Diocesan Catholic school graduate becomes FOCUS missionary

James Talocka, a graduate of St. Augustine of Canterbury School, Kendall Park, and St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, recently announced that he has accepted a position at the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, popularly known as “FOCUS.”

Founded at Benedictine College in 1998, FOCUS is a Catholic ministry that accompanies college-aged students through their journeys of faith. According to FOCUS, missionaries “[express] God’s love by meeting students where they are and making a personal, sacrificial investment in their lives.”

Since FOCUS’s founding, the ministry has grown to nearly 500 missionaries serving on more than 100 college campuses across the country.

In an interview with The Catholic Spirit, Talocka, who is also the nephew of Msgr. Joseph Kerrigan, pastor, St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook, said he will serve as a missionary at West Virginia University. He conveyed that his education in the Diocese of Metuchen was an important part of his faith formation. “I am absolutely positive this education benefited me greatly and it is the reason why I am still Catholic and not another type of Christian,” Talocka said.

During his time in Catholic schools, Talocka remarked that a “seed of faith was certainly planted” that “blossomed after I returned to the Church from a period of emptiness outside of it.”

Noting that he struggled to maintain a Catholic lifestyle as an undergraduate student at a secular university, Talocka expressed that he was motivated to “have a relationship with God” after experiencing spiritual restlessness. As a FOCUS missionary, Talocka is excited to “walk with students who are going through a similar experience of doubt or faithlessness.”

When asked how young Catholics can maintain their faith amidst non-Catholic cultural pressures, Talocka began with prayer: “Set aside time to pray every day and attend daily Mass if possible. These two things are the main components of my relationship with God and they have strengthened me in profound ways.”

In addition, Talocka encouraged young Catholics to seek spiritual direction, counseling, or deep relationships with trusted friends because “God does not want us to face our problems alone.” Finally, Talocka suggested that young Catholics should not be trepidatious about evangelizing. “In my experience,” Talocka observed, “people are far more intrigued by the Gospel than our culture would have us believe.” By initiating a conversation about God or inviting a non-Catholic friend to attend Mass, Talocka said that young people can “cultivate some very strong friendships.”

Talocka does not have definitive plans for his time after FOCUS but is anxious to see what “God has in store.” In the meantime, Talocka is excited to be a “witness to the joy that Christ offers through the Church, and to be an instrument for the Lord to build up a Church community among young Catholics.”