Esto Vir! is a vocation camp for young men entering their sophomore year of high school through young adulthood. This camp is an opportunity for those men who may be open to the priesthood to come together and spend some days in community with each other and the seminarians of the diocese. The camp includes games, lakeside recreation, Mass, prayer, food, and fellowship.
Questions can be directed to Fr. Michael Arey
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Participants who are age 18 or older:
In order to participate in this camp, you are required to be SAFE ENVIRONMENT CERTIFIED. To gain this certification, you must complete the Diocese of Crookston Safe Environment training. You only need to do this if you have not completed it within the last 12 months. This process will initiate a background check. The results are generally available after two days. After the Office of Safe Environment receives these results, you will be certified.
To check your Safe Environment certification status, or to become Safe Environment certified:
SAFE ENVIRONMENT CERTIFICATION
“I remember being surprised and excited that there were other young guys who were older than I was and who were more informed than I was pursing the priesthood and seeing them as human beings, getting to know them, getting to know what they’re like – that really allowed me to take a look at myself and look at them and say, ‘you know it’s actually possible for me to do this.’” – Mark M.
“You’re not signing up for the priesthood if you attend. A lot of people think it’s a vocations camp so it’s only for if you’re thinking about the priesthood right now; that’s not the case at all. It’s a really good time and it will help you figure out your vocation either direction.” – Joe R.
“Just being there is a really great opportunity for myself and the other guys to step away, just be in a group of Catholic men, kind of like being a fraternity as brothers. That doesn’t happen a lot for many Catholic men.” – Samuel H.
“The thing I really learned about on this retreat is how to discern a vocation — namely the priesthood and marriage — and how to wrestle with those and how to properly ask God those questions.” – Aaron L.
“The seminarians are so much fun, and they have taught me so much about how to pray better and how to become closer to God and just learn to be me. The best reason to come to this camp is the camaraderie and friendship you have. There’s just so much fun playing games and even just sitting in small groups praying.” – Bennet B.
By Melissa Hund-Cerna
Fifteen young men from across the diocese gathered at Oak Hills Christian College July 11-14 for Esto Vir. An additional day and a new location allowed the men more time to discern God’s call in their lives.
Esto Vir is a vocations camp for young men entering their sophomore year of high school through young adulthood and allows them an opportunity to discern their vocation through community with the priests of the diocese, diocesan seminarians, and other campers.
Aaron Heger only learned about Esto Vir a few days before camp started. As a volunteer with youth ministry at St. Philip’s in Bemidji, a fellow volunteer told him about the camp at their Wednesday youth night.
“A discernment camp for just men? That sounds wonderful!” said Heger. “I don’t have a lot of male young Catholic men who I can talk to on a daily basis about discernment, vocations, or about faith in general.”
When Heger, a student at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, found out about Esto Vir, he knew right away it was something of which he wanted to be part.
Each day of camp includes time for prayer, vocation stories by the seminarians, conferences, teaching talks, time for adoration with silent prayer, and community and recreation opportunities.
The conferences, given by Father John Wilebski and Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens, covered several topics, including sacred silence and prayer, discernment of spirits, stories from the priesthood, seminary formation and two different question and answer sessions with the seminarians and with Bishop Cozzens.
“It was incredible for me to hear about the different voices of the Spirit in the conference given by Bishop Cozzens,” Heger said. “I never really associated my own voice as important within discernment. I always just thought I needed to discern if something was the voice of God or the voice of the devil. But I learned that God instills desires within our hearts, he gives us full permission in his grace to seek our future based on what makes us truly glad.”
“‘Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.’ It’s wonderful knowing that those desires of our heart also come from God and that it is important for us to pay attention to them,” Heger said, quoting author Frederick Buechner.
Father Wilebski, ordained to the priesthood in June and now assigned to Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks; Holy Trinity, Tabor; and St. Francis of Assisi, Fisher, was the camp’s spiritual director. This was also his seventh year attending Esto Vir. He first attended the summer before he entered college seminary.
Father Wilebski gave the conference talks and was joined for the week by Father Michael Arey from St. Philip, Bemidji, and Bishop Cozzens. Wilebski noted it is important for young men to witness his own journey from seminarian to priest as they discern whether they are called to follow in his footsteps.
The four days offer fraternity and space for the men to let go, be themselves, and be in a safe space to share in their discernment in a community versus simply discerning alone. Each day included small group time led by one of the seminarians.
An important part of the week for the men was the opportunity for one-on-one conversation time with the priests. These sessions allowed the men to bring up whatever was on their heart.
Sometimes they might talk about where they saw the Lord moving within the camp, or discuss a grace received. The priests could talk to the seminarians about overcoming certain fears or asking questions regarding discernment.
The campers enjoyed time in the afternoon to relax and have fun with one another. A staple of the camp was an outdoor frisbee game called “Schtick.”
Other activities included yard games, board games, and archery tag. A highlight of the camp was enjoying the many activities alongside Bishop Cozzens who spent the full week present to the campers.
Among the 15 campers about half of them were new to Esto Vir this summer.
“With this group you have the experience of the guys who have been to camp before with the guys who are here for the first time bringing new questions that the others might not have thought about before,” said Father Wilebski. “There’s a brotherhood at this camp. All the guys really learn to walk together. The seminarians kind of run the camp and are the counselors, if you will, but actually everybody at this camp is counseling each other. It’s like we’re all on staff together. It’s everyone who comes to this camp that makes it what it is.”
This was the first year that Esto Vir was held at Oak Hills Christian College, where both Saint John Paul II and Saint Teresa of Calcutta camps are currently held. “The facilities here have really been a blessing for us to have the space to be able to spread out and to have space for both our conferences and the beautiful chapel for our sacraments,” said Father Wilebski. “It's almost like you wouldn't even know that this is our first year here because the guys have really been able to just settle in and enter into the camp.”
The beautiful chapel at Oak Hills was a central building at camp. It provided a place for daily celebration of the sacraments.
“Esto Vir has been so humbling and convicting, especially in prayer life” said Heger. “One of the biggest graces I have received is that holiness is possible. Especially since I’m not a priest, or because I’m not in seminary it can seem like holiness is just too far out of reach, like it’s not meant for me. But in reality, holiness is meant for all of us. Holiness isn’t just a call for the people who have it all figured it out but it’s attainable for all of us. With being at college, you are so busy doing so many different things, you aren’t always able to experience the sacraments daily.”
Each day, the campers celebrated Mass together. In the midst of the National Eucharistic Revival, the men learned how the Eucharist is the heart of the priesthood.
“The most essential job for the priest is to make Christ present in the world,” said Father Wilebski. “There’s no more profound way that he does this, than through the celebration of the Mass.”
Along with Mass, campers had silent time in Christ’s presence in eucharistic adoration where they also had the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
“It’s important when coming to a camp like this, to be able to take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially when we are discerning the Lord's will and focusing on our relationship with him,” Father Wilebski said. “Sin is something that separates us from our relationship with God. We turn away from God when we sin. When the guys start the camp with Reconciliation and clear the slate, they are reminded that we are forgiven and loved by God, and that allows them to be able to rest in the goodness with clarity for discernment. There are times when we find ourselves weighed down by sin and it can add extra weight. We can have thoughts or lies in our head such as ‘I’m not good enough because I’m a sinner.’ When we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we walk out as a beloved child of God and the Lord is able to work through that.”
After camp, all campers are invited to join a Melchizedek discernment group led by Father Matt Schmitz, vocational director for the Diocese of Crookston. There are Melchizedek groups in Moorhead, East Grand Forks, and Bemidji.
Campers have the opportunity to attend a ”Come and See” weekend where they visit the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary on the campus of St. Mary’s University in Winona.
“At the end of the camp we kind of say our goodbyes to each other but also knowing this camp hopefully sets up friendships and relationships that will last beyond this camp where the guys can rely on each other for support,” said Father Wilebski. “For the guys who return, a lot of those friendships were formed through Esto Vir and deepen as the years go on. Our hope is as they leave this camp, they are willing to take a step in their discernment in whatever direction that is and be present for each other and support each other, because you can’t do discernment alone. When you discern with other people, you are able to see the ways in which God is working in your life.” When asked what he would say to someone considering attending Esto Vir in the future, Heger said, “Don’t think of it as, ‘Oh it's just a bunch of weird religious kids coming.’ This camp is for everybody. It's not just for those discerning priesthood. I used to think these things were a way for the diocese to recruit priests and if you didn’t want to be a priest, they would recruit you anyway. This is not the case. The spiritual directors were here to lead us, walk with us into our vocation no matter what our vocation is. If you’re apprehensive, just do it and don’t be afraid, because it’s totally going to put you on a track to be a better, more holy man in life.”
Esto Vir is supported by the Diocesan Annual Appeal (DAA).
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