Liam is also enjoying his pastoral placement experiences. ‘I’ve been lucky enough this year to be placed at Keilor Downs teaching catechism and first Reconciliation,’ says Liam. ‘It’s an introduction to teaching children the faith and preparing them for the sacraments. It’s another dimension of learning how to be pastoral to people … how to be a shepherd.’
Liam is appreciative of the holistic approach to formation at the seminary. ‘From prayer life to study and the pastoral, but also just the health. We have a soccer tournament coming up and in our spare time, [we’re] encouraged to run and build our fitness. We also have time to engage in hobbies and for me, I pick up the piano.’
Our Lord is there to guide us. He wants holy priests; he wants holy people. He wants everyone to be with him.
Reflecting on this year’s theme for the Archbishop’s Campaign, ‘Courage! … Do not be afraid (Jn 14:27),’ Liam says he finds courage from prayer and seeking what the Lord is asking of him.
‘Our Lord is there to guide us. He wants holy priests; he wants holy people. He wants everyone to be with him. This passage [Jesus calling Peter onto the water] encourages me to really be aware and conscious of the presence of our Lord in everything I do, and that everything is in service, first and foremost, [to] the Lord.
‘The Lord is the one who guides us and gives us the means to do it, and the grace and strength to respond according to his will,’ he says. ‘I really relate to Peter trying to walk on water but then sort of falling in with doubt. But every time I doubt, the Lord seems to respond and really make me aware of his presence, of his desire not for success, but for his drawing us to him, for communion, to him.
‘I don’t know in his divine wisdom what he has planned for me and what that would look like, but it’s him holding out his hand, saying, “Trust me, my way is better. My way will get you to where not only I want, but where you want to be.
‘The Lord is asking [me] to give my whole self,’ reflects Liam. ‘And like he did with Peter, he’ll give the grace to do it and he will make the path really clear.
For Liam, responding to Jesus’ call means ‘being crucified in a spiritual sense.’
‘For me it means a whole “giving of myself to the people” in terms of bringing others to Christ and bringing Christ to them. The Lord asks for a holistic gift of self because the Lord gives himself wholly, and he gives the means for us to do it.’
While only in his second year, Liam is already looking forward to ministering to people through the sacraments and spiritual accompaniment. ‘The walking with people, guiding them to Christ … seeing them grow closer to God [is] not only rewarding for me, but also it helps me to grow closer to God.’