Weekend at seminary helps teen decide
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published February 17, 2006
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Markham
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Adam Markham can attest to the value of attending a seminary Discernment Weekend in helping a young man who thinks he might have a vocation to the priesthood.
"It was a great experience. I had a lot of questions answered," says Adam, 17, a senior at Riverview Community High School and member of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Wyandotte.
As a result of attending that Discernment Weekend in November at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Adam will be entering the seminary this fall.
"Basically, I think the Lord's been guiding me in the right direction. I think I just have to take the chance," he says.
Describing the seminary Discernment Weekend he attended, Adam says, "You get to see the life of a seminarian – you get an idea of their prayer life by joining them for prayer in the morning, the middle of the day and at night. You join them for daily Mass, and you see how the seminary will prepare you for the life of a diocesan priest."
 To learn more …For information about seminary Discernment Weekends, call (313)-237-5875 or access www.vocationsdetroit.org on the Internet.
For information about the Miles Christi religious order, call (248) 596-9677 or access www.mileschristi.org on the Internet. | Citing people who helped nurture his sense of having a vocation to the priesthood, Adam says his former pastor at St. Stanislaus Kostka, Fr. John Hedges, was "a huge influence on me." He says it was from Fr. Hedges, now pastor of St. Stephen Parish in New Boston, that he learned just what priests do.
Another major influence, Adam continues, has been Fr. Patrick Waynewright, a Miles Christi priest who is part of his Argentina-based order's community in Northville. The Miles Christi priests have become known to many people in the Archdiocese of Detroit from the youth retreats they conduct at The Retreat Center at St. John's in Plymouth Township.
"In September, I started a Miles Christi vocational group at my parish. It's for young men, aged 14-19, and introduces them to personal meditation before the Holy Eucharist. We say the rosary, and also have sports activities; we socialize and talk about real-world topics like temptation," Adam says.
The group, which has 20 members, is not just for those who think they might have a calling to the priesthood, but seeks to help its members discern just what their vocation might be as Catholics – whether that might be the priesthood or vowed religious life, or perhaps as laymen who serve the Church as lectors, eucharistic ministers, or in other roles, he explains.
While Adam sees his future role as becoming a diocesan priest, for the time being he is a lector eucharistic minister, and religious education teacher at his parish.
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