Len Uhal
National Vocation Director
Epworth, Iowa
 

From Washington State to Florida and from Maine to California, during the last ten years, almost 350 students have entered Divine Word College. We are the only Roman Catholic college seminary in the U.S. whose primary purpose is the education of men for future missionary service. In addition to students from the U.S., more than ninety students have come to the college from other countries, including Indonesia, China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Poland, and various Caribbean Islands. Currently, there are eighty-seven students participating in the college formation program where they can discern their religious vocations and earn their Bachelor or Associate of Arts Degrees.

While Divine Word College is the primary entry formation program and the only undergraduate program for young men interested in becoming Divine Word Missionary priests and Brothers, we also have four formation programs in the U. S for those who have completed their college education.

The Associate Program is a pre-novitiate formation program for men who already have college degrees. They spend one year in a Divine Word community studying or working side-by-side with SVD missionaries to get a firsthand experience of our missionary ministries. Currently, there are five men in this program.

Men who are considering continuing their training as priests or Brothers spend a year at Divine Word Novitiate, Techny getting acquainted with the SVD Constitutions and life in the religious community.

Brothers in temporary vows live at St. Anselm Parish in Chicago while they continue their postgraduate studies. Currently, we have three Brothers in this program.

Finally, forty-six seminarians study at Catholic Theological Union while living at Divine Word Theologate and Ellis House on the Southside of Chicago. In addition, fifteen students are living in various parts of the world in our cross-cultural training program.

As National Vocation Director, I have met many young men considering a religious vocation as a missionary priest or Brother. All have a deep feeling of being called by God to serve others. They see a world in need of God’s presence and Jesus’ message. Many come from families that have a deep faith. Some are converts. All have developed a personal relationship with God through prayer.

They took the first step toward finding out whether God is calling them to a religious missionary life by contacting an SVD vocation director. Working with a spiritual director and/or a vocation director, these young men are challenged to look at their gifts and talents and see where they might be able to use them in service to God’s people. They are challenged to pray and ask for God’s guidance. They frequently begin to see a path where the Lord might be leading them—a road that may well lead to and through the various levels of formation as a missionary priest or Brother.

Take for example Giang Tien Nguyen, a junior at Divine Word College. When asked about his decision to enter a formation program he said, “My response to the call to a religious vocation stems from the examples set around me by my family, teachers, friends, parents’ friends, and people I came across every day.” After spending a year in Japan for the Year Abroad Program, Giang noted, “Divine Word College is providing me with the proper tools to take the next step (in my formation).”

Another student, freshman Minh-Ngoc Nathaniel Nguyen, when asked about his decision to explore the missionary vocation, said, “I've seen enough pain and anguish in people's lives. I've seen enough tears shed from pain and suffering. And I've seen enough of the wrongs of the world. I am considering the religious vocation because I know that there can only be true peace in Christ, and I want to go into the world and serve, to bring smiles to faces, to replace tears with laughter, and to bring others the true peace and happiness of life in Christ. I chose Divine Word College’s formation program because I know the college can help me understand my calling and my mission in life.”

We need more young people to carry on the missionary work of the Church. Let me challenge you with these action steps:

One, please pray for vocations, for more laborers to spread the Good News.

Two, please encourage young people to consider a vocation as a Brother, Sister, deacon or priest. Talk with your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, the children down the block or those in your church. Invite them to consider a leadership role in our Church. Someone who is a lector, a Eucharistic minister, or who sings in the choir; someone who helps children, is a coach, volunteers at a hospital or nursing home—these are folks who may be called to be our future missionaries.

Three, if you know the name of someone whom you think might make a good priest, Brother or Sister, please contact me. My phone number is (800) 553-3321 and my e-mail address is svdalum@mwci.net.

Visit the National Vocation Office Web site at:
www.svdvocations.org