Boundary Waters and Pilgrimages

Rev. Jason Kern Director of Vocations jkern@dowr.org

�ach school year brings with it a series of new adventures and activities as well as new men into the seminary for our diocese. I am excited to say that we have five new seminarians entering for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester this fall! Additionally, IHM Seminary will have over 20 new seminarians from around the Midwest come into the halls this fall. If all of this wasn’t already an adventure, the Vice Rector and I will bring many of the new men up to the Boundary Waters (BWCA) for a week-long camping trip. Within days of coming out of the wilderness, I will then join five seminarians and around 25 pilgrims from the Diocese of Winona-Rochester at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal!

What is it about travel and being outdoors that captivates our minds and hearts? It seems that travel takes us out of our routine and comfort zones. We are forced to let go of control and order as we learn to trust a wider community and perhaps interact with people in a way we have never needed to before. Traveling to the outdoors enables us to experience new horizons and places that are different from anything we have previously encountered. Also, we are allowed to explore beauty in creation and landscapes that we have never beheld previously. Beyond the natural aspects of travel, we encounter good and bad in facing our own limitations as we exert energy and brush up against people as we travel about. All of this demands patience and charity toward others and ourselves. Especially in the pristine land of the Boundary Waters, we will detach from the hustle of everyday life and the daily demands that technology puts on our lives. Taking time to rest in the beauty of what is before us and yet paddle our canoe and portage our luggage will create stress and relaxation all at the same time! It seems to me that there is much to learn about the meaning of life from these opportunities!

We are grateful to God for the journey that He puts in front of us and for these exciting opportunities, most especially to grow in our faith and love of God and His Church, but also to grow in friendship and community among those who are discerning God’s will. Please pray for our safety (and sanity) as we travel and encounter many graces as well as new experiences. In the coming months, we will work to include our new seminarians in The Courier so that they can introduce themselves to you. Thank you for your prayers for vocations! God is calling more men to serve the Church as his priests and we are most grateful to work with them as they answer that call.

Finally, please welcome Fr. Brian Mulligan to his new role as Vocations Promoter! He will be working directly with those who are discerning God’s call to the priesthood for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Together we will continue to work to establish relationships with young men discerning and create further avenues for young people in our diocese to consider the path that God has for them!

Vocations

� ey! I am Father Brian Mulligan. I hail from Rochester, where I went through the Catholic School system and graduated from Lourdes High School in 2010. My hobbies include all-thingsoutdoors: fishing, hunting, golfing, backpacking, canoeing and woodworking, but most of all, I have a passion for the faith and for teaching about real life in Jesus Christ. That’s just one of MANY reasons I am so excited that Bishop Barron has given me the opportunity to be the FIRST full-time chaplain to the Newman Center ever! The growth here has been amazing and the position of full-time priest is an incredible example of God’s work right here in Mankato!

After high school, I went right to IHM Seminary in Winona to discern a call to the priesthood. Discernment is the process one takes to look at their life and ask questions like, “What does God want for my life?” and “How can I serve Him best?” It is something that is particularly personal to each individual through daily encounters with Him. But discernment is also reliant on the guidance of trusted superiors, spiritual directors, priests, and other formators. I directly benefited from the guidance and support of countless holy men in my own discernment process and am humbled that I am now able to play a similar role in the discernment processes of our young people on the MSU campus and across our diocese!

Along with being the Newman Center chaplain, Bishop Barron has asked me to assist Fr. Jason Kern, the vocations director, by taking on the role of vocations recruiter in the diocese. In addition to the students at the Newman Center, I will have the opportunity to journey with men and women throughout our diocese that are considering studying for the priesthood or religious life.

These students need to know Christ. To figure out how their story fits into the masterpiece He is creating. They have lost sight of The True Story, believing that their identity comes from sports, friends, money and social status… all the while, forgetting completely Who it truly lies in. How to truly find it. Life is way too short for me to “decide” who I am, what I want to do, where I am going, or why I am here. Sacred Scripture reveals all these truths to us. Jesus Christ has entrusted to His Church the passing on of these realities. We are His Church. We must be the hands and feet.

There is a story of a boy who, after some big waves down at the beach, saw a million starfish washed up on the shore. He went down and started, one by one, throwing them back into the sea so they could live. An older man saw this and ridiculed the boy, saying he could never get them all back in the water. “What you’re doing is an impossible task. Don’t waste your time – it doesn’t matter in the long run” the old man chided. The boy, picking one up and throwing it back, said, “I know it mattered to that one.” It is all about one at a time. To help the many we start with the one in front of us. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that I have commanded you! This is the message. This is the mission. I ask your prayers in all these endeavors and please know you are also in mine!