Ask, listen, follow: eighth-grade students gather for annual vocations day
Eighth graders and their teachers from around the Fort Worth Diocese attend a Vocation Day Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral celebrated by Bishop Michael Olson, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (NTC/Rodger Mallison)
FORT WORTH — Eighth-grade students hear many messages — from classmates, from social media influencers, from celebrities and musicians, from their parents.
On April 23, eighth-grade students had the opportunity to focus on a message from the Church at the annual Eighth Grade Vocations Day.
To kick off the event, more than 300 eighth-grade students from 15 Catholic schools in the diocese filed into St. Patrick Cathedral, many for the first time. Several students remarked that the beauty of the church’s artwork and stained-glass windows was awe-inspiring.
Vocations Day began with Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael Olson, who based his homily on a passage on the Good Shepherd from John 10:11-18.
The bishop explained because “Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves; Jesus loves us better than we love ourselves,” we can trust the voice of the Good Shepherd.
As the students prepare to enter high school, he said, “It is time to decide to listen and to follow the Good Shepherd.”
As Mass concluded, Bishop Olson listed the cities near and far from which the students had traveled to the Fort Worth cathedral and emphasized, “It is in Christ that we are one.”
Later, the students divided into girls and boys to hear advice on living a life of holiness and growing a friendship with God — an encouragement for every vocation, not exclusively a religious one.
The girls listened to consecrated virgin Mary Del Olmo and Sister Catherine Marie Nguyen, OP, who serves as the school nurse for St. Rita Catholic School in Fort Worth.
Sister Catherine said, “God’s call for you — for all of us — is to be holy, and to live with Him in heaven for ever and ever.”
She encouraged the students to “ask God, ‘Where you are calling me? Where will I be most happy? Where will I be most holy?’
“Ask God the question. He wants your ultimate happiness and only He knows what that is,” said Sr. Catherine, who went to college to become a physician before “Come and See” weekends at a Dominican convent compelled her to discern a religious vocation.
Del Olmo agreed that God knows His plans for each of us. She advised the young ladies that as they enter high school, “First, focus on developing virtue, and everything else will fall into place.”
The boys’ discussion was led by Director of Vocations Father Brett Metzler, accompanied by Deacon Jeffrey Ambreit Jr. and seminarians Javier Escutia and Robert Weisberg.
Each man spoke on one of the four pillars of seminarian formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral (or service). Fr. Metzler recommended that the boys, as they begin ninth grade, pay attention to these four dimensions and keep them balanced in their lives.
He said, “You’ll be more successful and happier if you do, and more open to a vocation. It will make your life in high school and beyond much better.”
Gabriel James, a student at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School, appreciated the opportunity to pause the academics to consider options for the future.
Although he’s attended the Keller school since PreK-4, he’s excited about starting a new school. He said, “High school has so much potential. It’s a new path that I want to explore.”
Diane Price, principal of St. Joseph Catholic School in Arlington, also appreciated attending Eighth Grade Vocations Day, despite it being her ninth year to participate.
She said the event occurs at a critical time in the students’ lives. “This is an opportunity for them to hear Catholic-based options for them in their life. This age group is definitely thinking about where God is taking them, because they’re about to embark on high school where everything opens up,” she said.
She also values the opportunity for the students to have unstructured socialization, away from social media and sports, during the event’s long lunch. The day allows the students “to build friendships in other schools and acknowledge that they’re all the same at this point in life. We’re all children of God, working together to further His Kingdom,” she said.