Prayer, lived example keys to teaching kids about vocation

As part of the Baptism Rite, there is a prayer called “Ephphatha” where the celebrant will touch the mouth and ears of the child saying, “May the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf to hear and the mute to speak, grant that you may soon receive his word with your ears and profess the faith with your lips to the glory and praise of God the Father.”

“For our children to receive a call,” say the authors of “Raising Catholic Kids for Their Vocation,” “We have to make it possible for them to encounter God and speak with God. As parents, we have to find ways to foster that encounter.”

Jane Hartey, religious education director of Church of the Holy Family in Sewell, said that encounter begins on Sunday mornings.

“It has to start with Mass,” Hartey said, “and prayer. Especially Adoration, to let the Holy Spirit welcome you. To hear God’s call, you have to have a relationship with God.”

She suggests having young people spend time in the parish volunteering or with other charitable works in the community, such as soup kitchens or food pantries.

Melissa Brino, a seventh-grade language arts and eighth-grade religion and social studies teacher at Saint Mary School in Williamstown, said another way to foster encounter is for youth to see faithful men and women living their vocations.

“It’s better to expose children to vocations rather than just talking about it,” Brino said. “Last year, we had our fifth- through eighth-grade students prepare questions for a panel discussion on vocations.” The panel consisted of a priest, deacon, religious sister, a woman living the consecrated life and a married couple.

“It was the best exposure we ever had,” she said. “It gave kids the opportunity to see what vocations were. Kids need to see it in a concrete way. It is too obscure for them just to talk about.”

Brino said that oftentimes, children are not exactly sure what they want to ask about vocations. “They’ll ask questions like, ‘What are the rules for priests?’ ‘What do you have to do to become a priest?’ ‘What’s the difference between a priest and a deacon?’”

“In today’s age, kids are inundated with information. The most tangible examples are what is most important,” she said.

Sister Dianna Higgins, FMIJ, director of campus ministry at Paul VI High School in Haddonfield, said that another approach to vocations is for young people to figure out what God would have them do with their God-given talents and desires.

“What do you find joy in? What are ways to use your gifts? You start there [and] then look at the different vocations,” she said.

Sister Dianna also related that when she is approached by a student, she sometimes gets a sense that there is an interest in a vocation because the student will begin asking questions like, “What do you do on the weekend?” or “How did you know that you wanted to be a religious sister?” So she’ll share her story.

“There was a point in my life when I asked myself, ‘What kind of values do I want to live by, [and] not because my parents want me to live that way,’” she said. “For me, I’m a Christian, so the values I want to live by are the values of Jesus.”

She added that there are different ways for people to respond to the values of Jesus. “Maybe someone else sees Jesus as a great healer and goes into medicine, or someone sees that Jesus was a great teacher and says, ‘I want to live like that.’”

“The answer for me was to live the religious life,” she continued. “I was apprehensive, had doubts and was fearful, but I took a leap of faith and did my best.”

She advises students that it’s OK to be unsure – it’s all part of growing and learning about vocations.

“Jesus’ life is so grand and varied,” she said. “See something you feel drawn to, pray and keep an open mind. It’s a great life.”

Supporting vocations in children takes time and prayer, which is something Sharon Cichoski knows. She is the mother of Father Adam Cichoski, director of vocations and rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden.

“Be patient, be willing to listen, try not to push, let them try to tell you in their own way and support [them]. Don’t be afraid. I always say, ‘Let go, let God. Things will work out the way He wants,’” she said in a previous Talking Catholic YouTube episode of “What a Life.”

She suggests letting children know they are understood and letting things happen in their time. And, of course, prayers. “Prayers, lots of prayers – Saint John Vianney, Padre Pio, call on all of them.”

To watch the “What a Life” episode with Father Adam Cichoski and his mother, visit youtube.com/@TalkingCatholic or tinyurl.com/2nfbtccd.