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Vocations Mass aims to inspire middle school students to consider priesthood or religious life

Sixth and seventh graders from Catholic schools in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington participate in the annual Mass for Vocations on March 31, 2022 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Sixth and seventh grade students from Catholic schools in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington gathered on March 31 to attend the 26th annual Mass for Vocations at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The annual Mass is held to encourage students to consider the priesthood or religious life. 

Middle school students from Catholic schools in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington participate in the annual Mass for Vocations on March 31 at the National Shrine. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Father Mark Ivany, the director of priest vocations for the archdiocese, was the main celebrant for the Mass,  while Father James Morrison, a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, gave the homily. Following the Mass, students were invited to the basilica’s Memorial Hall for a reception where different orders had information booths to discuss their work and answer questions. 

Father James Morrison, a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, gives the homily at the Mass for Vocations on March 31, 2022 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

In his homily, Father Morrison described his experiences as a priest. He used an anecdote about an after-school interaction with a second grader who asked him if he had any children as a means to highlight how fulfilling his life is without any children of his own. 

“On the day of my ordination, I made a promise that I wouldn’t get married, that I wouldn’t have a family of my own, but on the day of my ordination God gave me a special gift, which is to be a Father,” the priest said, referencing his role in the parish. For Father Morrison, the people of his parish are his family. 

“Students, my parishioners, those are the people that the Lord has entrusted to me. So I’m excited and honored to go to lacrosse games, hear Confessions, forgive sins, baptize… It is an amazing life, being a priest,” Father Morrison said.  

Sister Mary Lucia Gerster, a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan, speaks during the Mass for Vocations on March 31, 2022 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

Speaking after Communion, Sister Mary Lucia Gerster shared her story of not only becoming a sister, but converting to Catholicism as well. Sister Mary Lucia – a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan – said her path to Catholicism began with her love of history. 

“The history of it, I was in this Bible study in school, and I had always wanted to be baptized and be closer to the Lord, and there’s this sense of ‘I can’t find the right church,’ and I kept getting frustrated by it,” Sister Mary Lucia said. 

She said what ultimately drew her to Catholicism was how established it is as one of the oldest religions in the world. 

“The right Church must be the oldest Church, which is either the Catholic or the Orthodox Church and by process of elimination I was like, I want to be Catholic, so then I just started saying ‘I’m Catholic’ in eighth grade,” Sister Mary Lucia said. 

After starting the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process when she was 17 years old, she became Catholic the next year. Shortly after that, she started feeling the call to become a woman religious.  

“I really started seriously considering religious life when I was 19, 20 [years old], it was during college,” Sister Mary Lucia said. 

Growing up, her family attended various Christian denominations. She said they have been supportive of her becoming Catholic and joining a religious community.

“My parents were married in a Methodist church, but we bounced around a lot, my mom was technically raised Presbyterian, so we just went to different places trying to find the right spot so we just considered ourselves Christian,” Sister Mary Lucia said. 

At a reception following the March 31 Mass for Vocations at the National Shrine, a woman religious talks about her vocation with students from St. Philip the Apostle School in Camp Springs. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

For Tori Breitenbach, a seventh grader at Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Kensington, Maryland, this event was her first time at the National Shrine.

“The Mass was very beautiful, and the church is very pretty, I love it here,” Breitenbach said during the reception.

“Maybe, I am not really sure if that is what I am really called to do,” Breitenbach said when asked if she was considering religious life. 

Taylor Meringolo is in the same class as Breitenbach. “I really liked the story about how he was talking about the second grader, it was nice,” Meringolo said.

Holy Redeemer students were given an assignment that encouraged them to ask questions at the different booths.  

“In English [class], we’re interviewing two nuns and a student,” Meringolo said. “It’s going pretty good, we’ve got amazing nuns and priests that we’ve gotten to interview.”

As for if she is considering religious life, Meringolo said she is keeping an open heart.

“Maybe, God can always call me to do something, but I’m not really thinking about doing it right now,” Meringolo said.

Taylor Meringolo and Tori Breitenbach, who are seventh graders at Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Kensington, Maryland, were among students attending a reception that followed the March 31 Mass for Vocations at the National Shrine. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)

More than 25 Catholic schools in the archdiocese participated in the event. Due to COVID-19, the last Vocations Mass was in 2019. 

Father Mark Ivany, the director of priest vocations for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, gives Communion to a student during the March 31, 2022 Mass for Vocations at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)
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