Quo Vadis Days
BELMONT — Young men quietly filed into the abbey basilica at Belmont Abbey College June 14. Alone, in pailrs, and several at a time, they slipped into the pews to await morning Mass with Bishop Peter Jugis.
More than 77 young men aged 15-19 attended this year’s Quo Vadis Days retreat held June 11-15. The five-day vocations discernment camp for young men included talks by local priests, seminarians and others on the vocations to the priesthood, marriage and fatherhood.
Ultimately, the goal of Quo Vadis Days is to challenge young men to ask the fundamental question “quo vadis” or “where are you going?”, while equipping them with the tools and opportunity to discern God’s will for their life.
Bishop Peter Jugis was the main celebrant at Mass June 14. Concelebrants included Father Christopher Gober, diocesan vocations director; Father Jason Barone, diocesan vocations promoter; Father Lucas Rossi, parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury; and Father Noah Carter, parochial vicar of St. Mark Church in Huntersville.
They were assisted by newly ordained transitional deacons, Deacon Alfonso Gamez and Deacon Britt Taylor.
“The charity of Christ: this is what we celebrate at every Mass when we come before the altar,” Bishop Jugis explained in his homily. “The charity of Christ is celebrated and is made present at every Mass and every sacrifice which we offer.”
“What greater charity does a man have, or greater love does a man have, Jesus says, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends?
“And here, perpetually and continually the sacrifice of Christ, whereby He laid down his life for His friends – us – is being offered, is being celebrated, is being consumed. We are receiving into ourselves the charity of Christ.”
He noted, “Which is the antidote to the evil way Jesus is speaking against in today’s Gospel” (Mt 5:20-26).
Bishop Jugis told the young men that “this work begins now, this preparing our hearts. It is the path to peace. It is the path to true joy and freedom, to live with a heart free from all those encumbrances.”
One of the fruits of charity is joy, he continued.
"If people are really in love with God and love their neighbor, and have that love of God in their heart, it will be evident and will be demonstrated externally, not only by charity, but by joy – a joyful spirit, a joyful heart – because their hearts are at peace, and that joy follows naturally," he said.
Father Matthew Kauth, rector of St. Joseph College Seminary, was in attendance at Mass, seated in the back row of the abbey basilica looking over the 77 young men who were on retreat and also the St. Joseph College seminarians who were seated with the retreatants, assisting at Mass and singing in choir.
“In some ways, Quo Vadis is the reason we have the (college) seminary,” he said. “Simply because, in fostering these vocations over the course of years, more and more men came and we did not want to outsource any longer our fatherly duties, which is to help these vocations to grow.”
“In some sense the college seminary was the perfect response to our desire to be good fathers and take care of the sons who have been coming to us,” he said.
Father Jason Barone shared his thoughts on the retreat and the growing interest in vocations to the priesthood.
“I think the growth of vocations in the diocese can be attributed largely to two things: one, the success of Quo Vadis Days, of which this is our sixth; and also the foundation of our new St. Joseph College Seminary so that men can visit more easily a seminary that is more approximate to them. They can visualize what a seminary looks like.
They can see themselves perhaps joining the seminary.
“And so, with many prayers across the diocese and the support of our bishop, both of these – the Quo Vadis Days and the seminary – have resulted in an explosion of vocations, something we can be proud of and thank God for.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
