Denver Catholic

12 I LOCAL NEWS July 3, 2013 I Denver Catholic Register Program Highlights: • Instructors from Spain • Interaction with visiting students from Spain • 30 hours of classroom and activity time per session centered in conversation • Optional field trips • Possibility of going to Spain next year. Program Dates: Session 1 Filled Session 2 July 15 - July 26 Cost: $200 per session, $350 for both For more information and registration form: is.gd/DisciplesExchangeProgram or contact Father Javier Nieva at frjavier@stmarylittleton.org or 303 798 8506 More than just retreats… Reunions • Weddings • Vow Renewal Corporate & Staff Training • Youth Groups Sacramental Preparation Come for a day or week Book your next event with us 719-258-1600 for Tour or Reservations www.eltesororetreat.org Satisfied hearts, shining lights: offices support God's call to serve Offices promoting, supporting holy orders, assist men answering call to ministry 2013 Archbishop's Catholic Appeal By Wayne Laugesen David was a young Marine who partied hard. He dated a Baptist woman and hoped she might marry him. God had other plans. After the couple dated for a year, David told the young woman he loved her. A marriage proposal wouldn't be far behind. "I'm not peddling a product. I'm trying to get someone to respond to the Holy Spirit moving in his life. I'm trying to get a guy to discern and respond to the Lord's invitation." —Father Jim Crisman, director of Priestly Vocations "She did not reciprocate," said Father James Crisman, director of priestly vocations for the Archdiocese of Denver. David had only recently become Catholic at the time, but his girlfriend responded to "I love you" with something he never could have expected. "She said 'I know your heart.' She told him his heart would not be satisfied by loving one woman and a few kids," Father Crisman recalled. "She told him his heart was made different. She said, 'Your heart will only be satisfied if you become a Catholic priest.'" David, not his real name, became a priest in the Archdiocese of Denver after praying about the woman's advice and having lengthy discussions with Father Crisman. It's the kind of story Father Crisman hears frequently, as the priest responsible for helping men determine whether God is calling them to the priesthood. "I hear a lot of fun stories," Father Crisman said. "When a man is called to the priesthood, the Lord is doing it. I just work for him." Father Crisman's work, and his office at the archdiocese, is among the agencies funded by the Archbishop's Catholic appeal. The Priestly Vocations Office is one of nearly 40 vital ministries that receives What: Donations to support the archdiocesan Church Online: www.archden.org/ donate Mail: 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Questions: Call 303-715-3111 or email joann.baca@archden.org funding from the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal, an annual fund drive to raise money to spread, teach, promote and deepen the faith. "My job is to get the number of priests the Lord wants us to have in the Archdiocese of Denver," Father Crisman said. The Archdiocese's St. John Vianney Theological Seminary had 75 seminarians last October (last official count) and provides about six graduates each year for the archbishop to ordain. "Is that a number that will meet our needs in the Archdiocese of Denver? No. So I need to do my job better," Father Crisman said. In a way, he's like a military recruiter. But there's one rather large distinction. Father Crisman's responsibilities involve being honest when he believes a potential priest doesn't have a genuine calling from God. While he needs to recruit priests, he doesn't want to recruit any man who lacks a genuine calling from God. "I'm not peddling a product," Father Crisman said. "I'm trying to get someone to respond to the Holy Spirit moving in his life. I'm trying to get a guy to discern and respond to the Lord's invitation." At Steubenville of the Rockies last month, Father Crisman invited all of about 2,400 kids to stand if they sensed a possible calling from the Lord to dedicate their lives to a religious vocation. About 150 girls and 200 boys stood. It gave Father Crisman hope for the future and validated his respect for the kids. "It doesn't mean all of those kids are necessarily called and we will be seeing them in the convent or the seminary someday, but it does mean we have all those kids who are willing to discern this," Father Crisman explained. "In a real sense, they were being heroic in a culture that is growing increasingly anti-Catholic." Just as the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal fund's Father Crisman's support and counsel of potential priests, it funds Deacon Joe Donohoe's ministry of supporting, assisting and counseling 185 permanent deacons (140 active) who serve throughout the archdiocese. Most permanent deacons are volunteers who support themselves and their families by working as doctors, lawyers, engineers, janitors, mechanics and an array of other trades and professions that constantly prove useful in their quests to help Catholics throughout the archdiocese. "Our deacon physicians often consult with patients and families of patients who are dying," said Deacon Donohoe, director of deacon personnel for the archdiocese. "A man becomes a deacon because he loves God, not because he's looking for income." In some ways, permanent deacons—who have been part of the greater Church for only the past 40 years—have become the backbone of the archdiocese. They teach RCIA, marriage preparation, baptismal preparation and an assortment of other Catholic educational programs. They officiate weddings, funerals, baptisms and help with a variety of Catholic events, such as quinceañeras for Latino Catholic girls when they turn 15. Deacons provide prison, hospital and homeless shelter ministries. They help families grieving the loss of loved ones. Along with supporting and helping to coordinate their vast variety of ministries, Deacon Donohoe's office provides the 30 hours of training each deacon must receive each year after graduating from seminary and receiving ordination. "The deacon is a humble servant of God and the Church. He is a shining light," Deacon Donohoe said. "My office provides resources and support and helps manage their assignments."

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