By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

Photography: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO | FC

MIAMI| Twelve-year-old Lucia Lopez is thinking about her future. The sixth grader from Blessed Trinity School in Miami Springs is fascinated by hurricanes and tornadoes and believes a career path in meteorology would be a good idea.

“All of that stuff is really cool,” she said.

As Lucia sat with her classmates in the St. Raphael Chapel in St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami waiting for the start of the Mass that kicked off the Focus 11 Vocations Rally on May 22, 2025, she further contemplated.

“If I make any discoveries on how tornadoes affect people, I can also tie it to how Jesus would save us if we were in a raging storm,” she added.

Inviting Jesus into daily life as we fulfill our vocation, whatever the call may be, is exactly what the director of the archdiocesan Office of Vocations, Father Milton Martinez Blass, hoped students would learn at Focus 11. This year, over 2,000 sixth-grade students from Catholic schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties participated in four separate days of the annual vocations rally, two hosted on May 13 and 14 at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Plantation, and two May 15 and 16 at St. John Vianney.

At each gathering, Father Martinez Blass emphasized that God has a unique plan for everyone. He said, to know more, all we have to do is ask, “Lord, what do you want me to be?”

“It may sound simple, but this is one of the most important questions you’ll ever ask. It’s not just about choosing a job. It’s about discovering the special plan God has for your life. And don’t be surprised if God’s plan is greater than your own dreams. He may call you to be a priest, a religious sister or brother, a married person, or a permanent deacon,” Father Martinez Blass said.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who was invited to give the keynote at Focus 11, told students that God is counting on them to help fulfill a mission.

“He counts on each one of us to bring to our world what is still lacking, what is still needed, what is still missing of his love, of his peace, and of the light of his truth,” Archbishop Wenski said.

He encouraged students to find answers in prayer, the kind that not only involves talking to God, but also listening. He also advised that they consider what kinds of gifts and talents God has given them, as it can point them in the direction of what God wants them to do. And no matter what the Lord asks, do not be afraid to say ‘Yes.’

“In the Bible, you can find 365 times, one time for each day of the year, in which an angel or another person tells somebody else in the Bible this message from God: ‘Be not afraid.’ Say ‘yes’ to God and make a difference in your world,” Archbishop Wenski said.

After the archbishop’s keynote, students broke off into different sessions, including a prayerful moment of reflection in adoration, and lessons from the rosary.

“The rosary is a tool for prayer to help us connect to God through Mary. When you bring a prayer to Mary with a ‘Hail Mary’, she is already bringing it to the feet of God, interceding for us,” said Tomas Salon, a seminarian at St. John Vianney.

He challenged students to learn to pray a whole rosary, but to begin with small, intentional prayer.

“Start with a ‘Hail Mary’ for each of your family members. Start with an ‘Our Father’ for every single time that you need help, when there is a difficult situation in your life. And then work your way up to a rosary because at the end of the day, it’s not about how many ‘Hail Marys’ you say, it’s not about how many ‘Our Fathers’ you say. It’s about how close you’re getting to God through prayer,” said Salon.

At the religious exhibition, students had the opportunity to interact with local Daughters of St. Paul, Claretian Missionary Sisters, a Marist brother, diocesan priests, and seminarians, and learn about their daily lives, as well as how they answered the call to live religious lives.

Claretian Sister Ondina Cortes, known as “Sister Chiqui,” explained to students how missionaries are tasked with bringing the joy of God’s word to the ends of the world, teaching not only about his love with their words, but also with their actions.

“Missionaries have to walk the talk, and you walk the talk when you provide for people. We’re not only trying to do something spiritually, but also something that takes care of the whole person, not just their soul, but their whole lives,” said Sister Chiqui.

Having visited 19 countries—so far—she shared with students that life as a religious has been a powerful and loving experience, and often there are opportunities to do more than imaginable.

“Around age 15 I already knew I wanted to be a sister. But I loved doing everything. So sometimes I thought about being a lawyer, and sometimes I thought about being a theologian. I’ve been a little bit of all of those, and I’m blessed and privileged to be a missionary,” she said.