A Stranger No More: A Story From Slovenia
By the end of high school Father David knew he wanted to become a priest. Knowing his parents wouldn’t approve, the day he decided to tell them he didn’t get up the courage until 1 o’clock in the morning. His father was shocked.
He has now been a priest for 16 years. 
But the difficulty of telling his family his calling would not be the only challenge he would encounter in his priesthood. Slovenia is no stranger to decline, with amalgamations becoming commonplace.
70% of Father David’s pastoral time was devoted to the formation of his youth and yet only 10% of them remained after confirmation. He deeply felt, “No, that is not what priesthood is all about.” This holy discontent led him to search for another way.
An Easy Yoke: A Focus on Rest
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, August marks the peak of summer, a time when many–including priests– schedule their “break.”
But this rest can often equal a burn-out coma or an overscheduled “holiday” only to return to the same hamster-wheel pace.
Father Peirluigi Vajra CRS, a DR coached Parish Priest at Our Lady of Lourdes in Perth, Australia, shares his journey in experiencing rest as something more than just “not-working”. Like many priests – his workload is great, and rest does not come easily. But in his 28 years as a priest, he has come to recognize the profound value of prioritizing rest.
Faith on Fire: A Focus on the 2023 DR Australasia Conference
The conference started with a priest-only session led by Father James Mallon. During the hymn ‘Here I am Lord,’ DR staff member Anushka Peiris recalls standing in the back watching. “I just had such a grateful heart in that moment for all our priests.” Cheryl Surrey agrees, “Looking around at these sparkling wet eyes looking back at you… you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife, it was so beautiful.”
Not Alone on the Journey: A Story from New Zealand
A year ago Father Sherwin’s blood pressure was unstable. Within 5 weeks he had lost a significant amount of weight. Then an ECG showed that he had had a minor heart attack. Next, his childhood asthma came back, and he struggled with diverticulitis. A diagnostic journey began as he was sent from one specialist to the next, through test after test.
All of this happened within a year of Father Sherwin becoming the new Pastor of St. Mark Catholic Mission Parish in Pakuranga, New Zealand. “This is where Divine Renovation came in,” he says.
