Nun Run!

Alicia Torres, of Chicago, wants to become a sister, but she cannot do that until she pays off $94,000 in student loans. To help pay off the debt, she gathered pledges as she ran a half-marathon. Her site, TheNunRun.com, is gaining national attention.

NPR's All Things Considered interviewed her.

Here is the Chicago Tribune's video of Alicia.

Alicia wants to join a new community of Franciscan Sisters in Chicago who will serve the poor.

Once those debts are paid off, Alicia hopes she will still be able to run in her habit.

Series on Seminarian

The Columbus Dispatch is doing a six-day series on the journey to the priesthood for one young man. They go behind the scenes of seminary life to paint a picture of one man's vocation. It is really unheard of for secular media to do a six-part series, let alone one on the priesthood.

You can check out the articles here.

Thanks to The Deacon's Bench for linking to this article.

The photo courtesy: The Columbus Dispatch.

National Vocations Study

A landmark study says incoming vocations to religious orders are more traditional and ethically diverse than their predecessors. Georgetown’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate released “Study of Recent Vocations to Religious Life" on Tuesday. Most religious orders in the country have shrinking numbers. The few congregations where numbers are spiking are more traditional. According to the study, which surveyed 4,000 people who entered initial formation or made solemn vows since 1993, most younger recruits want to join orders that wear the habit, are faithful to Church teaching and also pray, live, and work together. Most of those entering the religious life sense a call and desire for spiritual growth. Eight-five percent of respondents feel attracted to the joy or commitment of the community members.

These new members are also ethnically diverse. Twenty-one percent are Hispanic, fourteen percent are Asian, and six percent are African or African Americans.

The principal author of the study, Sister Mary Bendyna, called these new vocations a sign of hope. Brother Paul Bednarczyk, executive director of the National Religious Vocation Conference, says "The Church and the world need women and men religious. Their witness has been the impetus for social change and spiritual renewal throughout history....Now a new generation of religious men and women show a renewed appreciation of our Catholic worship, identity, and communal living. Their witness remains a vital part of the life of the Church."

You can read the press release, a helpful summary of the study, here.

Photo Courtesy: Nashville Dominicans, a group with dozens and dozens of new postulants entering the convent year after year.

Priesthood: "The Coolness Factor"

A toy Mass kit? That's right. Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle writes a review of the toy for Catholic boys. She says, "What better time to instill a vocation to the priesthood in your young 3 to 12 year-old son, nephew, grandson, godson, or friend than in the Year of the Priest?" You can check out the My Mass Kit toy here. I've met many priests who tell me they used to "play Mass" when they were kids.

I wonder if Donna is on to something in promoting this toy. I think there is something to be said about what I'm terming "The Coolness Factor." Not to be irreverent, but the priesthood is very cool. At every Mass, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest brings the Lord Jesus to the world in the Eucharist. In Confession, God works through the priest to save a soul from damnation and bring it back to God. That is cool. Very cool. If a young boy is able to see the coolness of the priesthood, I believe he will be much more open to answering a call. Of course, there is much more to the priesthood than "The Coolness Factor;" priesthood is a challenging vocation for sure, but with God all things are possible.

If you want to see a great example of "The Coolness Factor," check out this wonderful video: God in the Streets of New York City from Grassroots Films. The priesthood is cool.

If you would like more information on answering a call to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Hartford, please contact Fr. Michael Dolan. Check out the vocation's site. The phone number is 860-761-7456. Or you can e-mail Father at director@vocationshartford.org.

Vocations Holy Hour Tonight

On this 150th anniversary of the death of the patron of all priests, St. John Marie Vianney, Most Holy Trinity Church in Wallingford will host a Hour Hour for Vocations.

What: Holy Hour for Vocations
When: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Where: Most Holy Trinity Church, 84 North Colony Street [Route 5] in Wallingford, CT

You are invited to join in celebrating this Year of the Priest by praying in front of the great gift our priests bring us everyday: Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Join in the prayer to ask God to send more shepherds to tend the flock. The monstrance to be used, seen above, is the National Vocations Monstrance blessed by Pope John Paul II. This prayer service will also allow people the time to follow Pope Benedict's call to pray for all priests. (Find out about receiving a Plenary Indulgence at this site.)

Archbishop Henry Mansell says, "This is a wonderful way to celebrate the Feast of St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests across the world, as we move into the Year for Priests. The Holy Hour is an excellent opportunity to pray for more vocations to the priesthood. We are very encouraged here in the Archdiocese of Hartford with the recent and significant increase in the number of our seminarians, but of course we still hope for more. I would encourage as many parishioners as possible to participate in this Holy Hour on August 4 and to continue your prayers for our priests and for many men to answer the call to the priesthood."

All are invited to the church hall for refreshment after Adoration. A panel of priests and parishioners will also share testimonies about the gift of priesthood.

Golf Tournament for Vocations at Lyman Orchards

The Knights of Columbus is holding a golf tournament for vocations at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield on Monday, May 18, 2009. There will be a continental breakfast served at 7 a.m., the golfing starts at 8.

After the tournament, dinner will be served.

The cost is $128 per golfer, and that includes 18 holes of golf with a cart, use of the driving range, a golfer prize bag, a 6” Lyman Orchard’s apple pie, and a BBQ dinner with beer, wine and soda.

Non-golfers are invited to the dinner after the tournament for a donation of $73.

All proceeds will be donated to the Connecticut State Council’s Father Michael J. McGivney Vocations Fund.