"Tell Me, What Will You Do"

This past weekend, I traveled to Chicago with Ana, Em, and Triss for the Catholics on Call conference at the Catholic Theological Union. The conference focused on discernment of vocation : not just as to state of life, but as to type of ministry. Really, though, it provided the tools to discern anywhere, at anytime in life.

We spent four(ish) days there with about 30 other Catholic young adults who had an interest in discerning. Telling the story of the conference will require more than one post, but here are the basics :

We listened a lot. Sr. Barbara Reid, OP; Bishop Morneau (Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay); Fr. Robin Ryan, CP; and a panel of people from various walks of life spoke to us about various elements of vocations and discernment. We also had the chance to visit a ministry site -- either Misericordia (for people with disabilities) or Harmony, Hope, and Healing (for homeless mothers). We were divided into tables for small group discussions and reflections. We prayed (adapted) Morning and Evening Prayers and had Mass together. Those were the official bits of programming.

But, as with any retreat (even though this officially was not one), a huge portion of the experience came from the other people. Because I knew my three housemates coming in, as well as one friend from home, I had a different experience than some of the other participants. I had the honor of meeting some amazing new people, each of whom had a valuable and fascinating story, and the joy of spending time with people whom I already loved.

My dear readers will have to wait to hear content and conclusions from the conference, but I will say that I walked out with more questions than answers... and that might be okay.