Called by Name

I was blessed to spend the first weekend of March with the youth of the diocese at DCYC in Vicksburg. I know that this is being covered in another part of this issue, but I wanted to share my perspective! Each year I am blown away by the excellence of the event which our diocesan youth office puts on under the leadership of Abbey Schuhmann. The speaker and the musicians were full of faith and energy and inspired the kids, and myself.

Our seminarians help in various ways for the youth convention each year, and this year we noted that it felt like we were all a ‘well-oiled machine.’ I was really proud of Deacon Tristan Stovall and Grayson Foley as they were the masters of ceremony at the event; and Will Foggo, as he organized all the liturgies for the weekend. Our newer seminarians got their feet wet at the event supporting the organizing efforts of the other guys and walking with the youth and getting to know them.

VICKSBURG – Parish teams engaged in team building to construct the tallest tower to see which group will be first in line for dinner at DCYC. (Photo courtesy Lauren Roberts)

But it wasn’t just our seminarians providing support – I’m just in charge of them! It was really encouraging to see the network of young people in the church bringing along the younger generation and walking with them. Amelia Rizor helped coordinate a team of college students from her campus ministry team to walk with the kids and organize events. There were fantastic chaperones and youth ministers who continue to help our young people grow in their faith and inspire them to share the Gospel.

I came away from the weekend encouraged by the teamwork and dynamic leadership that our church has, especially in the young people who are at these events and on fire for the Lord. I have known many of our seminarians since they were in high school – they’ve been formed by our schools and our parish catechesis programs and our pastors and youth leaders, and they are sharing those gifts. I’ve also known many of our young youth leaders since they were in high school, and they are sharing their gifts as well.

This is the sort of teamwork that shows that we are members of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I’d like to thank Abbey and her team for letting my department play a role at diocesan youth convention, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow and bring forth great leaders in the church for years to come.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

To discern the diocesan priesthood is to discern whether the Lord is calling you to a certain place. Religious priests can get assignments in a variety of locations based on where their order is serving.
For instance, a Jesuit might get assigned to teach at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, or at Jesuit High School in New Orleans. We have Franciscan priests serving in our diocese, and they could be called to serve in various other locations outside of our diocese, and the same could be said of the Sacred Heart Fathers that serve the Northwestern part of the diocese. But for the men who are discerning whether to enter the diocesan priesthood, they need to discern whether the Diocese of Jackson will be the place where they will give their life away to Jesus and His church.

Father Nick Adam

In order to help our seminarians get a ‘good look’ at our diocese, we’ve been making concerted efforts to assign them to parishes whenever they have extended breaks from their studies in New Orleans. I appreciate that the seminaries we use are very supportive of these efforts. This past Christmas break I had three of our seminarians staying with me at the Cathedral Rectory, and when the seminarians were off again earlier this month for Mardi Gras, Francisco Maldonado spent his five-day break back up here at the Cathedral. Over that weekend we visited a homebound parishioner, helped out at a Confirmation retreat, went to a Super Bowl party, and went to the movies, along with the weekend and weekday Mass schedule of course! It was a great picture for him of a priests’ day-to-day existence!

As I continue to learn how to be a better vocation director, I’ve started being more focused with our guys regarding the need to discern this place. During my time in seminary, I prayed long and hard regarding whether God was calling me to serve these people in this diocese. Knowing that I focused on that during my formation has helped me be more ‘all-in’ when it comes to my priestly ministry. As my assignments have changed and my responsibilities have increased, I can look back on my time in seminary as confirmation that the Lord called me to serve these people in this place, and so I need to do whatever it takes to serve them well.

Having seminarians around the parish is also just life-giving. There is something energizing about having men who are freshly on-fire for the Lord around. They have helped me rededicate myself to the ‘basics’ that I learned back in my days of seminary.

Thank you for your encouragement of our men while they spend time in parishes around the diocese.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

In John’s Gospel two disciples of John the Baptist begin to follow Jesus and ask him where he is staying. He responds with an invitation: ‘Come and See.’ (John 1:38-39)

We know that one of these disciples was Andrew, the brother of Peter. It is believed that the other disciple is John the Evangelist. John often makes mention of the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” and it is very possible that this is John himself. But we can also place ourselves in that position of the beloved disciple. We are all students of Jesus who are loved by him without reserve. Often, however, we live as if Jesus has nothing to teach us, and he’s just there to help us when we need it.

Each spring on Palm Sunday weekend, St. Joseph Seminary College hosts a ‘Come and See’ retreat for young men who are open to the call to priesthood. This retreat serves as a point on the road for young disciples as they gather information and seek to discern their vocation well.

Father Nick Adam

I try to send as many guys on this retreat as possible each year because it is a great way to see what seminary life is really like. Seminarians are not ‘normal’ in many ways: they schedule their life around prayer and Mass, and that’s not the norm. But they are very ‘normal’ in other ways. They have hobbies and interests far beyond the pews. They love to build good community and spend time having fun. In some ways, the seminary is the place where men go to learn a more virtuous ‘normal.’ In the secular world, we learn many things that seem normal but are actually damaging to our consciences and our souls. Bad language is thrown around like it’s nothing, and vicious behavior is talked about on a sliding scale depending on the audience.

In the seminary men are normal, but they have been invited to ‘Come and See’ a new way of living as they are challenged to rise above the small-ness of a life focused on self and move toward a life lived for God. That focus could lead them toward the ultimate end of priestly ordination, but even if it doesn’t, they are shown a way of living that helps them be the virtuous men that our society needs. At the ‘come and see’ retreat, visitors get a look at this way of life firsthand. They see the ‘normal-ness’ of the seminarians but also they are inspired by the different way of life they have voluntarily chosen.

I hope that we will have a great group of men going to the ‘Come and See’ this spring. Please pray that the men who are being called to this event have the courage to reach out to me and overcome the obstacles that can sometimes appear when something important is happening. Pray that many more men will want to follow Jesus wherever he leads them.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

Our seminarians are off and running for the new semester. Since we have a new entrant into our ranks, I’ll take a moment to update you on where everyone is.

Deacon Tristan Stovall is starting his final semester at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He will be ordained to the priesthood on May 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. I invite you to come and join us for this joyous occasion, especially if you have never been to an ordination before.

Will Foggo is at Notre Dame and he is preparing for a summer at St. Dominic Hopital as a chaplain. Seminarians typically take one summer to work in the hospital to help them prepare for this vital ministry upon ordination. I am so grateful to the pastoral care staff at St. Dominic who have been very supportive of our seminarians since we began working with them back in 2016. I was actually one of the first seminarians, along with now Father Mark Shoffner, who worked with the pastoral care staff.

Father Nick Adam

EJ Martin is nearing graduation from the philosophy program at Notre Dame. He’ll have four years of theology and formation training prior to ordination. Grayson Foley will graduate with his bachelor’s in philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary in Covington this May after four years of study. He’ll be transferring to Notre Dame in the fall to begin his theology studies in the same class as EJ! Grayson and EJ will both be attending the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska this summer. This program is well known and well-loved by those who have attended. It is a two-month program with seminarians from across the country with a special focus on priestly spirituality and helps future priests prioritize prayer in their ministry.

Our newest seminarians, as I’ve stated in this space recently, are Wilson Locke, Francisco Maldonado and Joe Pearson. All three of these men are in the ‘propaedeutic’ stage of their formation. This is a fancy word that means ‘preparatory.’ This stage involves a large focus on ‘habit building’ and de-emphasizes academics. The bishops want to make sure that seminarians don’t just focus on getting good grades and seeing their formation as an academic pursuit, and so the first months of formation are focused on being a man of God – creating or growing in habits of prayer, acting virtuously and building strong relationships. Wilson and Francisco enjoyed their first semester as ‘propa-dudes’ – unofficial title – and Joe is just starting his time in this stage of formation. All three of these men will be assigned at parishes this coming summer so they can get a feel for the diocese and witness diocesan priesthood in action.

We continue to pray for all our seminarians in their various stages of formation!

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

I am pleased to announce that we have a new seminarian who will be starting his formation this month. Joe Pearson is a native of Flora and attended St. Richard Elementary, St. Joseph Middle and High School, Co-Lin Community College and the University of Mississippi. He graduated from Ole Miss in December and decided to apply to enter the seminary. I have known Joe since he was in high school and am very proud that he is taking this step in his journey with the Lord. Joe knows that his decision to enter the seminary is not a decision to become a priest, but rather it is a decision to discern fully whether or not the Lord is calling him to be a priest.

Father Nick Adam

The seminary is the place where men who have the maturity and the desire go to know their vocation. The guys who enter do not know for sure that they will be ordained. They literally cannot know for sure because they are not the only ones who are making the decision. The church discerns with the man as well, and it’s my job as vocation director to help our seminarians discover their particular path. I am very happy with the group that we have studying for our diocese. I believe that each of our seminarians was called to the seminary and will become who they are called to be by the Lord, whether they get ordained or not.
Over the Christmas holidays I’ve been blessed to host three of our seminarians here at the Cathedral Rectory: Will Foggo, Wilson Locke and Francisco Maldonado. Will is one of our senior-most seminarians while Wilson and Francisco just started back in August. We had a great time and I believe that the best way to prepare men for the priesthood is to give them a realistic look at what being a priest is like. They were able to participate in various events from meetings to parties, but they also have blessed our Catholic community by their witness and their talents. Will and Francisco visited two of our elementary schools and Wilson and I will visit Sr. Thea Bowman School in January before he goes back to seminary. All of them have assisted with Masses and helped with parish activities as well.
One testament to the quality of our seminarians is the feedback that I receive from the community. Wilson and I have been going to a local gym downtown to exercise in the afternoon. One of the employees shared with me how impressed he was by Wilson’s witness when he had a brief conversation with him one day. I am grateful for our seminarians and ask you to continue praying for all of them as they embark on another semester of formation.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

New seminarian, Joe Pearson pictured with Father Mark Shoffner outside St. John parish in Oxford. (Photo courtesy Father Nick Adam)

Called by name

Father Nick Adam

I have now been the Rector of the Cathedral for a year and a half, and throughout my professional life I have noticed that it takes about that amount of time to get my feet under me whenever I start something new. Being a pastor is a great responsibility but also a great source of joy as I get to walk with the parishioners here at St. Peter. While it’s a challenge to live in the two worlds of parish life and seminarian accompaniment and vocation promotion, I think that living in these two worlds has helped me realize what is ‘absolutely necessary’ and helpful to promote vocations and what isn’t.

One thing that has proven to be helpful time and time again is the ‘Come and See’ that is offered by St. Joseph Seminary College twice a year – once in the fall and once on Palm Sunday weekend in the spring. During this weekend young men are invited to come live at the seminary and hear talks from current seminarians. Our own Grayson Foley served as the emcee at one of these retreats. The Palm Sunday weekend retreat is especially helpful, I think, because the guys get to see the liturgy of the monastery in full color. Holy Week is astounding at St. Joseph Abbey, and I know that is inspiring to see so many seminarians participating in the liturgy and it is a source of grace for the discernment of those considering whether to enter the seminary or not.

So, our offerings for ‘come and see’ experiences have certainly narrowed since I became a pastor. I simply can’t organize the diocesan experiences that we had for a couple of years. But I do believe that we have sufficient resources to accompany young men considering the priesthood, and so I want to encourage you all to promote this ‘Come and See’ to the good young men in your parish. You can share this article with them if you’d like, and make sure they know that they can reach out to me via phone at (601) 969-4020 or email nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org to learn more.

At the end of this year, I’d like to thank all of you who have been consistent readers and encouragers of mine. This little article has been a labor of love for me and it’s just a way to help connect you with vocation ministry. The more we can all be on the same page about what is needed to increase vocations and bring forth men for the priesthood from our own diocese, the more faces we’ll see on that famous seminarian poster that comes out each fall. Merry Christmas, and please, continue to pray for the master of the harvest to bring forth laborers for the harvest!

                       – Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Read about our current seminarians and their inspirational vocation stories at https://jacksondiocese.org/seminarians. Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

“71% of newly ordained priests were personally invited to consider this call by their parish priest.” This is according to a 2022 study released by CARA, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University (and cited by Brendan Hodge in his Nov. 20 article on pillarcatholic.com – “On vocations, asking is key.”

I know that it can be challenging to ask. It is easy to think that someone who seems like a good candidate for priesthood has already been ‘bugged about it’ by someone else. It can be tempting to think that our voice won’t make a difference, or we can fall into the trap of thinking that it won’t make a difference whether we say something or not. But 71% of newly ordained priests were personally invited to consider this call by their parish priest. I was personally invited to consider a call to the priesthood by my parish priest in Meridian.

Father Nick Adam

I was working full-time and attending Mass regularly. I was getting more involved in the parish, and I was seriously considering whether the Lord was calling me to be a priest, but I was terrified to say it out loud!

When you are considering priesthood it can be very isolating. We don’t know what we don’t know, and so to have my pastor bring it up to me was very freeing. I was thinking privately there is no way I am good enough to be a priest! But once he affirmed that he saw traits within me that would make for a good priest, it was very helpful. I realize now that the Lord qualifies the called, he doesn’t call the qualified. No one, after all, is worthy in themselves to minister at the altar, but the Lord doesn’t demand perfection, he demands faithfulness and perseverance.

So, we need to help those who are called by calling them forth. And pastors of parishes are some of the most effective ‘callers’ in the world. When our spiritual fathers encourage us to do things that we might be fearful or doubtful about, we can receive new strength and encouragement to do what otherwise seems impossible.

Please encourage your pastors to be on the lookout for men in your parish who would make excellent priests. Don’t be shy about pointing out specific folks in the pews and telling your pastor to be on the lookout and to encourage them to think about it. Remember, also, that we need men who would make excellent husbands and fathers to think about priesthood and take that possibility seriously. Diocesan priesthood is not for the faint of heart, and it is not for those who pick it as a ‘back up plan.’ The call to priesthood or religious life should be a priority for all young people in the church, and pastors of parishes can play a big role in setting that tone for their parishioners.

So, please encourage your pastors to encourage the great young men in your parish to consider the priesthood.

                                                                                                               Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Read about our current seminarians and their inspirational vocation stories at https://jacksondiocese.org/seminarians. Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

If we expect young people to discover God’s will for them then we must teach them how to speak with Jesus in times of silent prayer. In order to prepare ourselves for regular conversation with the Lord where he can speak to us, we need to answer a few questions.

When? This is often the question we struggle to answer the most I think, or at least we struggle to answer it with consistency. The key is to pick a time and stick to it. The morning is typically the best time because the day hasn’t started yet, and we don’t have a thousand issues running through our heads. If you are like me and you are not a morning person, that doesn’t mean you can’t pray in the morning, it just means you might pray a little later than others do, and that’s ok! Just pick a time that’s realistic for you with your schedule and stick to it!

Father Nick Adam
Father Nick Adam

Where? Another question that we can struggle to answer or to have consistency with. It is vital to have a space that is set apart in order to spend time in prayer. This doesn’t have to be your local parish or adoration chapel, but that would be a great place to choose. The key is that it needs to be a quiet space and anything in the room needs to help you bring your mind to God (icons, crucifix, etc.) rather than staying in the things of the world (computer screen, music, etc.). It may be tempting to play ‘mood music,’ but I wouldn’t, even sacred music like chant. We need to learn that being in silence is ok, and though it feels that we are alone, we aren’t – the Lord is here to meet us.

How? Here’s my starter kit – your Bible, a journal and 20 minutes. Read a passage from Scripture slowly, then read it slowly one more time. What word, phrase, action of a character, etc. sticks out to you. (Example: I’m reading about the storm at sea and the fear of the apostles sicks out to me) – talk to Jesus about why that word, phrase, action, etc. is affecting you. Talk to Jesus for about five minutes, or until you’ve said all you want to say. Then allow the silence to come back into your heart and wait for the Lord to respond. Sometimes he responds with a feeling or a thought that bubbles up, sometimes you’ll feel nothing, but this is all about consistency. It is about allowing God the space to act in your life. After your time of silence, write in your journal what you spoke to Jesus about and what you think he said back to you.

Please share this article with a young person in your life and encourage them to enter into daily prayer and encourage them by your own example of daily prayer.

                                            – Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Read about our current seminarians and their inspirational vocation stories at https://jacksondiocese.org/seminarians. Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

In early November , I spent a few hours speaking to some of the senior theology classes at St. Joseph School in Madison. I spoke with the students much more about prayer than I have in the past. Many people want to do God’s will, but they don’t know how to discover God’s will.

We can only understand what our call from God is, in an affirmative way, if we come to the Lord in silent prayer and develop a relationship with him. Pope Benedict XVI said that ‘young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God’s call.’ What a powerful statement! But it is true! Once we understand how to enter into a living dialogue with the Lord, then he can speak to us and we can speak back to Him. One of the first steps of entering into deeper prayer is understanding who we are in Christ. In other words, who we are as baptized Christians and members of the church.

Through our baptism we are given an exalted position before the Lord. We are made sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. Like any good father, the Lord wants to help guide us along our way. He wants to see us reach our full potential, and he wants to support us as we strive to reach that potential. But many people struggle to experience a true, living relationship with God. This is why it is so important that we are rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is only in Christ that we are sons and daughters of the Father, and so it is in Christ that we can form a relationship with the Holy Trinity.

Our confirmation seals us in the grace of our baptism, and is another way that God generously pours forth grace into our hearts as the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit are made manifested in our acts of virtue. With the frequent reception of communion and regular visits to reconciliation, we are well on our way to deepening our relationship with the Lord.

But personal prayer is a must if we are going to discover God’s will for us. When we enter into prayer we have to enter into silence. We live in a world full of distractions, and so to step away from those distractions is our first step in prioritizing God above all things. The Scriptures are a powerful well-spring of prayer. When we read the Word of God, we begin to realize that we are not alone. Faithful people throughout the ages have struggled with their relationship with God, and with others, and this is related again and again in the Scriptures. In our next issue I will discuss how we pray with the Scriptures. Please share this article with a young person in your life and encourage them to develop a life of personal prayer.

– Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Read about our current seminarians and their inspirational vocation stories at https://jacksondiocese.org/seminarians. Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

Called by Name

Father Nick Adam

Our 4th Annual Homegrown Harvest Festival is in the books, but the work of calling forth men to the priesthood from our parishes continues. One of the most encouraging parts of the evening for me at St. Paul Flowood was the mixture of longtime vocation supporters and new faces that were there.
The vision that we had for this event starting in 2020 was to bring together vocation supporters to encourage one another. It is difficult to consistently ask young men to consider the priesthood. It is difficult to look toward the future when the present has so many needs of its own. But the Lord tells us to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest, and so we must keep encouraging one another and trusting that the Lord will bring forth good men to serve us in our parishes and schools.

The most encouraging part of this event has become the presentation by our seminarians. This year I asked Deacon Tristan to share a little bit about his experience in over six years of seminary formation. I gave him little to no warning that he would be speaking in front of the whole crowd, but he did a wonderful job! He even asked Grayson Foley to add his own experience as a younger seminarian and both of them were so filled with enthusiasm that it was infectious.

This is the whole point of the Homegrown Harvest event. Yes, we need the money in order to send these guys to school, but we also need to encourage one another and see that formation works. Grayson and Deacon Tristan will both be wonderful leaders in our church for years to come, and that is what all the money and the planning and the prayers are for.

Grayson and Deacon Tristan are also inspiring other young people to consider their own calls from the Lord. There were a few discerners in the crowd at the Mass and the event, and I was so happy to see our seminarians interacting with them and encouraging them. I also enjoyed a late-night Waffle House visit with the seminarians and a few young adults who have continued to be in friendship with our seminarians and young priests. This is the type of culture that brings forth men and women to consider giving their lives to the Lord.

Thank you to everyone who made this event a success and thank you for your support of the Department of Vocations as we ask the Lord for strength and endurance to continue our work.

— Father Nick Adam

FLOWOOD – Pictures from the Jackson Seminarian Homegrown Harvest on Saturday, Oct. 21 in the Family Life Center at St. Paul parish in Flowood. Below, Deacon Tristan Stovall speaks to those in attendance on his experience as as seminarian. (Photos by Joanna Puddister King)

(L-R) Will Fogo, EJ Martin, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, deacon Tristan Stovall, Willson Locke and Franciaco Maldonado.