Back on Memorial Day I took a trip down the Pearl River in a kayak with Will Foggo and Joe Pearson. It was a very memorable trip for several reasons: 1) There was absolutely no current going downriver, so it basically became a 10.4-mile trip across a big lake! 2) We almost had enough equipment. We had three kayaks, but only two kayak paddles, the third paddle we had was really for a canoe; and 3) we got a bit of a late start, and ended up getting to our exit-point well after dark.

Going into the trek we knew that we were in for some unexpected turbulence, that’s just the way it goes when you are in a group, and you are dealing with mother nature. The journey through seminary is comparable in some ways to that trip down the Pearl: both demand that you remain aware of your surroundings, rely on other people for help and support, and have a great attitude so you can truly ‘enjoy the ride,’ even when it’s a little unpleasant for various reasons.

I remember the first time I walked onto the campus of a seminary I was blown away by the number of chapels there were. It seemed that no matter where I might live on campus, a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament reposed in a a tabernacle was just a short walk away. Everything also seemed so ‘ordered.’ The seminarians would walk dutifully in packs from class to class, to the church for Mass, or to the refectory for meals. The structure in seminary helps men to form good habits of prayer, study, fraternity and service, but that structure is not meant to be an end in itself.

I always tell our seminarians that if they are being called to be a priest in the Diocese of Jackson, then they are called to be malleable. They should be willing to step up and make adjustments to their schedule according to the needs of God’s people. When Will and Joe and I started down the river: it seemed like we were just going along with the flow. Everything was in order. But then we realized how slow the current was, and how much trash was in the river (truly, a disturbing amount), and that we might not be getting in until after dark. We had to be willing to re-frame our expectations and make the best of it, to have a great attitude and ‘enjoy the ride.’

I read recently that one should pray about the challenges, doubts and trials that are coming in our life, rather than to only pray about the ones that we currently have or the aftermath of a certain situation. I think that is a very wise posture of prayer for a seminarian. A seminarian studying for the Diocese of Jackson, or for the diocesan priesthood in general, should pray for the grace to remain calm in the midst of great change or challenge. That way, when faced with this during his priesthood, he won’t be dismayed or think something is ‘wrong,’ rather, he’ll expect that the Lord will give him the grace he needs to keep going, and ‘enjoy the ride.’

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

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

As the rector of the Cathedral and the vocation director, I have gotten a lot of experience working with young people as they prepare to make a lifelong commitment to a vocation. Here at St. Peter’s we are in the middle of a run of weddings.

It turns out that most people want to get married when the weather is nice, and here in Mississippi, that means they’ve got about a five week stretch between the cold of winter and the heat of summer! Since April 13, I’ve presided at six weddings and I’ve provided marriage prep for a seventh couple who got married at a different parish. I also spent a weekend at the Engaged Encounter retreat which is part of the marriage preparation process at many parishes in the diocese.

It is interesting that most couples spend 2-4 years dating before taking vows to be together for life – to have and to hold, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. Most seminarians, on the other hand, spend 6-9 years in the seminary prior to making their priestly promises and being ordained a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

No matter how long you date, you can’t be totally prepared for the lifelong sacrifices and challenges that marriage demands, and no matter how long you spend in seminary, or how good your grades are, or how well you understand the demands of priestly life, living this life is not something you can totally prepare for in the seminary.

What is basically necessary for successful marriages and faithfulness to priesthood, I believe, is that couples and seminarians understand that when they take their vows (or in the seminarian’s case, make their promises), their life is no longer about themselves. Our vocations are mysterious, and we don’t naturally possess all the attributes necessary to live them well. No one naturally wants to give their life up. We may give of ourselves when we are feeling particularly generous, but selflessness is really a supernatural activity. This is why we need the grace of the sacrament of Matrimony and the grace of the sacrament of Holy Orders to live out our vocations well.

Many people have come up with, and will continue to come up with, good reasons why marriages fail, and priests leave. The truth is, there is never just one reason. Often, relationships fail because of a series of choices, not all of which were bad, but which eventually lead someone to stop giving themselves to the other. The spouse or the priest stopped being willing to give themselves and didn’t want to put themselves second anymore. I wish there was a magic bullet that could guarantee the success of marriages and the fruitfulness of priestly ministry, but there isn’t. Each of us who have made solemn promises to another, whether that is a spouse or the church, must hold ourselves accountable. Am I living for the other, or am I making small choices that lead me to think more about myself and my own comfort?

Our vocations should transform us. They should make us look and sound and act more like Jesus, who laid down his life for his friends.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

The summer is quickly approaching, and this is the time when our seminarians get to take a break from the books and get out into our parishes. I’m excited to announce that all of our seminarians will have great assignments this summer; and I’m grateful to the pastors and lay leaders who are helping me to give them important experiences as they continue to discern whether or not the Lord is calling them to be priests in the Diocese of Jackson.

But first I want to remind you of the ordination date for Deacon Tristan Stovall. On May 18 at 10:30 a.m. he’ll be ordained at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. At that point, he will not be a seminarian anymore, and therefore I have no say in his assignment (although people have asked me where he’ll be assigned, it is to be announced!) Please make plans to come to the ordination Mass and celebrate with all of us. Deacon Tristan has been a wonderful seminarian and I’ve had him with me for various assignments during his time in formation. In fact, when he began his formation, I was a seminarian with him!

Okay, onto the summer assignments. With Deacon Tristan being ordained, Will Foggo will be our ‘senior-most’ seminarian. It is time for Will to have his summer of hospital ministry. We have had a great partnership with St. Dominic Hospital and their pastoral care team since 2016. After second year Theology, our seminarians have worked with the pastoral care team at St. Dominic. They begin by shadowing each member of the staff and getting a lay of the land, and then they spend the whole summer visiting patients – bringing them communion, praying with them, and collaborating with the medical and pastoral care staff at the hospital. A great thanks to Jill Hisaw, director of the pastoral care department, and the whole staff for their wonderful work and support of our seminarians.
Grayson Foley and EJ Martin will be traveling to Omaha, Nebraska to take part in the Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF). This is an 8-week program that we’ve been sending seminarians to since 2015. It is designed to help diocesan seminarians understand the spiritual life of the diocesan priesthood and gives them tools to make sure that they pray well during their priesthood and that they teach their people how to pray as well. My time at IPF was very formative, and most of the techniques for personal prayer that I teach in the parish were taught to me during my summer in Omaha.

Our first-year seminarians, Wilson Locke, Francisco Maldonado and Joe Pearson, will all be in parishes this summer here in the diocese. Wilson will be at Our Lady of Victories in Cleveland; Francisco will be at St. Joseph in Greenville; and Joe will be at St. Mary Basilica in Natchez. A great thanks to Fathers Kent, Jose and Aaron for walking with these men and being great examples of priestly ministry to them.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

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

The ‘Come and See’ at St. Joseph Seminary College in late March was a big success with more than 200 young men participating. Each spring and fall the seminary college, which is located in Covington, Louisiana on the campus on a Benedictine Monastery, hosts the event.

We had two discerners come down for the weekend and they both had very positive experiences. One of the recent developments at this event has been a greater focus on networking among vocations directors from around the country. I got a lot out of a roundtable discussion that we were invited to with the seminary faculty and in the other social times that were made available for vocations directors. As I reflect on nearly five years of promoting vocations, it is really important that I get new ideas and bounce my own practices off others who are in the field. Bishop Kopacz often reminds me that vocations is a specialized ministry, and often you can’t grow unless you are talking to others who know what the unique challenges and goals are that you are facing.

I continue to be encouraged and blessed by our current seminarians, all of whom are working very hard and have been very diligent in their discernment. Many of our men were able to come back to the diocese to help out with Holy Week liturgies at various parishes and at the Cathedral. I was able to catch up with them on Easter Monday for a great lunch, and Bishop Kopacz and I went down to Covington again in early April for evaluations and were able to visit with everyone again. The group’s desire for community and their willingness to be present back here in the diocese is a great sign for the future. Our men in formation are men of the people who want to be a part of our diocesan life. This is a key point of formation and a benchmark that is very important to hit.

All of our seminarians showed this attitude in practice when they came up to serve for the Chrism Mass on Holy Tuesday and helped Chancellor Mary Woodward and I host a lunch for our guests after the Mass. For the past couple of years, we’ve invited fifth graders from our Catholic Schools to attend the Mass and to speak to them about vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The boys were hosted by myself and the seminarians, while the girls got to hear from Sister Dorothea Sondgeroth about women’s religious life. Our seminarians were very engaged and the kids loved to hear their stories. I asked each of our seminarians to give a brief witness to the kids regarding their call to the seminary, and I hope that the kids will take to heart these stories and keep priesthood in mind as they grow and develop their talents and interests.

We look forward with joy to the ordination of Deacon Tristan Stovall this May. He will be ordained at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Jackson on May 18 at 10:30 a.m. Please make plans to come join us for this joyous occasion.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

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

It can be easy to focus on priestly ordination as the one and only milestone that our seminarians need to clear, but this ‘one-track’ attitude is not good for our men who are in formation. For one thing, ordination is not the goal of seminary, formation is.

As I state here often, about fifty percent of the men who enter the seminary do not end up getting ordained. For the vast majority of them, this is a decision that has been come to in peace and joy and they look forward to the next chapter of their life with a greater clarity – they know they are not called to priesthood.

But when we only focus on ordination we can give men the impression that in order to go to seminary they must be sure they are going to make it to priesthood; or in order for seminary to be a success they need to make it ordination. But honestly, the men that are sure they’ll be ordained from the start are sometimes not the best candidates for priesthood.

The best candidates are men who realize that the Lord’s will is the top priority, and they don’t assume that they are called to be priests, rather, they enter into formation with openness and eagerness and then they see what happens.

I am happy to report that all of our seminarians are very clear on this expectation. They are allowing the process of formation to unfold, and while I think each one of them could make an excellent priest, I know that the Lord may call them to something else, and I have to be prepared to accompany them to make that step if need be.

One way we can support our men in this balanced approach to formation is to celebrate the major steps along the road to ordination. We may not make as big a deal about them as ordination, but I assure you that they mean a great deal to the men who are doing the hard work of priestly formation.

This spring we will celebrate with Grayson Foley and EJ Martin as they graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from their respective seminaries. This is a big occasion for these men who are completing the ‘discipleship stage’ of formation, where they are learning to be a student of Jesus Christ, and they are about to move to the ‘configurative stage,’ where they will be formed after the image of Christ the Priest.

Grayson is one of our ‘longest tenured’ seminarians, he spent four years earning this degree, while EJ put in two very challenging academic years since he entered seminary already holding a bachelor’s degree. EJ and Grayson will also celebrate a big milestone on May 17, when they are admitted to Candidacy for Holy Orders. This is the point in formation when seminarians proclaim before their bishop that they are ready to be public representatives of the church and they’ll start wearing the roman collar. This does not guarantee ordination, but it is a very important step for these men.

Please keep them in your prayers and congratulate them if you see them around the diocese!

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

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.

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.)

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.

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.)

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.

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.)