Camp gives boys a taste of life at a seminary

>> Continued from page 5 camp as boys talked and realized that even though they came from different parishes or states, they all shared a common love: Jesus Christ.

“I’ve met a lot of new friends. A lot of them are like me that we all go to church and love being Catholic,” said Johnson. “Most of them are from Missouri and I’m from Kansas, so it’s nice to meet new people from different states who are like me.”

Each of the boys felt deeply moved by the prayer experiences that the camp offered — campers and seminarians praying the Liturgy of the Hours together, and plenty of opportunities for confession, eucharistic adoration and daily Mass.

“I really liked the Holy Hours and praying in the chapel,” said camper Joseph Newport. “I am going to start praying morning prayer and evening prayer because I believe it will help me understand my vocation better. I better start praying about my vocation now because I will be older before I know it.”

While Father Morris hopes that some of the campers will return to Kenrick one day as seminarians, his main concern for the weekend was that the boys recognized Christ’s love and grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus. He believes that the mission was accomplished.

“I hope and I believe that they learned something or heard something or experienced something on this trip that drew them closer to Christ and their Catholic faith,” he said.

“I hope they recognized that world is bigger than just their parish,” he continued. “The mission is bigger than what they want to be when they grow up.”