Standing at a podium in front of 87 high school boys, Father Daniel A. Rice, parochial vicar of Holy Family Church in Dale City, encouraged them to pray with a familiar slogan: “Just do it!”
After drawing the famous Nike “Swoosh” symbol, he explained that the popular slogan likewise applies to the boys’ prayer life with God.
Father Rice gave his talk on prayer July 10 at Quo Vadis, a weeklong diocesan camp for high school boys at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. Each day during the July 9-13 week includes morning prayer, daily Mass, talks on spiritual life and discernment, and sports competitions.
First-year camper Sebastian Bohnett, 17, a parishioner of Christ the Redeemer Church in Sterling, said that after hearing about the camp, he thought it would be a good opportunity to open himself to discern a call to the priesthood.
“It’s not necessarily (that) this camp is going to turn you into a priest, but it’s going to show you the idea of being open,” he said.
This openness to discernment begins with a strong prayer life, according to Father Rice. He gave the boys practical steps to strengthen that. “Don’t measure your prayer by how you felt during it. Even if you show up and you’re bored and you’re distracted during your prayer, it was worth it,” he said.
Father Rice encouraged the boys to engage in imaginative prayer, where instead of battling their imaginations and distractions during prayer, they can use their imaginations to discern how God might respond to their prayers. During this conversational “daydreaming about God,” Father Rice said, the campers can use several ways to discern the true voice of God: sacred Scripture, church teaching and the advice of a spiritual mentor.
“Prayer is about being, not about doing,” he said. “God wants to talk to you more than you want to hear him.”
When it comes to discerning a vocation in prayer, you need two things: prayer and action, he said. “You can’t just sit there and think and pray and try to figure it out. You have to go out and be in relationship with others,” he said.
Peaceful thoughts in prayer are from God, he said, whereas thoughts that bring anxiety or doubt are not. He encouraged the young men to not be anxious or try to figure out a call right away. Rather, God will reveal a vocation over time.
Kyle Kopko, 18, a parishioner of St. Theresa Church in Ashburn, said he plans to put Father Rice’s talk into action as he attempts to discern God’s voice in prayer. “I’m looking forward to trying that in holy hour. I want to be able to sit in adoration and know what I’m doing,” he said with a smile.
After the talk, seminarians led small groups of campers in lectio divina, a form of meditation on Scripture. In the afternoon, campers competed in sports tournaments, ranging from basketball and flag football to table tennis and billiards.
The fraternity at Quo Vadis, Latin for “Where are you going,” has been strong, Kopko said. “I don’t even know these guys, and I can just go up to them and start talking to them, and everyone is really friendly. I’ve already had a few good conversations with people about discernment.”
Second-time camper Peter Hornbek, 16, a parishioner of Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville, said that since his first Quo Vadis experience, he has been growing in prayer and discernment.
“Quo Vadis is a really good place to encounter God. There are millions of places where you can encounter God each and every day,” he said. “But a lot of the time, we’re caught up in other things, and I would say that spending this time of my summer at Quo Vadis is the perfect time to really encounter Christ in a meaningful way.”
