Flocknote

August 2023

In this email we bring you our continuing monthly series of blogs written by our seminarians. We hope you find their writings spiritually uplifting and educational.

Bruté Days shows power of God's mercy

Deacon Sam Rosko '20 (left) and Fr. Michael Keucher (right) with the more than

60 high school participants of the Bruté Days retreat.

Every summer Bruté hosts a three-day “come and see” retreat, called Bruté Days, for young men in high school and middle school. When I was in high school, I had the chance to participate in Bruté Days and can confidently say that this retreat had one of the biggest impacts on my vocation.

This year, I was asked to be one of the Bruté Days seminarian leaders. Looking back, one memory in particular stands out to me from the week. For two of the three days, we had all the boys gather in the chapel to make a holy hour with the option to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Instead of making the holy hour with them, I stood outside in the hallway and helped bring the boys to the priests hearing confessions. At the beginning of the first day, we had three priests available but soon I realized that there were just too many boys wanting to go to confession. So, I went to the apartment of our Vice Rector, Fr. Andy Syberg, to ask him to help. It smelled like he had just finished making dinner for himself, but he put down what he was doing to go hear confessions. Even with four priests, we just barely got all the boys through in time. It made me so joyful to be able to bring the boys to the confessional, to show them, in a way, to our Lord’s mercy.

With how rare it is to have young men so willing to confess their sins to another person, it filled me with hope for the future of the church. It also makes me beyond excited for my ordination. If I received such consolations for just bringing these young men to the confessional, then I cannot fathom the joy our Lord will give me when I have the chance to be an Alter Christus for God’s people and give them His mercy. My experience with helping, and seeing Fr. Andy put down what he was doing to be the avenue for grace, was truly fulfilling and affirming of my vocation to the priesthood.

Nathan Thompson is a Bruté seminarian studying for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and a member of the Class of 2024.

Learn about Nathan

Pray for our new propaedeutic stage seminarians

Please pray for the nine new propaedeutic-stage seminarians who began their seminary journey in early August. We wish them a blessed year of spiritual growth and discernment.

Bruté alum shares vocation story

Isaac Siefker '21 current studying at St. Meinrad Seminary, recently shared his vocation story during Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Bedford, IN.

Making a charitable gift anonymously or

publicly recognized

Have you ever struggled with whether or not to make a charitable gift anonymously or publicly recognized? There are pros and cons to both. And it’s ultimately the donor’s decision.

As Catholics, we often refer to biblical teaching on the matter, however, they can be confusing. Matthew 6: 3-4 tells us “… when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…” Conversely, Matthew 5: 16 extols us “…your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

While some are motivated to remain anonymous in their gift-giving out of humility, others wish to conceal their wealth to deter too many organizations from soliciting them. These are both certainly valid reasons; we challenge you to consider the following:

We need models of generous Catholics to inspire others to greater generosity. We also need to set an example for the next generation of young Catholics, who through your stories of faithfulness and sacrifice, will also come to learn stewardship as a way of life. And finally, your legacy gift at the time of your passing stands as a testimony to the life you lived in giving back to God.

Whatever your choice, know that at the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the Catholic Community Foundation, we will always honor your decision and follow through on your gift intentions.

For more information, please contact us at 317-236-1482 or ccf@archindy.org.