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May 16, 2023By Carissa Krautscheid
On Friday, May 12, six middle school students were recognized for their outstanding submissions to the Padre Kino Vocations Ministry essay contest. The ministry received 98 essays from five Catholic middle schools throughout the diocese.
The students along with parents and school principals attended a luncheon with Bishop Edward Weisenburger at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Tucson. Bishop Weisenburger shared, “It is our goal to re-weave a sense of Vocations back into the culture. Vocations are critical to the life of the Church and we must raise up our own men and women to serve. Every church is called to cultivate its own from among its own.”
The purpose of the Padre Kino Vocations Ministry is to pray daily that men and women respond to God’s call to the priesthood and religious life. The ministry also supports seminarians during discernment and formation. Padre Kino Vocations Ministry provides discernment weekends for interested parish youth groups, emergency travel for religious candidates, and other appreciation initiatives for priests, brothers, and sisters throughout the year.
As the President of the Padre Kino Vocations Ministry, Rosie Garcia said, “Padre Kino’s vision in the late 1600’s was to share the life of Christ so that everyone would come to know Jesus in the Gospel. These essays reflected the spirit of Padre Kino.”
This year's essay theme originated from the latin phrase, “Duc in Altum,” which has two meanings: the first is, “Put out into the deep," words that Jesus said to Peter at their first encounter and led to a clear understanding of God’s abundant grace.
The second meaning of “Duc in Altum” is perhaps best described by Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s catchphrase, “To the heights!” Vocations Director, Fr. Alan Valencia elaborated that this means we are “called to love, called to something higher that is not of this world but rather something of God. This is very much related to our Vocation. What am I being called to do? Am I being called to love in a higher way? To give my entire life as a priest, brother, sister?”
In their essays, eighth graders responded to the theme, “Put out into the deep.”
First place winner, Mimi Cormier, from St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School in Casa Grande shared, “Whenever I wear my school uniform, I am telling people what I have learned. My uniform says, ‘I am a student at a school that honors the Lord.’ More importantly than going to parochial school is the fact I have been brought up in a wonderful family. All my life I have known that the Good News and Jesus are the center of our family.”
Second place awardee, Iliana Abril-Tello, represented St. Ambrose Catholic School in Tucson and wrote, “Teens can also teach other people how prayer brings them closer to God. We develop a special relationship with God when we pray. If you pray every day, you will grow closer to God because you are actually making the time for Him.”
Third place winner, Melanie Dorantes, from Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic School in Tucson shared, “We all have a part in our Church, but in the end, it’s up to us to come to a decision on how we will spread the Good News of Jesus. Sometimes people won’t listen to young people but we need to come up with new ways to make our voices heard. Teens can be open about their faith. We should never feel like we can’t share our love for God with other people.”
In their essays, seventh graders responded to the theme, “Called to love.”
First place winner, Patricia Joy Gates-Almanza, from Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic School in Tucson elaborated on each person’s call to love. Priests, she said, “teach the word of God at church, but that’s not all they do. Priests go out and do all the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.” What can Patricia Joy’s fellow students do? Volunteer, donate to a charity, buy food for someone who is hungry, call a lonely friend or family member, and pray. “It may seem small, but prayer is one of the best things you can do for someone.”
Second place awardee, Ariana Cervantes, from St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School in Casa Grande said, “Everyone is called to love and some people answer it in different ways. When God calls on someone, He usually has a job for them to complete in their life. When Jesus calls on me to love, I let my actions speak as words for him.”
Third place winner, Chloe Biehl, from St. Joseph Catholic School in Tucson wrote, “We all have a vocation, a calling to love, a goal to become saints. Adults can consecrate their lives to God as a way of seeking holiness. They are responding to their calling of love by following Jesus’ path. They devote their lives to a holy purpose and they make vows to live like Jesus in poverty, chastity, and obedience.”
Middle school students are not too young to have a vibrant faith or to hear the Lord calling them to serve the Kingdom of Heaven through a Vocation to the priesthood or religious life. God has called younger kids than these and countless Saints have attained Heaven at their age or earlier. By participating in Padre Kino Vocation Ministry’s essay contest, Catholic school students are given a wonderful chance to reflect on Vocations and their own call to participate in the Catholic Church.
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