Diocese of Palm Beach office of vocations

Dear Missionary Disciples, 

When Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat and continued preaching to the crowd that was eager to hear Him, Simon and his friends were neither looking for Jesus nor listening to Him. Afterwards, Jesus asked Simon: “Cast out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). Although they had done so countless times the night before, Simon trusted His word and did as Jesus said; this time, he caught more fish than his nets could handle! The remainder of the Gospel makes clear that Jesus enabled Peter to catch much more than just the fish that day—Peter found himself and the mission of his lifetime and became the foundation of the Church for the generations to come!

As I pray for and with young men and women who are discerning their vocations, I often find myself seeing Peter in them. Within each young person is a vocation to ​”something greater​” than meets the eyes. Discerning one’s vocation requires us to raise our eyes from the passing things of this world towards God: who made us, calls us and journeys with us throughout the vicissitudes of life. The vocations to holy matrimony, sacred priesthood and consecrated life are all paths of living out our call to holiness: to be loved and to love. Like Peter’s, every vocation requires trusting openness to God’s will, and acting on His word that reverberates in our hearts…even when we do not understand it or when we are unsure where it will lead. 

Despite various elements of our culture that at first glance are detrimental to a life of faith and holiness, I deeply trust that the hearts of young people are yearning to hear the truth that the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church has been proclaiming for over 2000 years: “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) Greatness not as the world understands it, but true greatness in the eyes of our Heavenly Father and exemplified by our Lord Jesus Christ: a life of holiness and love. 

I pray that this website will serve as a helpful resource to young men and women seeking to listen to the words of Christ and follow Him, as well as for those desiring to accompany them in this journey. The Office of Vocations and Seminarians of the Diocese of Palm Beach is available to all who are ready to make this journey to finding God’s call for their life. May Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles intercede for us all, so that a deeper indwelling of the Holy Spirit may help us to hear the call of the Lord in our lives more clearly, and respond with courage.