Today we celebrate the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. We remember in a special way those parishioners who passed away over the last year. And, as if that’s not enough — this weekend falls at the end of the Solemnity of All Saints, and begins Vocations Awareness Week.
Priests have been asked by the bishop to talk about their vocations journey — which for someone ordained at the ripe old age of 46 — is long and winding road. In next week’s bulletin will be a condensed version of that.
Today, I would like to talk about the saints and the deceased persons who helped me discern my vocation.
First would be my grandmother who asked me before she died: “Why don’t you just hurry up and join the seminary?” I was 17 years old, and was running headfirst into the computer revolution. So, that seed — although planted early — didn’t sprout until nearly 30 years later.
Blessed Father Solanus Casey, who for his time, over 125 years ago, was considered a “late vocation” at the ripe old age of 27. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in Detroit, was ordained in 1904, and for those of you who know his story — he was a Wisconsin boy living in Michigan — and miracles followed him wherever he went.
Saint Edmund Campion, was an English priest during the persecutions in England during the reign of Elizabeth the first. He fled to France, but then snuck back into England. Posing as a wealthy jewel merchant, he gained access to homes, where he surreptitiously baptized infants, offered Mass and heard confessions of recusant Catholics. No one suspected that this wealthy playboy gambler was a priest, until he was captured by a royal spy who had infiltrated the underground Catholic community. He spent months in the Tower of London, and was hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Saint John Bosco, another “late” vocation — entered the seminary at the ripe old age of 21. He came from a farming family and was no stranger to hard work. His father died when he was 2, and he and his brothers worked the land to provide for their mother and each other. When he finally entered seminary, he was very far behind in his studies of Greek and Latin. But somehow managed to persevere. He went to Turin, which was in the throes of the Industrial Revolution. He felt the need to “think differently” in how he exercised ministry, and ran afoul of the status quo. He was accused of “stealing parishioners” from other priests, his open-air catechism classes were seen as disturbing the peace, and the growing Italian revolutionaries were suspicious of his loyalty to the Pope. He ended up creating a religious order that exists to this day and provides education and support for youth and orphans.
Those were my spiritual muses: a Michigan boy, a persecuted spy, and an out-of-the-box thinker. And gramma.
The deceased priests who influenced me the most were Fr. Edward Obuchowski, Fr. Donald MacLennon, Fr. Larry Pashak, and Fr. Valerian Rykowski.
Their stories are their own, but needless to say they worked hard, prayed hard, and played hard. By the time I met them, they were compassionate old men — more “grandfathers” than “fathers.” Faithful to a fault to Catholicism and to their ministries. And despite difficulties that may have popped up, they stayed the course and persevered in their vocations.
You see, no matter your vocation, we all have a “great cloud of witnesses” whether canonized saints or just plain folks, praying for us in eternity — or as I like to think of it: cheering us on as we fight the good fight.
The saints that inspired me faced difficulty with dignity and honor and were faithful in persevering in their vocations. The men and women that inspired me were both practical and spiritual. Pragmatic, yes, but with their eyes fixed on Jesus and their hearts desiring eternity with Him.
Priesthood is an adventure of sorts. But it’s also not for the faint of heart. In one day you can deal with both birth and death. You can be praised as a saint one minute, and get an email or a voicemail calling you the devil shortly thereafter. It’s often a roller-coaster ride of sorts.
Priests in the 21st century are independent, but crave community and fraternity. There are daily challenges that require practical knowledge, and minute-by-minute urgent needs that require lots of prayer.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ — let us pray for our priests, both living and deceased. Realizing as one TV priest used to say: “No priest, no Mass. No Mass, no Eucharist. No Eucharist, no Church.”
And let us also pray for our deceased loved ones and all the faithful departed — especially those parishioners who died in the past 12 months.
