Each year around this time, we hold a vocation discernment retreat organized by our Vocations Office. It's also a time when we remind our priests to identify potential candidates for the seminary from their parishes.

This year, the retreat was structured so that it would be both at St. John's Seminary and at the parish of Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted in Waltham. So, I went to join the men during their time at Our Lady's for Mass and lunch.

This retreat is always a very significant moment to gather with the young men, most of whom are college students or recent graduates, so that they can reflect on their own spiritual life and their personal vocations. An important part of this is for them to be able to meet the seminarians and listen to their vocation stories. I also had an opportunity to meet individually with a number of them.

We are very grateful for all the hospitality of Father Jim DiPerri, Father David Campo, and all the parishioners who assisted in hosting my Mass there and preparing the wonderful lunch for the young men. We are also grateful for the ministry of our Vocations Office, which works tirelessly to promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life in our archdiocese.



Cabinet meeting

On Tuesday morning, we had our monthly cabinet meeting at the Pastoral Center. At the meeting, Father Joy wished everyone a very happy Sts. Cyril and Methodius day -- even though everyone was focused on a very different saint!



Sister Disciples of the Divine Master

That afternoon, I went for Mass and dinner with the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master at their house on West Street. They had members of their leadership team visiting, and we had a lovely meal together. The sisters are preparing for their centenary, and during the evening, they sang the song and showed us the logos they have prepared for their centennial year.

We are very blessed by the presence of the Sister Disciples in our archdiocese and their very important ministries at Regina Cleri, the Pastoral Center, and West Street.



Virtual meeting

Wednesday, I took part in a virtual meeting sponsored by the Leadership Roundtable examining the possibility of having a gathering for the bishops' conference concerning Catholic schools. As part of that, they wanted to meet with a group of bishops to discuss the idea. A number of Catholic foundations were also represented, as well, because, of course, the thought is to engage Catholic philanthropy in support of our Catholic schools.

It was a good meeting, and there was a lot of consensus around the importance of bringing this discussion before the U.S. bishops at this time. We were all very clear on the great importance we place on our Catholic schools. We also felt that, with the increased focus and appreciation for the mission of our schools during the pandemic, this is a good time to bring the bishops together and address some of the challenges that Catholic schools have.