Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda
Each human being has been called into existence by God and has a specific role to fulfill in life. Whether one is single, married, priest or religious that call is to build the kingdom of God. When one hears the word, vocation, most think of the call to priesthood or religious life. Indeed even as we speak of a crisis in priestly and religious vocations, we neglect to think about the crisis in married life which is directly related to the decrease in the number of young men and women responding to God's call to serve as priest, sister, brother or deacon. A good family life provides the fertile ground to seed a vocation to consecrated life.
The consecrated life is one state of life among the rich diversity of possibilities in the Church, each of which has a special place in the plan of God. That plan is that we become perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Each of us then is called in a special way through our Baptism to holiness of life. This comes about through the faithful living out of our own unique call. Let each of us stir the flame of that call, to set out into the deep, to seek that holiness of life concomitant with our state of life. Indeed let us pray that God will send laborers into the harvest, but let us not forget that that is the call of all of us: to bring about the reign of God.
The Vocation Director of the Congregation of the Resurrection, Father Toby Collins, CR, has launched a new website as part of his new position. The website, www.vocationculture.ca , promotes all the Catholic vocations: priesthood, religious life, permanent diaconal life, married life and single life from a Christian perspective. It involves live interviews with persons living each of these vocations. Visit this site and promote it among family and friends.
Other Relevant Websites: www.resurrectionist.ca
The Vocation Story of Father Paul Voisin, CR - Pastor of St. Patrick's Church
From a very early age I was interested in the priesthood. One influence in this consideration was the faith witness of my family. My parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles were all people of faith. Sunday Mass was a ‘given’, and only serious illness meant not going to Mass. My parents were willing workers at our home Parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, in Waterloo, Ontario. This is also the same Parish in which Fr. Jerry Kroetsch and Fr. Harry Reitzel grew up in. It was a vibrant Parish Community – even in the 1950’s with the impressive witness of so many dedicated parishioners, good stewards, who shared in the (then, considerably limited for laity in comparison with today) work of the Church. Our Pastor, Fr. Donald Curtis, a Diocesan priest, was a holy man and was the priest most ‘responsible’ for my vocation. He was caring and always paid so much attention to us children. Two important life skills I learned from Fr. Curtis were to listen to children (sometimes adults do more talking than listening), and the importance of learning people’s names. Our Parish school was also a haven of faith. I can remember each Monday the teacher’s first questions, after the opening prayer, were: “What colour were the priest’s vestments this weekend?” “What was the gospel about?” “What did Father talk about?” I soon became an Altar Server, and in high school a member of the Choir. This was very much the time and culture that I was raised in – very different from today!
A more remote influence in my vocation was the fact that three of my father’s brothers were religious. Lawrence was a Jesuit priest (died in 1960), Alvin is a Jesuit Brother, and Oliver (religious name, Paul) is a Franciscan Brother. Although I had hardly any personal time with my uncles, except Uncle Alvin who lived close to us after 1962, I knew that they were ‘normal’ people and that stories of Lornie, Alvin and Oliver abounded in the family. They had shared the same life of my grandparents and father, and their other siblings. They had not come from heaven with their hands folded, but were regular guys. Especially interesting was a leather belt with metal studs that came out of our attic every once and a while. Uncle Oliver had worn this when he was a biker, and now is a very austere and strict Franciscan. My father would always say that Oliver was very vain about his hair, and lost all of it as a paratrooper in World War II. Just knowing that my uncles had grown up to be religious made the possibility of a religious vocation a possibility for me.
The life and ministry of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, who taught me, was also an important witness of life and ministry in the Church. Some distant cousins belonged/belong to that Community.
I don’t know about you, but as a child when I had contact with any vocation or job I would ask myself “Could I/Would I like to do that?” Thoughts of some professions were quickly abandoned, but the attraction priesthood and religious life was constant. Except for years in high school, when it didn’t seem ‘cool’ to talk about priesthood and date at the same time, I always wanted to be a priest.
In 1967 I went to St. Jerome’s High School in Kitchener for my last three years of high school. This was my first encounter with the Resurrectionists. I thought (and still do) that they were great guys, and I admired their dedication to us students, their humanity (including sense of humour), their prayer life and faith life, and what I saw of their community life. This renewed interest became all the more real when one of my best friends, a year older, entered the Congregation. I often visited him at the Seminary and saw that these seminarians were guys, that they loved life, but also loved their God, their faith, and the Church. So, one year later I entered the Congregation, August 3, 1970. Yes, forty years ago! The reaction of family and friends was varied, most family was not surprised (as I had talked about it so often) but some high school friends were surprised that I would actually do it. Many believed I would “get it out of my system” and leave.
This began a new stage of my vocation story, with the formation program of the Resurrectionists. My desire to serve God and the Church grew. I was able to recognize even more the talents and abilities that God had given me to serve His people. I became more grounded in prayer and the Word of God, and was enriched by the history and traditions of our religious Community. In many ways, I really took off! I became involved in apostolic works that allowed myself to discover and develop my gifts – visiting the sick, teaching catechetics of children and to the mentally challenged, and retreat work. There were also difficulties and struggles, but my sense of vocation to priesthood and religious life grew and developed. God was good!
On March 25, 1977 I pronounced my Perpetual Vows as a Resurrectionist to our Provincial Superior, Very Rev. Jerome Kroetsch, C.R., and within the same Mass was ordained a Deacon by Bishop Brian Hennessy, C.R., D.D. Six weeks later, May 14, I was ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop Hennessy. That was thirty-three years ago, and I have never looked back! In my vocation I have been blessed by God, and thank Him for this call and the grace he has given me to respond. My life as a religious and priest has been a source of great joy and happiness for me.
One of the reasons I wanted to share this vocation story is that here at St. Patrick’s I look around and see people – like myself in 1970 – whom God may be calling. There are MANY gifted people whose lives and ministry would enrich the people of God in the Church in Bermuda. Please pray for these young (and not so young) men and women who may be called to the priesthood, religious life, and permanent diaconate. NEVER underestimate the witness value of all that you do as family members and parishioners. You are being watched! People are listening! Parents, encourage your children to respond to God’s call generously – whatever that call may be. Never underestimate the power and grace of God.