Tommy Rhodes presents Confirmation candidates to Bishop William F. Medley during the February 2024 Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro. RILEY GREIF | WKC
Just as a child learns to walk
BY TOMMY RHODES, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
Just as a child learns to walk with the guidance and support of its family, so did my journey of discernment begin.
The one faith that we share is not my own to claim, but a gift from God that was given through the Church and transmitted to me first by my family. Without my family’s guidance and support, I would not be able to begin the journey of discernment. My faith and love for God and His Church grew as a camper at Gasper River Catholic Youth Camp and Retreat Center where I experienced a communal experience of faith with my peers centered on the sacraments and an authentic Catholic lifestyle. This experience was influential in my growth as a Catholic youth and helped form me as I began discerning God’s will for my life. This discernment continued as I began working on summer staff at Gasper where we, in imitation of Christ, sought “not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). It was in this goal of service that I experienced the joy of ministry, which began to shape how I lived out my Catholic faith.
My faith continued to grow at Western Kentucky University where I was blessed to be a part of the Catholic campus ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas. This community provided an environment and relationships that fostered a life centered on Christ and the Catholic faith, which is crucial to discernment. The joy I found in both youth and college ministry in tandem with prayer and discernment led me to begin considering that God may be calling me to apply for seminary where I could further discern my vocation.
Tommy Rhodes is in his propaedeutic year at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. His home parish is St. Lawrence in Philpot, Ky.
Originally printed in the October 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
