Young Men Explore Possible Call at Seminary’s Vocation Evening

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Although many of the more than 300 young men who recently attended a vocation evening at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie still have years to figure out their futures, they were reminded that “it’s never early enough to think and to pray over” one’s vocation and to be open to the possibility of “the generosity of entering the priesthood.”

So said Father Enrique Salvo, director of the archdiocesan Office of Vocations. His office sponsored the April 15 vocation discernment event for men, ages 15 to 25, from the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn. “God calls people in different stages of their lives,” he said.

Officially billed “St. Joseph’s Seminary Evening With Cardinal Dolan,” the cardinal led the reverent men in Solemn Evening Prayer. “Good priests are needed—simply put,” the cardinal told the young men.

The night included tours of the seminary grounds and concluded with a dinner during which seminarians from St. Joseph’s discussed their vocations and all had the opportunity to interact with the cardinal.

The cardinal said he was proud of the young men for having the courage to explore their call to faith and credited what he referred to as an excellent seminary program in the archdiocese.

He thanked the priests and teachers and all else involved for recognizing the young men and inviting them to the gathering.

“I think God is calling me to be a priest and I felt this way since I became an altar boy in the fourth grade,” said Alan Asusta, 13, an eighth-grader at St. Rose of Lima School in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan.

“My parents are proud of me and they’ve been really supportive,” he added.

Justin Reyes, 21, a member of St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus parish on Staten Island, was equally content. “It’s a great experience and I’m honored to be here among other men trying to discern a vocation to be a priest,” he said.

“The idea kind of hit me in the sixth grade. I’ve always tried to be active in my church. I was an altar server since the third grade. I have a great devotion to St. John Paul II and I’m just open to it,” he added.

Father Salvo, who was ordained for the archdiocese in 2010, was confident that authentic calls would be revealed. “This is a great event for young men that are active in their Catholic schools or parishes to realize that God has a plan for each of them to use them as His instrument. And among them we can be assured that some here will be called to the priesthood.”

He was also certain the evening would plant seeds inside the hearts and minds of those young men who have a calling to the priesthood but are presently uncertain.

Father Richard Marrano, a parochial vicar at St. Rose of Lima parish in Washington Heights, will mark his first anniversary as a priest of the archdiocese next month. Father Marrano accompanied Alan Asusta and five other young men from the parish.

He said he hoped participants keep an open mind in discerning a prospective call. “You owe it to yourself to examine that call. Many of them run away from it or are afraid of it so I think an event like this shows them that normal people choose this life. It’s not a scary or bizarre choice. This is a very special calling from God.”