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It seems like I've
been a Redemptorist all my life, even though the actual count in profession
years is thirty-one. Perhaps the values and traditions fostered in my family
were also to be found in the Redemptorists. My uncle, Father Lawrence Lynch, was
a Redemptorist priest, killed in action during World War II while serving as an
Army Chaplain. Whatever the reason, I can honestly say that being a Redemptorist
has been my greatest joy. From the day I left home, bound for the Redemptorist
minor seminary in North East, PA, until this moment, I have never doubted what I
was doing, what I have done, or to whom I belong. If, as they say, "home is
where the heart is," then I am very much at home with the Redemptorists. I love
the life we live and the mission we follow in the Church.
Today, I am one of the vocation directors for the Baltimore Province. Quite
often, one of the questions I ask myself is: "What's attractive about us today
that would inspire men to want to join us? What do I see men of today looking
for that the Redemptorist life can offer them?"
A big priority among young adults who are searching for meaning and purpose in
life is a wanting to "belong." Even more than a successful career or service,
they yearn to live a life with a "heart," or "center" to which they are drawn
and know they are welcome.
Many come from places of disarray and brokenness, places where the home tended
to be fragmented and unstable. Consequently "community" has become a way of life
that many turn toward, whether it be in a social or religious context. They want
to belong to a family that lives with one another, shares and labors together
and supports each other.
I believe Redemptorists truly value
community life, and without it they could not carry out the mission in the
Church for which they were created. Our community life is an attractive feature
for men who seek to follow Christ by combining their prayers and deliberations,
their labors and sufferings, success and failures and material goods as well, in
the service of the Gospel.
In my years of preaching the good news, I have discovered a hunger in many
people's lives, which the secular world has not been able to satisfy, despite
technological and scientific achievements. Ronald Rolheiser mentions in his
book, The Holy Longing, "a fundamental dis-ease," and unquenchable fire that
renders us incapable in this life of ever coming to full peace. Ultimately, we
are talking about a spirituality that is thirsting for God.
For many parched souls in the Catholic
Church, the easiest and most non-threatening road back to a healthy spirituality
has been through Mary. In this flattened landscape that tries to shut off all
vestige of heaven, Mary has begun to appear again as the "gate of Heaven," that
opens us to the God so many are seeking.
Today's Redemptorists, whose devotion to Mary is paramount to their
spirituality, love to encourage people to "turn to Mary." And this devotion we
have to Mary has certainly become another of the attractions that draw men to
us.
Finally, people today who desire to follow Christ want to serve the poor.
Praying and providing for their immediate needs is a start, but they feel
impelled to want to go further. Like Christ, they want to identify with the pain
and suffering of the poor.
Father Phillip
Dabney, C.SS.R.
Redemptorists are compassionate men. They love the
people they serve. Of all the characteristics I love about the Redemptorists, I
believe it is our compassion that opens the door to prospects today and makes
them want to come in and see "where we live." It was this quality, more than
anything else, that first attracted me as a young teenage boy and led me to
become a Redemptorist. It is this quality that keeps me here.
Father Philip
Dabney, C. SS. R.
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