Long before Deacon Gaten Armstrong was preparing for priesthood, two seminarians assigned to Montgomery parishes spent a summer beating him in basketball while talking trash and also talking discernment.

Family life is hard. In case no one has affirmed that for you lately, let me be the one. Whether you're in the stage of diapers and bottles, wiping faces and losing sleep or whether you're worrying about the children who have grown, the now-adults making their stumbling way through a suffering world, families will always be holy, hard and humbling schools of love. Sometimes we look to Scripture and ask, "Does anything here speak to my life today?"

Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love.” This prayer calls upon the Holy Spirit to be present in the hearts of the faithful, kindle in them the fire of God’s love and to work through each disciple transformed to be God’s love for all. We celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, the conclusion of the Easter season on May 24.

At my first Priest Personnel Board meeting, I shared my thoughts in discerning priest assignments. It is important to know our priests and their God-given gifts, know our parishes, schools and institutions and their pastoral needs, and then to discern the priests who are best suited/gifted to serve the pastoral need of these institutions. One of the pastoral priorities presented from the priests in their written assignment forms and the discussions at the Priest Personnel Board was supporting the Catholic high schools with full-time priest chaplains. These priest chaplains would assist the administration, faculty, and staff of our Catholic high schools in providing pastoral care, celebrating the sacraments, fostering Catholic identity, integrating the school’s mission in every aspect of the school community’s life and activities, as well as nurturing a culture of vocations to consecrated life and the priesthood.