Jan 23 2024 Vocation Directors Virtual “Come and See” Date Set Diocesan and Religious Institution Vocation Directors are invited to attend a virtual “Come & See” hosted by The Labouré Society admissions team from 1:00 – 2:00 PM CST on Thursday, March 14, 2024. The virtual event provides an overview of Labouré’s program, the opportunity to hear from program alumni and other vocation directors, and includes an optional Q. and A. session afterwards. “In my work in my vocation ministry at my monastery, we do often encounter women who have college debt as one of the issues to their coming into their vocation,” shares Sr. Lisa Maurer, OSB, Vocation Director of the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery. “I’ve been so impressed with the whole [Labouré] program; with the organization, with the flow of it, with what’s asked of the people who are participating in it, so impressed by the professionalism. The whole basis of this program is so dedicated and so layered and so rooted in who and what we are as Catholics; I just find that amazing and…uplifting. It’s very rooted in prayer and very grounded in who and what we are as Catholics. [I’ve] also been impressed with the results….” Fr. Scott Jabo, Rector of St. Mark’s Seminary and Vocation Director for the Diocese of Erie, agrees. “It seemed too good to be true, [but] the organization is legitimate. I’ve been blown away by what [the Labouré] program is all about. It is highly principled on the Catholic faith; it is a spiritual experience for the young men and women involved; it is transformative; it changes their lives, while also helping them remove the barriers to their vocation. It presents opportunities not only for reduction of debt, which certainly is fruit of the program, but….everything [Labouré] is doing is very compatible with the formation program that we have at the seminary level.” Vocation Directors may register for Labouré’s virtual “Come & See” by calling 651-212-4878.
Jan 17 2024 Recent Program Alumni Share Lessons Learned “In many ways, I’ve been transformed by my experience with Labouré,” shares recent Labouré program graduate and seminarian for the Diocese of Fort Wayne / South Bend, Mason Bailey. “[It] exceeded my expectations. I can’t wait to be able to come back to Labouré Live as a priest and be able to give back to an organization I love. I’m eternally grateful.” Graduate Cheryl Bergin of the Poor Clare Colettine Nuns agrees. “I’ve had many miracles in my life, but the biggest one God did most recently is The Labouré Society. To obliterate six-figure debt in nine months is not a coincidence. I thank God for the cross of student debt. There’s a certain point in carrying a cross that you recognize its beauty and the gift that it is. We don’t carry it alone; we carry it with one another [as a Labouré class that fundraises together]. It’s such a joy to help your fellow classmates carry their cross. I can’t thank God enough: Labouré is the greatest formation tool. I needed the extra [time] to be stripped of the things that I need to let go of in order to enter the cloister. [Labouré provides an opportunity] to evangelize and tell people how much you love Jesus. I’ve met so many awesome people through this and God has shown me His love through so many people.” Reid Robilotto, another graduate and soon-to-be seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington D.C., puts his experience with Labouré this way: “Not only did Labouré change my perspective on fundraising; it also changed me. [Sharing] my vocation story over and over and encountering so many generous individuals has sharpened my awareness of my dependence on God and others. I have…learned that God provides all that I need to follow Him, often through relationships with my brothers and sisters. There were certainly practical skills I learned and developed during the class: time management, organization, communication, and the like, but more valuable changes I’ve observed in myself include the development of a supernatural outlook on the things of the world…and a deeper capacity for relationship.” The theme of increased dependence upon God is one that echoes throughout reflections by Labouré program alumni. Aloni Bonilla of The Federation of Koinonia John the Baptist, sums it up: “Labouré really taught me something: [it] called me to get out of my comfort zone and really, truly depend on God. I really needed that lesson….the tools and support that Labouré gave was the most precious pearl that could be given to me in the most difficult time of my life. That’s what I needed to learn, this poverty. Labouré taught me…a radical dependence upon the Father.”
Dec 16 2023 Vocations and Student Loan Debt Study Underway The Labouré Society has partnered with CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate) at Georgetown University to conduct a study on Vocations and Student Loan Debt. Both diocesan and religious institute vocation directors were surveyed on the impact of education debt for those discerning vocations as priests or religious. “The last such comprehensive study was conducted a dozen years ago,” shares Labouré Executive Director John Flanagan. “There have been other vocation-related surveys and studies, but none as comprehensive in this particular area of how student loan debt is impacting religious vocations. We look forward to sharing the results and implications of this study far and wide, so that as a Church community we might come together to best address solutions that empower those seeking to enter formation as Catholic priests, sisters and brothers.” Results of the study are expected in Spring of 2024.