by Joe Bukuras

Boston, Mass., Apr 16, 2021 / 02:18 am America/Denver (CNA).

This past week, the Archdiocese of Boston released its new vocation discernment initiative, Scivias, designed to bring vocational guidance to a COVID-19 online world.

“The goal of Scivias is to inspire men to pursues God’s will for their lives, because that’s where they’re going to find fulfillment and that’s where they’re going to find joy and purpose and advance the kingdom of God,” said Father Michael Zimmerman, the Assistant Vocations Director for Boston and creator of Scivias.

On April 13, the Archdiocese of Boston’s vocations office released the video series Scivias, narrated by and featuring the vocational journey of Father Zimmerman.

“Having some accompaniment in discerning one’s vocation is absolutely essential,” said Zimmerman. “How are you supposed to know where to go or what to do without knowing someone who’s been there before you?”

The priest came up with the idea during the middle of the pandemic. “It really originated during the lockdown…and having a desire to still be able to communicate with men, helping them to discern their vocation,” he told CNA.

Zimmerman explained that much of the series is a result of his own experience with spiritual mentors who prepared the way of the priesthood for him. “So, this is kind of something of their legacy, I would say, passing it on to others,” he remarked.

Accessible via the Vocations Boston YouTube channel and Facebook page, Scivias consists of 27 episodes broken up into three parts.

Zimmerman explained that the first part is about “achieving a greater awareness and freedom in oneself. Because often times we desire to do God’s will, but there’s things that hold us back. We have our own desires, our own ideas. We’re not fully ready to hear God’s voice and to respond to it. So, this is about coming to know: What is within my heart? What are the desires there? What are the fears that are there? And how can I turn those over to the Lord, trusting him that He’s going to fulfill those desires in the deepest way, whatever he’s calling me to?”