Spotlight: Cathedral Parish of St. Joseph

“Vittles for Vocations” is a project of the Vocation Committee of the Cathedral of St. Joseph, where a coffee bar is held on the front driveway of the Cathedral, serving the typical coffee and donuts, but with “Pastries for Priests”, “Bagels for Brothers”, “Stollen for Sisters”, “Danish for Deacons”, “Muffins for Marrieds”, and “Sweet Rolls for Singles” to cover all the vocations to which God calls His people.  The idea for “Vittles for Vocations” came from a brainstorming session of the Vocation Committee, as we discussed ways to increase attention and openness to vocations among our parishioners.

The canopy tents in front of church, with signs posted listing the various “vittles” and vocations always attract curiosity as parishioners leave the Church.  There is no charge for the refreshments we serve, but donations are welcome.  We put out donations cans or buckets on the corners of the tables, and on each occasion we have collected in excess of the cost of the items we provided.  The proceeds go to the parish budget, which funds our Vocation Committee budget. 

The first time we hosted Vittles, we had a supply of napkins imprinted  “Cathedral of St. Joseph Supports Vocations” and those have lasted through several events.  The first few Vittles events, we sought donated (home baked) items, but later switched to purchasing all refreshments.  We occasionally serve funnel cakes—a labor-intensive but popular addition to our menu.  In addition to coffee, we provide milk and juice or Hi-C type fruit punch.  Vittles is held one or two weekends a year, and we find it a good way to bring vocations to the attention of parishioners.   Vocation committee members also distribute prayer cards and ask parishioners to sign up to take a Vocation Crucifix into their home to “pray 5 minutes a day for vocations”.  Our next Vittles for Vocations will be held the last weekend of May.

Other activities of our Committee have included: sponsoring an annual trip for 8th graders to visit a seminary and convent; “Snacks for Seminarians” where we collect various snack items, pack them in goodie bags and deliver them to all seminarians at Conception Seminary and Kenrick/Glennon Seminary; having a volunteer send cards for birthdays and other special occasions to all seminarians of the diocese; promoting “Rosaries for Priests”; and coordinating First Friday Holy Hour for Vocations and other vocation awareness activities for the school and parish.  For vocation-related events, we hang a large banner across the front of the Cathedral, and set up our “wall of the called”, a wooden display of photos and biographies of all priests and religious brothers and sisters from our parish.  In addition, we assist with several events held at the Cathedral campus, including the Diocesan 6th grade Vocations Day, Confirmation candidates’ reflection day for Vocations, the Mothers Tea for Vocations, etc.  We have also cooked and served Spaghetti Dinner for the CHRISTpower teen service retreat.

One new program is to have a volunteer family send a note of congratulations and prayer with a Holy Family holy card to the parents of each newly baptized baby in our parish.  We also have a volunteer who sends a card to the priest and sister that we are praying for each week, as listed in our parish bulletin.  This spring, we sponsored a showing of FIREPROOF the Movie in support of the vocation of marriage, and had a table prayer card printed for all families of the parish which include prayers for vocations.  The table prayer card is being used in lieu of the Vocation Crucifix program for the spring and summer.