VOCATIONS AWARENESS MONTH “We talk a lot and share a lot, and for us to be apart is sometimes difficult,” said Shayne. “She has made a sacrifice too, it’s not just me. The family is very much involved in my vocation. I think what is beautiful is that I’ve brought my first year brothers, and also my Broken Bay brothers, back to my house, and I can see my parents trying to take them on as their sons, it really becomes familial in that sense.” Seminary life doesn’t always allow for much spare time, but if he does have a break, you’ll find Shayne out on the soccer field or out running. “I like to keep active so It’s always nice to have physical exercise to release stress,” said Shayne. Shayne also has a keen interest in music. “I like playing the guitar and piano, and I like to sing,” said Shayne. “I should say I try to sing. I love the Schola, the choir at the Seminary. They sing beautifully and we get to participate in the liturgy, and I love joining them in singing.” Shayne still enjoys socialising, like any other 23-year-old. “I love spending time with my family and friends,” said Shayne. “Both now with my brothers in the seminary and my friends that I had prior to entering the seminary. “I still see my friends. They have always been supportive; they were happy for me and prayed for me. My soccer friends, even though they don’t fully understand, are accepting and respectful of my decision. We still have good chats every now and then. It’s nice to be open about all these things. We try and discuss what is priestly life and faith, what is God, what does the Catholic Church teach? Although it’s difficult at times, I think as our Lord says it’s almost necessary.” Shayne has been fortunate to have many wonderful mentors and guides on his discernment journey so far. “Having good priests around me in the various aspects of my life has been wonderful,” said Shayne. “Firstly, my Parish Priest Fr Paul BROKEN BAY NEWS
Durkin, who just happens to be the Vocations Director for Broken Bay. Seeing his example and just talking to him was very helpful and inspirational to me. I was also blessed with a good spiritual director Fr Alessandro at Kellyville. He helped me with my prayer life. That was very important and will continue to be important for the rest of my life.” Shayne has enjoyed the enforced technology fast that first year seminarians undertake. “Prayer life for me has been taken to another level in a sense, in terms of my communion with God and everything that that entails with the Eucharist and also with prayer,” said Shayne. “Not having as many distractions with my phone is a real blessing, and I can see more now that every moment of the day is more directed towards God, and the relationship is getting closer and closer to our Lord.” Joining the Catholic Church and entering the Seminary can be challenging, especially in the era we are living in now in Australia. Shayne doesn’t back down from the challenge.
Shayne has some advice for other young men discerning priesthood or considering any type of vocation. “Firstly, you’re never alone,” said Shayne. “There’s always comfort in knowing that vocational discernment is not an individual journey. My advice would be to talk to someone you can trust. If you feel that there might be something stirring within you, it can be difficult for you to look at that stirring and analyse it by yourself. I was very fortunate to have good friends and good priests around me that I spoke to that guided me. “Secondly, spend time with our Lord, by yourself. There’s a certain grace that comes with silence, when you listen to what our Lord wants of you. When I started to do this, I saw tremendous clarity start to develop with my sense of call. “Thirdly, frequent the sacraments. I remember once being told that our Lord desires you to come and receive him in the Eucharist. To go to
…spend time with our Lord, by yourself. There’s a certain grace that comes with silence, when you listen to what our Lord wants of you. confession for me was a great grace that I missed out on during my high school years. That really changed my life in terms of growing closer to our Lord and hearing His voice. Those things are really important when discerning a vocation.”
“The Church has always been under persecution, you only have to look at the early centuries of the Church and you look at the Gospel itself, and you see the Lord and the Disciples under persecution by the Pharisees. You see our Church crucified and once again our Lord rises. We see it throughout the whole history of the Church, we will always be under persecution, we will just have to deal with it and take courage and hope in that is how the disciples lived and how the Lord lived. “People are feeling distant and rightly so, in this point in time people need healing, and that will take time and for us a Church. It’s important for us to continue to pray for that. It’s very important that we recognise this and do our best to always preach this message of healing because it needs to happen. AUGUST 2019 11