DELRAY BEACH | The 30 high school students who gathered April 4, 2025, at the Duncan Conference Center in Delray Beach were part of a new retreat experience by the diocesan Office of Vocations and Seminarians. Previously, 11th-graders would go to St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary to explore vocations and where God might be calling them. This year was different.
In the past, when nearly 400 high school juniors visited the seminary for the day, the students had less opportunity for an intimate spiritual experience. The goal this year was to help the students connect with God on a more profound level. The day included time for prayer with Eucharistic adoration and lectio divina, discussion and a question-and-answer session, the sacrament of reconciliation, lunch served by the Serra Club of South Palm Beach County, Mass and opportunities for fellowship and fun activities.
Father Daniel Daza-Jaller, diocesan vocations director, has explained that the annual FOCUS 11 retreats are for high school juniors approaching graduation and sixth-graders (11-year-olds) who may be contemplating their career choices. The sixth-grade retreat for the 2024-25 school year was Feb. 14, 2025, at the seminary.
“With the sixth-graders, doing an event that big, the idea is for them to have fun and see the seminary,” Father Daza-Jaller said. “But with the juniors, you want to be able to go a little deeper with them, and having that many kids you just couldn’t do that. Plus, just the capacity of the seminary. The chapel at the seminary can’t sit that many kids.”
Another reason for the change of FOCUS, he said, is that at least 30 percent of students attending Catholic schools aren’t Catholic. Discussing vocations with non-Catholic sixth-graders is fine, but with high school juniors it gets a bit more problematic. They need to become Catholic first in order to serve the church as priests and sisters, Father Daza-Jaller said.
“It didn’t make sense sharing that message with them, and having that many kids there, you’re going to have a group that doesn’t want to be there, even if it’s a small percentage,” he said.
For this retreat, teachers at the three Catholic high schools were asked to invite students who have shown leadership and devotion to their Catholic faith, Father Daza-Jaller said. “Usually those are the kinds of people God calls to the priesthood and consecrated life.”
The centerpiece of the retreat experience was the burning question of “How do I know my vocation?” The answers presented to the students “are the three necessary things that need to be in place in order for me to know God’s will,” he said — pray, learn and act.
In prayer, we can have an open relationship with God, being able to speak with him and hear him. As part of learning, people see how God works in their lives and they explore various vocations. The third aspect is taking action, visiting a seminary or convent, calling a priest and moving in the direction that God is calling them. The day was structured to give the students opportunities to pray, learn and act.
Father Daza-Jaller said he heard one of the students talk about trial and error in making decisions. “Everybody shared about how they sort of move in one direction and they realize, ‘Wait, this isn’t it.’ That’s the importance of action,” he said.
Josh Kimmelman, director of campus ministry at John Carroll High School who accompanied six juniors, said he hoped the students’ retreat experience would open up conversations with God and others.
“A lot of what I talk about with the students is that the plan of God isn’t this big path with a light at the end of a tunnel. Sometimes it’s just him showing you your next step. Just one step at a time,” he said.
For information on vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, contact Father Daza-Jaller at 561-775-9552 or vocations@diocesepb.com, by visiting www.palmbeachvocations.com or following the Vocations Office on Facebook and Instagram.
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