We invite you to walk with us through
these Sketches in Discernment.
These are images, analogies, and
outlines which we have used in our
Diocese of La Crosse for a number of
years to help guide young people to come
to a deeper awareness of God’s call in
their lives and to help inspire them to
seek and to follow that call.
Part I focuses on the universal call to
holiness. While the focus in this
website is going to be for priesthood,
the application is much wider and these
examples can be used in the classrooms
in our Catholic schools, religious
education classes, retreats, as well as
to help those young people who visit
this website help in their discernment.
In a special way we would like to offer
to teachers and those in charge of
speaking about vocations ideas of how to
invite young people to consider God’s
call and mission for them.
Part II will focus more specifically on
the call to and the importance of
priesthood. Again the application can be
extended to a wider audience, and it is
important for other young men to hear
the stories, because as we know, there
are many who still don’t know that the
Lord is calling them. Our prayer is that
by hearing and listening to the stories
and ideas expressed, there can awaken in
them graces which the Lord wants to
offer them as they open up their hearts
to discernment.
Part 1 - First Vocation: The
Universal Call to Holiness
Get in Touch with the Source:
St. John Bosco used tricks and
acrobatics to bring young people
to Christ. Learn a trick either
with string, rope, cards or
whatever, and then when you do
that trick with young people,
they are engaged by the mystery
of what they just saw.
Inevitably they ask to know the
secret. (You might show them a
trick later in the retreat, but
not yet. For now they need to
wrestle with the mystery of not
knowing.
Take this opportunity to teach
the lesson behind the magic
trick. For example, you can say,
“If you want to learn the trick,
you need to get in touch with
the source, which in this case
is me. Don’t ask your friend,
because he or she simply doesn’t
know and can only guess, but
think about this, what is
harder, this trick or life?”
They will answer that life is
harder. “Right, you can learn
this trick in an hour or a
couple of days, but life will
take you a lifetime.....MORE
What Are the Questions You Ask?
Listen to the questions people
ask. Leaders ask different
questions than followers. Saints
ask different questions than
those who are caught up in lives
of selfishness. The questions
you ask determine the direction
of your life.
When in a classroom or giving a
homily on the questions to ask,
I will either use the question
card found in
Appendix 1 or will reduce the best
questions to five as I use hand
gestures to describe them:
“Where do I come from? Where am
I going? How will I get there?
Whom will I serve? How much of
me will I give?” MORE
The Chalice and the Pepsi Can:
I walk into a classroom with a
Pepsi can and a Chalice. I
pretend to be ready to pour
Pepsi into the Chalice. I stop
short of doing it and ask the
students if this would be good
or bad? They answer it would be
bad and disrespectful, because
the Chalice is sacred and the
Pepsi is only ordinary. I teach
them the saying, “Treat ordinary
things in an ordinary way.
Treat sacred things in a sacred
way.” Then I ask them, “Which is
more sacred, the chalice or
you?” Seventh grade and under
usually answer that the Chalice
is more sacred, because it is
blessed. I ask if they are
blessed. They answer that they
were blessed at Baptism. I tell
them that the Chalice with its
blessing cannot attain Heaven.
“Can you?”...MORE
The Ticket to Heaven:
There is a paper trick which we
use in the classroom and on
retreats. There is a good person
and a bad person and they both
arrive at the Gate of Heaven.
St. Peter is collecting the
tickets. The bad person,
realizing that people with no
tickets go through the door on
the left (Hell), lies to the
good person and tells him that
he really does have a ticket but
lost it while praying on the
edge of the cloud—thus it
dropped over the edge and was
lost. He, the bad person tricks
the good person to share some of
his ticket and he ends up
ripping off two pieces. The bad
person then sneaks to the head
of the line and tries to get
into Heaven. St. Peter tells
him that his ticket looks
troublesome and the bad person
says...MORE
Who Are You Practicing to
Become? Practicing Virtue Leads
to Virtue:
One way to make this point is to
take a guitar and play it the
regular way. Then reverse the
guitar and try to play the same
song. You cannot. Why? Because
you haven’t practiced. If you
live your life in a selfish
manner, don’t be surprised when
you finally reach a point in
which you want to be stronger
and better and a good leader,
and you cannot, because you
haven’t practiced. If you want
to become a basketball player
you have to practice. If you
want to be a surgeon, you must
study medicine. If you want to
be a saint, you must practice
holiness through a relationship
with Jesus Christ and in the
Church....MORE
Who Are You Practicing to
Become? J.V. vs. Varsity:
If you train at the J.V. level,
you will only be able to play at
the J.V. level. If you want to
play at the Varsity level, then
you have to train at the Varsity
level. I played J.V. basketball,
and we lost every game. So I
took up other sports and
hobbies. Now when I play
basketball, I can never get
beyond a J.V. level or worse.
Life doesn’t give us options.
Life will sooner or later come
at us with Varsity force. Those
who train at the J.V. level in
their moral and discerning
lives, will only be able to face
life when it comes full force
with a J.V. level response. Why
do so many people get
overwhelmed with life? Why do so
many fall into addictive habits
of drinking, drugs, and sex? Why
do so many simply give up? It
doesn’t have to be this way...MORE
Why Does God Make Me Wait?
Many young people go on a
retreat and feel an awakening to
God’s presence in their life,
but then comes a desert and
times of long waiting. At this
point, many give up the quest.
They wonder why God doesn’t
answer their prayers or continue
to give them consolations.
A priest once told this story of
Three Hunters. The first hunter
paced the woods impatiently and
made too much noise. He never
was able to see a deer, because
he made too much noise. The
second hunter found a
comfortable spot in the woods
and went to sleep. Every couple
of hours he would look up and
check, but then would go back to
sleep. He didn’t shoot a deer,
because he wasn’t paying
attention. The third hunter
found a spot where he saw some
tracks and then spent the day
paying total attention to his
surroundings. In spite of the
cold and rain...MORE
Dating and Prayer Part 1:
Often in a classroom situation
young people will ask for advice
on dating, I will say to them
that as a priest that I have one
very important principle to keep
in mind besides all the other
important steps in friendship
and love. I answer, “If you
cannot pray together as a
couple, then don’t ever get into
a serious relationship with one
another.”
Scripture:
Matthew 19.4-6: God is the
author of marriage and therefore
no one is to separate what God
has joined together.
Dating and Prayer Part 2:
If you do not know how to pray
with one another, then how can
you discern together if the Lord
is calling you to marry this
person or someone else in the
Sacrament of Marriage or to be a
dedicated single person or to be
a priest or to enter consecrated
life? Can you imagine someone
about to be ordained a priest
who doesn’t pray? This would be
a contradiction. How can a man
prepare for the Sacrament of
Holy Orders and not do so in
through a life of prayer?
Impossible. But doesn’t the same
go for the Sacrament of
Marriage? How many couples pray
together on a regular basis? How
do they pray together? The best
couples I know today begin with
the foundation in prayer. Do you
pray alone or together? Why is
it important to learn how to
pray as a couple and later as a
family? See
Appendix 8 for more on
dating and the importance of
prayer for discernment.
The Red Barn:
As children, we played in our red
barn during the day, but at
night it took on a scary aura of
night sounds, of bats and hauntings. If I had to go into
the barn at night, I would take
my father by the hand and he
would lead me through the
darkness. Through this he taught
me that if I am with him, I do
not have to be afraid of the
darkness. In life, the Lord will
not have us avoid that which is
difficult or scary. He calls us
to take Him by the hand and to
take other good and holy people
by the hand. When we do this,
we will find peace and hope in
the toughest places and times in
life. As we discover the Lord
in our red barns, then our life
gets more challenging, because
then He will ask us to take the
hand of those who are suffering
and searching and to enter into
their red barns of fear and
distrust, so that they too will
discover His presence and peace...MORE
Not for a Million Dollars:This is an extension of the
story of the Red Barn. Someone
watched as Mother Teresa cared
for the poorest of the poor in
the squalor of Calcutta, “I
wouldn’t do that for a million
dollars.” Mother Teresa
answered, “Nor would I.” We
don’t choose our deepest call
out of fun or excitement, but
out of a sense of call and
mission and because in doing so,
we love Jesus Christ.
Part 2 - Second Vocation: The
Call to State in Life -
Priesthood
Dating the Priesthood:
What would you say to the young
man who says, “I met this woman
and I believe that she is the
one that I am to marry. I
really think God might be
calling her to be my wife. The
only problem is that I am not
sure. I don’t want to date her
until God gives me a sign that
this is the one for me.”
LOSER! If you think that the
Lord is calling you to marriage
and you think this might be the
person with whom you are to
spend the rest of your life, the
only real response is, “You have
to date her in order to find out
if you are meant to marry her.”
There are many young men who
think that the Lord might be
calling them to be a priest, but
they are not sure. They are
waiting for a miracle or
theophany or something that will
reveal to them what they are to
do. They look from the outside
in and cannot come to a
decision. What is the answer?
...MORE
Jesus, the Cure for Spiritual
Cancer:
If we truly understand how the
Sacraments are God’s remedy
given to mere human beings in
the priesthood as the healing
art for a world wrought with
spiritual cancer, priesthood
then becomes a meaningful life.
Often when I begin a
conversation with young men
about the priesthood, I will ask
them if they would be a priest
if God called them to it? Some
will say yes, and many will say
no. Why would anyone say they
would actually say “No” to God
unless they didn’t understand
who God is and what priesthood
is? In the example about the
“injectable cure for cancer,”
young men will inevitably say
that they would give up
everything to be able to give
the cure for physical cancer,
because when great human need
meets a healing art, there is a
meaningful life. There is so
much spiritual cancer in the
world. An essential remedy for
this spiritual cancer is the
Catholic priesthood.
Every Man Is Called to
Fatherhood:
A question which is often asked
of us as priests is whether the
priesthood is a lonely life. I
am quick to reply that “the
priesthood is
very…very…lonely…if you are a
bachelor.” I say it with a lot
of feeling and the other person
looks so quizzical at me. Then
I complete the statement, “…but
if you are a father…then it is
anything but lonely.” Every man
has a natural desire to be a
father, to give life, to want to
teach the next generation, to
make a difference in someone
else’s life. That is why if you
are a bachelor—which means—that
you are more focused on your
life, your fulfillment, your
needs being met, your comfort,
your self-actualization, then
you will be lonely in the
priesthood, as you will be
lonely as well in marriage or
being unmarried as a bachelor.
But, if you are a man for
others...MORE
The “Sinerator”:
When I give a talk on the
Sacrament of Reconciliation and
the Mercy of God, I sometimes
will bring out a ceramic vase
which my mother found at a
rummage sale. It is gaudy with
ugly tones of blood red, lenten
purple and Franciscan brown. I
remove the cork and will say,
“This vase contains some of the
most vile, horrible sins that I
have ever heard in my life as a
priest...MORE
Your Choices Count:
Our choices impact people’s
lives here, now, and into
eternity. Think about it, who
was your common ancestor ten
generations ago? Who really
knows? Some might even say, who
cares? But the reality of this
is that if you were to remove
that one person from your family
tree, what happens to everyone
after that person? They don’t
exist. The profound truth for
every couple who marry, is that
their decisions about life,
love, and family will impact
countless people’s lives—their
quality of life and their very
existence. This example helps us
to consider how important it is
that when we make our life
choices, we do not make these
decisions without discernment
and prayer, because so much is
at stake...MORE
The Law of Spiritual Generation:
Ask students the question, “Who
will be remembered as a saint
800 years from now?" After some
discussion the general response
almost always is, “John Paul II
and Mother Teresa.” Then I ask,
"Who
do you think was the person who
was most influential in
transforming people and the
world 800 years ago in the
1200’s?" People will say they
don’t have any idea. When I do
this I will then say, "I will
give you a clue and I bet
that every one of you know who
this person is." I will not say
the person’s name but only the
city where that person lived.
"When I say the clue, I want you
to raise your hand when you know
who it is. Ready? Set? Here is
the clue: “He was from Assisi.”
They all answer, “St. Francis.”
Then I ask, “What is it that all
three of these people had in
common?"... MORE
See
Appendix 13 for the
"Spiritual Law of Causality."
The Impact of the Priest in His
Own Family:
When a young man is called to
the priesthood, he is called to
complement in a unique manner
the spiritual fatherhood of his
biological father and the whole
family. As a seminarian, he
helps bring faith and prayer
into family life in ways he
could never have done if he were
not a seminarian. As a young
priest he will be asked to pray
and celebrate the Sacraments
with his immediate family and
all his relatives. He will
celebrate the weddings of his
siblings and baptize their
children. He will even hear some
confessions of his family. He
will inspire them to think about
their own vocations. Some will
come back to Christ through his
priestly ministry and presence.
A very beautiful part of his
spiritual fatherhood will come
to life...MORE
Why is Priesthood so Important?
When the present archbishop of Milwaukee,
Archbishop Jerome Listecki, was bishop of our Diocese of La Crosse, he once said
to the seminarians, “The priesthood is either the most useless vocation a man
could ever choose, or it is absolutely essential for the life of the Church and
for the salvation of the world. It all depends on how you answer the question,
‘Who died on the Cross?’ If Jesus was only a man and nothing more, then
priesthood is nothing more than remembering the death of a man who died as a
criminal on a cross. But if the one who died on the Cross was truly the Son of
God, who gave up his life as an act of ultimate love and redemption, and then
rose from the dead and called the Apostles to be mediators of this love, grace,
and Covenant, then the priesthood is absolutely essential for the life of the
Church and for the salvation of the world.”...MORE
“Passing the Baton”
In a race, the baton is passed
from one runner to another. When an elderly priest passes
his chalice on to the next
priest, he passes on the symbol
of the priesthood to the next
man. In our diocese, we offer to
the newly ordained chalices
which are often old and
tarnished from priests who have
run the race and have died.
As a young priest, I received a
chalice from Father Willibald Hackner who was ordained in
1915. He died in his late
nineties, a good and holy
priest. Imagine how many people
were given the Body and Blood of
Christ through his years of
celebrating the Sacraments.
Father Hackner had a very
important insight about life and
how we live our vocation. He
shared with me that in life
there are...MORE
Priest as Victim:
“Host” comes from the word
“hostia” which means victim,
sacrifice, or holocaust. Jesus
became a victim for our
salvation. When we receive Holy
Communion, we are called to
participate in Jesus’ Passion,
Death, and Resurrection.
Saint Paul says this when he
writes, “And now, my brothers, I
beg you through the mercy of God
to offer your bodies as a living
sacrifice holy and acceptable to
God, your spiritual worship. Do
not conform yourselves to this
age but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, so that
you may judge what is God’s
will, what is good, pleasing and
perfect,” (Romans12:1-2). What
is the priest saying “yes” to
when he consecrates the sacred
species in the Mass? What is he
saying as he receives first and
then leads the people to do the
same?...MORE
You are Jesus.
There is a saying attributed to
St. Francis of Assisi, “You
are the only Bible most people
will ever read.” Through the universal
call to holiness, we are each
called to encounter
Christ and to allow Him to live
and work through us. St.
Augustine wrote that "we are to
make Jesus incarnate through our
lives of discipleship." Parents
are called to be Jesus for their
children. There is also a
special call to the priest to be
Jesus for the people they serve
through their role as spiritual
father...MORE
