Quo Vadis (II)

For our diocesan Quo Vadis Days, we have two sessions: one with those going into grades 6-8 from Monday afternoon to Wednesday noon, and one with those going into grades 9-12 from Thursday afternoon until Saturday noon. At the first session, we have some more physical activities, since the younger guys are not as able to channel their energy and restrain themselves. We have some of the team members give their vocation stories. We have Evening Prayer, Night Prayer (with Grand Silence thereafter), Mass (with the Bishop one of the days). We have various talks on vocation, prayer, etc… We watch the Fishers of Men DVD put out by the USCCB and then discuss it.

There's also a slot for a movie, usually Spiderman. We watch Spiderman because one of the priests is a huge fan of the comic book series. He has all of the books from the comic series (I think), a Spiderman watch and more. He has also plumbed the depths of the movie for all of the insights contained therein about vocation. You'd be surprised with all of the parallels; you'd be even more surprised with what 6-8^th graders can pull out of it! Of course, one important line from the movie: "With great power comes great responsibility." One of the nights we have a bonfire and usually (though we never got to it this year) there's a series of Catholic trivia, naming the Gifts of the Spirit, Fruits of the Spirit, obscure saints from history, odd facts about feast days, whose incorrupt body was transferred where on what day, why and by whom. After the bonfire, we have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with the sacrament of confession.

The high school session is similar. There's Evening Prayer, Night Prayer, Mass, vocation stories, physical activities, but since the guys are older, we challenge them a bit more. The talks are more focused on the priestly vocation and prayer. Three or four times we have a conference followed by half an hour of silent or directed meditation. I'm continually edified by how well these young guys can spend a half an hour in silent prayer in the chapel, while sitting three feet from four other guys. There is again the Fishers of Men video, though Spiderman is left out. Again the bonfire, with trivia, followed by adoration and confession. The day always ends with Night Prayer and Grand Silence.

For the high-school session, however, the last event is Mass with the Bishop, namely, the Winona priestly ordinations. It's a beautiful thing: we get these guys thinking about a vocation to priesthood, we even walk them through the ordination rite. Usually, they get to hear the vocation story of one of the men to be ordained and then finally the last event of Quo Vadis Days is to see that same guy made a priest! The guys always look forward to the ordination with the bishop. It helps that the bishop always takes time to make mention of the Quo Vadis boys at the ordination. It's pretty easy for the congregation to see them since they're all wearing their new Quo Vadis Days T-shirt which we give them to wear home. After this last ordination, though, I saw so many of the guys (especially the more unruly of them) just stare with awe at both the bishop and the newly ordained priests as they processed out. It is quite the experience for those young men and we can only pray that it bears fruit.