Skipping the Business Meeting

There is a business meeting of the NCDVD right now that I have chosen to skip so that I can stay caught up with a few things and make this blog post. They are voting to raise our dues, which is necessary but unpopular so I don't want to get in the middle of that during these days when I am trying to focus on becoming a better vocation director. Yesterday we had a great day of reflection at St. John Vianney seminary in Denver. The reflection was given by Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, who reminded us that staying focused on spiritual growth for ourselves and for prospective candidates was tantamount in vocation ministry. I have had a chance to visit extensively with new and old vocation directors from dioceses like Phoenix, Omaha, Salina, etc. and that has been very helpful. It is easy to tell the places where there is hope for vocations and they places where there is a lot of spinning of the wheels and discouragement and blame. I am trying to learn how to stay above all that and really do the Lord's work in vocation ministry. Curtis Martin talked to us this morning about staying focused on evangelization in the Church, and re-evangelization, rather than just filling our good institutions with good people. He also challenged us to always get better at telling the story of redemption rather than settling for teaching the principles of our faith. It has been a fruitful time here in Denver but I am ready to get back to Kansas City and put some of these things to practice. Here are a couple of notes from Curtis' talk

• Xty is a relationship - rules without relationship equal rebellion


• young people must be in relationship with the most compelling figure of all time


• Benedict XVI - deepest poverty is an inability to experience joy - more suicide in US and W Europe than in Africa


• Invite young people to partner with God in writing the history of mankind


• keep the eternal perspective - forward always looks long, backwards always looks short


• you are not made for comfort, but for greatness


• teach young people the 'art of living'


• if we teach people to be comfortable, we will make them miserable


• do not straighten out life and then give it to Christ, but vice versa, letting Him straighten it out, for we do not have that much to give Him anyway


• the Church exists to evangelize


• mustard seed - solutions are always small but with great potency


• anything born large is a monster and will die - Escriva