SHARING CHRIST THROUGH PRIESTLY DISCERNMENT

Living the life of a seminarian during a CSA-funded discernment weekend reinforced the call Matthew Hood felt to the priesthood.

"I was really at peace while I was on the discernment weekend," says Matthew, 19, who was a freshman at Central Michigan University at that point. "It gave me the additional courage to go ahead and apply to Sacred Heart."

Matthew began his discernment journey in high school. Doubts about faith and questions about Catholicism led him to fully research his religion.

"For every question I asked, the answer that the Church gave was so much more powerful than anything I could imagine," he says. "I started to see how God works in the Church, and the beauty of that."

Prayer became central in Matthew's life, which led to a greater love of the sacraments. When he realized that sacraments were ministered by priests, he became drawn to the priesthood and developed an appreciation of its importance.

"I prayed about it and thought about it for a long time," Matthew says. When he felt at peace with the idea, he met with his associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish, Lake Orion, and then Father Tim Birney, director of priestly vocations, who provided vocations-related materials and answered his questions about discernment, the seminary and the application process.

And suggested Matthew attend that fateful discernment weekend.

By then, Matthew was a freshman at Central Michigan University, exploring college life on the advisement of his parents. Still, he knew entering the seminary was his goal.

On the discernment weekend, Matthew was able to meet seminarians - and see that they were normal guys, just like him.

"Before that, I didn't know any seminarians really well," he says. "Living the life of a seminarian was really helpful to me, just going to classes, praying the office, going to Mass, and spending time with them afterward."

By the end of the discernment weekend, his ideas about attending the seminary and exploring the priesthood were reinforced "in a really strong way," he adds.

Matthew applied, and became a seminarian in August 2009.

"I was definitely nervous at the beginning, but that passed in first couple of days," he says. "Then I had more of a sense of peace, that God is still calling me to the priesthood - or at least to be at the seminary right now."

His first year has been challenging, especially academically, but Matthew is enjoying his classes. He also feels he has grown spiritually through monthly formation with his spiritual director.

Best of all, his questions, which he began answering on his own, and then sought advisement from his pastor and the Archdiocese, are no longer really questions.

"Most of those questions, I had to be here to get the answers for," Matthew explains. "I feel at home."

Through CSA support of the Office of Priestly Vocations, the Archdiocese of Detroit aids in and encourages the discernment of vocations to the diocesan priesthood.

SHARING CHRIST THROUGH OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Most Holy Trinity Elementary School in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood is thriving - thanks in part to a CSA-funded School Outreach Fund grant.

"The CSA has really opened the door of Catholic education for many families who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity," says Kathleen McBride, principal.

The school uses the grant - from the Archdiocese of Detroit through the Department of Evangelization, Catechesis and Schools - to pay teacher salaries and benefits. This has kept tuition affordable for its families, most of whom live in the surrounding neighborhood or in southwest Detroit. The result: Enrollment is rising, and the school's standardized test scores are above average.

"For us, the CSA is vital," says Ms. McBride. "We wouldn't be able to survive without its help."

For the 2009-10 school year, the school added a seventh grade, and plans to add an eighth grade for the 2010-11 school year. This has also improved enrollment, as families with multiple children prefer to have them all attending the same school.

"We're definitely in a building era," notes Ms. McBride.

The student population at Most Holy Trinity is diverse, which Ms. McBride considers a valuable asset. "We have students from Rwanda and the Congo, Columbia, Mexico and Puerto Rico," says Ms. McBride. "We're fortunate to have that mix and celebrate the cultural differences."

The greatest commonality is Catholicism, as 66 percent of students are Catholic. All attend religion classes and participate in the weekly liturgy, regardless of religion.

"It's a common experience for all of us," says Ms. McBride.

SHARING CHRIST THROUGH THE PERMANENT DIACONATE

The strong pastoral and spiritual leadership at his parish, Detroit's St. Matthew, first inspired Christopher Rabaut, 52, to consider the permanent diaconate.

For 10 years, the call of the Holy Spirit grew stronger and stronger. Even his wife, Colleen, mentioned it several times. Together, the couple finally attended a deacon information meeting hosted by the archdiocesan Office for Clergy and Consecrated Life at Holy Family Parish in Novi. The Archdiocese of Detroit holds five such gatherings each year, thanks to gifts to the CSA.

At the information meeting, Mr. Rabaut learned about the diaconate program, including the education required and the cost. He was relieved to find out that the CSA provides tuition assistance to men in diaconate formation.

"We really tried not to worry about it and take it one step at a time," he says.

Since he did not have the academic prerequisites required for the program, Mr. Rabaut began taking classes at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. "That was a really good experience for me," he says of those two extra years of study. "It gave me a lot more confidence for what I was getting into."

Mr. Rabaut is still a student at Sacred Heart, preparing academically, spiritually and ministerially for his October 2011 ordination. He is also earning a master of arts in pastoral studies.

After his first year, a period known as aspirancy, Mr. Rabaut went through a review process to determine whether he wanted to continue pursuing the diaconate. Since the program stresses the importance of family, his wife was also part of the review process, and had to agree whether he should proceed.

"You can't forget about the sacrament of marriage," he explains. "The diaconate should enhance the marriage sacrament."

Overall, Mr. Rabaut feels enriched by his experience in the diaconate program, and considers the opportunity to study his faith at this point in his life to be priceless.

"It's very challenging, demanding and rewarding," he says. "You grow in your relationship with God through the whole experience."

SHARING CHRIST THROUGH SPECIAL MINISTRIES

Each Sunday, deaf Catholics from across the Archdiocese of Detroit gather to "hear" the Word of God at the St. John's Deaf Center. The Warren-based community provides nearly everything a parish does for its members - Mass, the sacraments, religious education, even retreats - only in sign language.

"It's unreasonable to expect every parish to have the expertise to minister to the deaf," says Father Richard Yost, OSFS, director of deaf ministry for the Archdiocese.

Gifts to the CSA provide funding for the St. John's Deaf Center, which was founded in 1974. The Archdiocese has a long history of ministering to the spiritual needs of deaf Catholics, having appointed its first minister to the deaf community in 1917.

"Our members have the right to 'hear' the Gospel proclaimed," says Father Yost. "They are baptized members of the Catholic Church."

Since the community is varied, with hearing parents bringing deaf children to Mass, and deaf parents accompanied by hearing children, the St. John's Deaf Center Mass is presented in the SimCom technique, which is when sign language and spoken word are used simultaneously. At the center, deaf community members take all of the roles in the Mass; so, for example, as the lector signs a reading, a hearing person "voices" it.

(A completely non-verbal Mass is offered each Sunday at Our Lady of Loretto Church in Redford.)

Father Yost points out that members can often be found lingering at the center until nearly 4 p.m. on Sundays. Many have coffee and donuts, others participate in committee meetings, and some stay and play cards.

"The center provides a tremendous social focus for the community," adds Father Yost.

SHARING CHRIST THROUGH CATECHISTS

Gifts to the CSA are making the certification of catechists in parishes and Catholic elementary schools more conducive to their already busy schedules. Online classes will be launched in time for Catechetical Sunday 2010.

"People who ask to be a certified catechist will be able to get the information they need quickly and conveniently, but still have the quality of a good solid program," says Dr. Margie Crooks, director of the Department of Evangelization, Catechesis and Schools. Her goal is for the majority of catechists to be certified within five years.

Currently, parishes have an average of 28 catechists, of which only four are certified. Dr. Crooks attributes this to the fact that most catechists are volunteers who have children in religious education, and are already stretched thin time-wise. Online learning will allow them complete coursework when it's convenient for them, she adds.

Some Catechist Formation sessions will remain "live" to ensure a feeling of community among students. Carefully chosen online topics will also be offered in Spanish, and made available to those seeking ongoing formation.

The software includes a media component, allowing for the integration of videos and presentations into course content. E-mentors - certified catechists and ministers - will also be available to answer any questions students may have.

"We're using technology as an evangelization tool, to bring Christ to people," says Sally McCuen, associate director of ministerial certification.