St. Andrew Dinners by Carson
Hi, today I'm going to tell you a little bit about a fun spiritual experience I got to have recently. St. Andrew Dinners (a.k.a Project Andrew Dinners, Operation Andrew Dinners,) are a fun way to get together with other young men who are discerning their next steps in life, especially considering if the Catholic priesthood is a possibility.
St. Andrew dinners are run by local priests, occasionally with the bishop of the diocese joining in. The format of the night usually goes like this: First, young men usually ranging from age 12-18, come in and make name tags, and get to know each other better.
Then, dinner is served and the boys mix in with each other and different priests and eat together. Then, a discussion usually follows with questions and answers about vocations in general, mostly oriented toward the possibility of priesthood.
After dinner (and dessert) everyone goes down to the main church area to pray in Adoration before Jesus about their own vocation. After some vocation prayers together, we take about an hour to get a hundred different pictures with the bishop together.* After that, the dinner is over, and people go home.
I honestly really like these dinners. They are a good way to connect with other Catholic boys discerning what to do next with their life. I love how they add Adoration into it, so we can all pray together. It definitely is an aid for me to discern my next steps, whether it be the priesthood, married life, or something else. Plus, it's free food! Who doesn't like that?
Similarly, they do Project Miriam Dinners for young women discerning religious life. I assume they follow around the same format as the Project Andrew Dinners. Last one I went to I got kicked out for some reason though.*
I would recommend looking for these around your diocese if you are or you know any discerning Catholic boys. Keep an eye out because, usually, they don't do the best job of advertising! Like I said before, these dinners are a great way to get to know others who are discerning their vocations.
*Okay, not really
