Inviting young people to discern God’s Will

After serving at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Parish for several years as a pastor, Fr. James Vasquez is getting accustomed to the chancery, getting to know people, and planning visits to different parishes: he is now our new Vocation Director.
 
Fr. Vasquez was born and raised in Corpus Christi, where he attended Christ the King Parish. “My vocation story is very boring,” he said. Really? “I understood that God called me to be a priest, I said yes, and here I am,” he continues.
 
However, nothing is as easy as it seems. After three years in the seminary, he left for a year, questioning whether he had chosen the right path. During that year, he learned what discernment really means: “I was making lists in my head with all the pros and cons, but that’s not how it works,” he says. “The real question is, ‘what is God’s will?’” Pros and cons are helpful for simple decision-making, but not for discernment, “because they remove God’s grace from the process.” In his mind, he was asking himself, “Am I going to be happy? Can I do this for the rest of my life? But I didn’t consider that if I follow God’s will, He will supply what I might lack.” 
 
This became his conviction – “God is going to take care of it, if I follow Him.” After the gap year, Fr. Vasquez returned to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and was ordained in 2006.
 
He is not concerned about numbers or “getting more seminarians” – he wants to teach people what discernment truly is, “to be able to see God’s will.” God is calling many young people today, but many might not even notice it, while others might not respond to the call. In his new role, he plans to be involved in schools, youth ministry, and young adult ministry, and to visit religious education classes to teach discernment.
 
Fr. Vasquez will continue to support the vocation teams forming in various parishes, offering guidance on praying for vocations. He also plans the Andrew Dinner in November and the Come and See weekend in the spring. Another part of his role involves accompanying and supporting seminarians on their journey. Since the Office for Religious Life is vacant, he also wants to inspire young women to discern their calling. “If God is calling you, giving up a spouse and family life is a sacrifice. It is counter-cultural, and goes against our natural inclinations, but with God’s grace, it becomes something different.”