Lake Days Reflection
By Ashlie Hand
For decades, the Serra Clubs in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph have hosted Lake Days, a weekend for seminarians in our diocese to build brotherhood as they journey together in discerning a call to the priesthood. Held over three days each summer before seminarians depart for their fall semester, the agenda includes daily prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, and Mass in addition to swimming, boating, skiing and tubing with the main goal of building fraternity.
Xavier Schmidt, a seminarian in the configuration stage of his preparation at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, has attended Lake Days for several years, saying, “I'm awed by the beauty of the fraternal relationships I have with my brother seminarians. Because we attend various seminaries and have different assignments throughout the summer, it can be difficult and near-impossible just to be with each other. Lake Days gives us the chance to catch up and hang out. I often forget how much my heart needs that kind of friendship. We're all pursuing a special configuration to Jesus as His priests, and that's a unique thing! Lake Days gives us the opportunity to relate to each in solidarity because we're experiencing the same trials and joys.”
More than just a weekend away, Lake Days also plays a role in supporting the seminarians’ discernment. Schmidt shared how the weekend impacts his journey, saying, “It's easy to get bogged down in the heaviness of formation while at the seminary, but it's on vacations like this that give me a boost and help me to remember that relationships with my brothers will sustain me as a priest. I'm blessed to have the brother seminarians I have, and their support for me, as a man and beloved son of the Father, helps me to see clearly the will of God in my life.”
A highlight of the weekend for Schmidt is time spent visiting with Bishop Johnston.
“A special privilege of Lake Days is the presence of our bishop, who attentively listens to all of us as we share about our past year. He shares his fatherly wisdom with us and often leaves us with some goal or focus for the upcoming year,” he said.
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