|
In grade school, I realized that religion, the church and the sacraments were very powerful forces in my family's life. My family turned to prayer and the priest to help them with daily struggles and crises. Through enforced daily Mass, I realized the importance of Christ in the Eucharist. The local pastor, Torn Gorrnan, showed me that being a priest was a good way to live and help give people what was most valued. My eighth grade teacher, Sr. Emilia, OP, showed me that people could live together helping clergy and support each other in service. One weekday morning after communion, I realized I wanted to be a priest and promised Christ I would one day celebrate Eucharist at that same altar. A good friend, Jim Bauer, went to the SCJ seminary. After an initial visit, I decided to follow. Although the original decision was questioned and reaffirmed many times, it holds true to this day. And, I kept the promise about the Eucharist. Even when I was quite young, I knew that if I became a priest, I could never marry. I could not imagine being alone for life. I figured that poverty and the trials of community were worth the reward of being with others. I looked to the SCJ's as an attractive group because one was not limited to one apostolate and one was not caught in some peripheral doctrine or spirituality. I was and still am drawn by the idea of the centrality in Christianity of God expressing Himself as a loving heart who calls us to respond by loving Him and others. SCJ spirituality seemed to have captured the core of Christianity while allowing individuals the freedom to live that out in many ways and places
Top of Page
|