters model for me what it is to be faithful and true to our vows, to be faithful and true to our mission and the charism of our foundress, Venerable Nano Nagle, and to trust in God wholeheartedly.  Sister Rosina Conrotto, PBVM

How has the experience of serving as a religious community, within your community, and in the world transformed your faith and relationship with Jesus? I could pursue the same spiritual goals as a single or married woman, but I also know that I feel closer to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and more sure of staying on the path of a wise and holy life with the support and love of my sisters than without them.  Donna Maria Moses, OP

Contemplative Women

How has serving the world in secret “behind the walls” transformed your faith and relationship with Jesus? Having a vocation that has no tangible results stretches the spiritual muscles! Prayer is our apostolate. It is a life of prayer that immerses us in love and unites us in community: to our local community and the whole world.  Sister Marie Colette, Poor Clares

A Permanent Deacon Speaks 

What inspired you and your spouse to commit to the permanent diaconate?
About ten years into my marriage I went through the RCIA (I was raised in the Southern Baptist Faith Tradition) and came into full communion in 2014. Later, As I approached the end of the three-year ILM program, several priests asked me to consider applying to the permanent diaconate. I believe the journey itself was the inspiration for our commitment to the permanent diaconate. Dcn. Kenneth D. Wright, St. Catherine

What inspires and challenges you personally and spiritually on this journey?

In my service as a permanent deacon, I am particularly inspired by the wonderful people of the Diocese of San Jose. As a deacon, I have a special opportunity to get to know many different people. Living and serving in reality and recognizing the Lord's active presence is inspiring, challenging, and, most importantly, humbling. Dcn. Kenneth D. Wright, St. Catherine

What would you say to couples who also may be encountering a call to walk the path of the permanent diaconate?

First and foremost, pray; as a married couple, the permanent diaconate is a journey made together as one. Second, do not be afraid. As you discern the Lord's call, many negative spirits will try to deter you from answering the call. Third, be merciful. Mercy is love in action. Mercy is not passive. Be willing to take the actions the Lord asks you to, always in love for the Lord and each other. Dcn. Kenneth D. Wright, St. Catherine

How has entering the permanent diaconate transformed your faith and relationship with Christ?

My relationship with Christ now, as a permanent deacon, is substantively different from what it was before I began my journey into the diaconate. My diaconal experience has allowed my relationship with Christ to move from a relationship of "knowing of" Christ to a relationship of "living in" Christ. Dcn. Kenneth D. Wright, St. Catherine

Final Thoughts on the Permanent Diaconate ... 

There is no doubt that my journey into the permanent diaconate has spiritually enriched me and my family and moved our lives in a direction that just seems right before the Lord. Now, about 2 1/2 years into my service as a permanent deacon, my family and I are grateful for the opportunity to serve, and we pray that the Lord will grant us many more years in service to the bishop and people of the Diocese of San Jose. Dcn. Kenneth D. Wright, St. Catherine