Vocations talks open eyes of St. Margaret students

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By Matt Palmer

mpalmer@CatholicReview.org

Asked when he knew he wanted to be a priest, Conventual Franciscan Father Matthew Foley, campus minister of Archbishop Curley, told middle school students: “This morning.”

“It’s something we choose every day,” he said. “It’s when we get up and thank God for the gift of love, to serve him and follow him to tell others about him.”

Sister of Notre de Namur Marjorie Gallagher, a religion teacher at The John Carroll School in Bel Air, told students she knew she wanted to be a sister by sixth grade, thanks to religion teachers and sisters.

“What was important to them was prayer and teaching me how to pray,” Sister Marjorie said. “To do that, you listen, you ponder and you act. I knew that God was speaking to me, not in words, but in what the people around me were saying.”

Principal Madeleine Hobik said she hoped students might be open more to the vocations after hearing the talks.

“It was pretty cool to hear all the different stories of how God called these people,” eighth-grader Katie Sullivan said. “They all had similarities, but they were different as individuals. It was really cool to see what that’s like to be called by God.”

“I found out they’re regular people like you and me,” added sixth-grader Veronica Ewing. “They just love God, and they want to be like him.”