Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I am incredibly humbled by the generosity shown by you and your brothers and sisters in Christ to the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). God has blessed this local church in many ways, especially through the faithful who practice intentional discipleship by sharing their gifts with others.
Contained within this booklet are stories of love, compassion and care made possible through your generosity to the CSA. Please take time to read these stories which illustrate how our Catholic faith is being lived every day in the Diocese of Austin, reflecting God’s love for each other.
On February 3-5, the Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference was held in Waco with 1850 youth and adult participants from 62 parishes across the diocese. The theme of the conference was “Revive,” which reflected the National Eucharistic Revival, and highlighted themes of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the Mystical Body of Christ, and going forth to live Eucharistically. Participants experienced daily Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharistic adoration, praise and worship, dynamic keynote presentations, and workshops, culminating with Mass on Sunday morning with Bishop Joe Vásquez.
Called By Name Sunday is one weekend of the year where the priests of the diocese coordinate to preach on vocations, share their vocation story, and ask the faithful for names of men and women who would be good candidates for the priesthood or religious life. In 2021, we had 200 names; in 2022, we had 300 names, and in 2023, we had 975 names.
There are 42 seminarians in formation to become priests. We are blessed to have added 12 new men this year. The cost to educate one seminarian annually is almost $55,000. Your gift to the CSA matters!
There is an inseparable connection between Adoration and a vocation to the priesthood and religious life. Many years ago, I committed one hour a week to spend time in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament at the parish that I attended. I was always alone with Jesus at that time.
I had a younger brother in college who was very strong in his faith, so I began to offer this hour with Jesus praying for him to answer God’s call to the vocation of the priesthood. In my eyes, my brother had all the qualities of making a good priest. However, I soon learned that my brother had chosen a different path in life and was going to be married.
During my next Adoration, I began to tell Jesus how committed I had been to pray for my brother to answer his call to a vocation to the priesthood. Suddenly, a voice spoke out somewhere in that small chapel, “It is not him I want, it is you.” For the next couple of years I could not get this thought out of my mind until I finally said “yes” and began the application process to enter seminary.
God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.
- Reverend Steve Sauser