by Dionel Rodriguez | Mar 1, 2025 | Spring Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
What does “Eucharist”What does “Eucharist” mean to you as a missioner?mean to you as a missioner?
“After my first Holy Communion, I always felt that the Eucharist offered me a desire and drive to go out into the world to do something on Christ’s behalf. Yet, in this journey of being a Maryknoll Missioner, I find more and more each moment in service of the people is an Eucharistic moment, and a moment to bring to the Mass. During the Mass, the Eucharist joins me to Christ and through Christ I feel at comfort, knowing that while I am not physically present to the communities I have served in different places (in Singapore, Hong Kong, Chicago, Bolivia, and El Paso), Christ joins us together in the sharing of his Body in a mystical union with one another.”
– Deacon Matthew Sim, MM
“For me, the Eucharist is the gathering of the community of the Body of Christ to re-member, or re-live, re-enact the supper meal in which Jesus broke bread with his disciples to ritualize how he is offering his body to be broken in service to the Reign of God. When we take the bread (and cup), we commit as a community to embody (as Jesus did) the Spirit of God’s love and mercy as the Body of Christ in the world, and to be “broken” (giving up our time, energy, resources, comforts, etc.) in doing so. We gather around the table to be nourished, encouraged and blessed so we in turn can nourish, encourage and bless.”
– Fr. Gene Toland, MM
by Dionel Rodriguez | Mar 1, 2025 | Spring Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
On a city street of asphalt and concrete
where last winter’s ice cracks a stubborn sidewalk,
a defiant dandelion takes root and proudly
Puts forth its floral sunburst.
A young couple prays test results will confirm
If this time the Lord will at last bless them with new life
Even as a world away another couple awaits word
An orphaned child will soon make them a family.
With each interminable hour and passing day
Prisoners and hostages alike long for news
Their detainment is at an end and their
Long-awaited deliverance is at hand.
With aching joints and weakened legs and a heart
Broken by loss of too many loved ones over the years
An elder reverently plants a delicate sapling
under whose shade future generations will rest.
War-weary relatives bid a reluctant farewell
As their young flee certain death for refuge
In a land that once welcomed such as they,
Trusting in a God known for liberation.
Hope thus infuses every moment of every day
With a vision of a far, far better world
Transforming the most mundane into a holy shrine
Compelling us to take off our shoes and worship.
– By Joseph R. Veneroso, MM
by Dionel Rodriguez | Mar 1, 2025 | Spring Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
On December 24th, 2024, Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, officially inaugurating the Church’s Jubilee year. Our Jubilee theme this year: Hope!
In western Christianity, the celebration of jubilee years first arose from the journey of pilgrims to Rome in 1299. They traveled long distances by foot to pray before the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. Moved by their devotion, Pope Boniface VII declared the following year, 1300, a jubilee year dedicated to the forgiveness of sins.
Since then, the Church has typically celebrated a jubilee year roughly every 25 or 50 years with extraordinary jubilee years declared as spiritual needs arose. You may recall that Pope Francis proclaimed the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015.
Our jubilee year concludes on December 28th, 2025, when the Pope will again close the Holy Doors. While these door remain open, we are challenged to keep our hearts open as well to the power and lessons of hope in our lives and times. As the Bull of Indiction (the papal decree) of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 proclaims, “Spes non confundit – Hope does not disappoint.”
Let us invoke the Spirit of God throughout this year to fill our hearts with the gift of hope. Recalling Psalm 27, “Have hope and wait for the Lord, be strong and wait for the Lord.” Paul explains in his Letter to the Romans (5:5), “this hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Pope Francis cites the prophet Isaiah in encouraging us to lift our eyes to the horizon and see the blessings that God has in store for us.
Could it be though that we have tried a lot of things in the past and are tired of waiting? Perhaps our own discernment has left us feeling disappointed and discouraged. Have you been there?Pope Francis observes that, “we often find that some people have lost hope, they look towards the future with skepticism and pessimism, as if nothing can offer them joy” (Spes non confundit, 1). Sadly, there are young adults who believe they no longer deserve hope because they have failed Jesus.
If you’re experiencing something of this despair in your own life, take heart! Give hope another look! Don’t turn away from it; the door is open to you.
When you experience a crisis in your vocation, take a moment to realize that you may, in fact, be standing on a personal and spiritual threshold. A simple step bravely taken through the open door of hope can bring you into a new realm of possibility for your life. Pope Saint John Paul II exclaimed as the central message of his pontificate, “Do not be afraid. Open, I say, open wide the doors for Christ! …. I plead with you – never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.” To that, I affirm to you, “Amen”.
Everything that we have reflected so far should be tied up with discerning a vocation, making a decision with our lives and finally, trusting that Jesus will sustain our vocations. As we begin this jubilee year, give hope a chance. Discerning a vocation is an inner journey with an outer purpose. Your vocation in the Church can touch so many lives. What a great year to discern a vocation!
We invite you to one of two paths – missionary priesthood or missionary Brotherhood. Both begin with the same spark – that unique moment when Jesus calls each of us to say, “yes”. I said “yes” and I hope you can do the same. Give Jesus a chance! If you want to know what are the initial steps to discern a vocation in Maryknoll, contact the vocation office.
Be assured of my prayers for you as we embark in this Year of Hope!
– Fr. Rodrigo
by Dionel Rodriguez | Dec 12, 2024 | Vocations - Blog, Winter Newsletter
Over this past year, as before, the vocations office has accompanied many young men in discernment. We are blessed, through them, to discover that God continues to call the young of our world to be missionary priests and Brothers. Missionaries are sent forth to give witness to the greatest story ever told; Jesus’ story always inspires awe and wonder! Preaching Jesus is not only a matter of sharing a story but encountering a person. The Gospel reaches through the Word to impart divine grace in our lives. Invite God to shed light on your vocation journey this Christmas! Suddenly your vocation is no longer a mystery.
Looking back over this year, we in the Maryknoll vocation team are thankful to have been invited into the lives of so many young people in seeking together God’s will. What do we really want to see in discernment? A grateful heart! We want to see clarity, a direction, an orientation that leads us to make decisions and, without fear, press the YES buzzer to respond generously to God’s call.
It’s normal though, during discernment, to experience interior conflicts, inner resistances. We all go through them. It’s important to remember, however, that nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). Everything will fall into place, in due time. Make it a habit every Christmas to place all interior conflicts and resistances in the manger – give them to Jesus. You can be sure that He will continue to point you in the right direction. One of our great Maryknoll missioners, Bishop James E. Walsh wrote, “To every passing trouble we must remember that it is not trouble and have the conviction that it is passing.”
Speaking about celibacy, many discerners ask me how I manage sexual attraction after ordination and final oath. My answer is that sexual attraction does not stop with ordination or final oath. Celibacy results from ongoing healthy relationships. As missionaries we need to find healthy ways to navigate moments when sexual attraction challenges our celibacy. Our personal prayer makes all the difference!
Next year we celebrate a jubilee year! Beginning this Advent and through the liturgical year, Catholics throughout the world are encouraged to focus on forgiveness and reconciliation. Pope Francis offers the theme “Pilgrims of Hope” to give witness to Christian hope in the face of war, climate crisis, and the ongoing impact of COVID-19. To upload the prayer for this pilgrimage please go to www.jubileeyear2025.org
Don’t forget that Maryknoll serves in Latin America, Asia and Africa; we teach in schools, we do campus ministry, we serve the homeless and the sick. There are numerous possibilities for you to share your gifts with us in overseas mission. You can do it in vocation ministry, retreat ministry, migrant ministry, in our leadership, in formation or mission promotion. Yes, we welcome all your gifts! We are a community rooted in Jesus Christ. When you join us we will make sure you are rooted in Christ, ready to be his witness wherever you are called. And we will teach you to do mission with love as our founders, Bishop James A. Walsh and Fr. Thomas Frederick Price did.
I pray this Christmas that the gift of Jesus finds expression in all our ways of living; let us create openings where there are walls.
by Fr. Rodrigo | Sep 17, 2024 | Fall Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
A common question discerners ask me is, “Where does the desire to serve the poor overseas come from?”
Our deepest desires and longings are found in a very special place in our heart. Our intellect knows God, our heart desires God. And when our intellect and heart familiarizes with God, we also get in touch not only with the way God sees the world but also with how God cares for the world.
Care involves protecting that which you love. Jesus came to show us how God loves, how God desires and communicates with the world. And if Jesus spent significant time attending the poor, we are to look at this aspect carefully. The desire to serve the poor overseas is directly linked to the commandment Jesus gave us, namely, to love one another.
I was recently asked why it’s important for a person to take time to consider whether he or she has a vocation to serve the poor overseas. It’s because the “why”, when given quality time — when carefully looked at and properly discerned — will produce great meaning and vision for our way forward in this world. In short, it aligns us to follow Jesus. If we claim to follow someone who served the poor, we should do the same. As the very name “Christian” implies, we who follow Jesus are to share in his preferential option for the poor. Our lives should manifest our concern for God‘s vision.
Having a concern for the poor overseas — working for peace and justice in other parts of the world — is part of our baptismal & confirmation promises. Our vocation as Maryknoll priests or brothers is a gift full of good news for those deprived, excluded and marginalized. It is as if we are using a magnifying glass to discover the layers of our vocation as baptized Catholics sent out into the world as missioners — as heralds of the Gospel. Often the most difficult and thought-provoking questions bring us to a place of vision such as, “What kind of person do I want to become?” Think of the meaning behind the beatitudes Jesus preached during the Sermon on the Mount!
How do I know this vocation is for me then? When is the right time to decide? A good answer is when your intellect and heart agree that, regardless of how many more options are out there, this one makes the most sense and is worth committing to.
So if you have the desire to serve the poor abroad, Maryknoll can be your opportunity! I want to persuade you to make up your mind and apply now. Don’t rush away from the passion of your life. Give it a shot. Do it. Suddenly, your vocation is no longer a mystery.
Here is a quote from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “watch carefully how you live… try to understand what is the will of the Lord… be filled with the Spirit… give thanks always and for everything.”
Our Lady of Maryknoll, pray for the young men who are discerning a call to serve the poor.
Amen.
– Fr. Rodrigo
by Fr. Rodrigo | Jun 12, 2024 | Summer Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
What motivates these prove souls to overcome
Fears, doubts and, oft times, it seems
Even common sense to go
No, run towards that from which most people flee?
And who are these who lay aside concern
For their own health and safety to minister
To strangers, whose only claim to assistance
Is their desperate need for hello and healing?
How is it thot despite perhaps on indifferent or
Ungrateful public, still these women and men arise
Even after little rest and no relaxation;
Ignoring death and defeat, to do and do again?
These are the very soul and conscience of our land
Who do what most dare not nor cannot comprehend
For in their selfless service more than individuals
Are saved, comforted or consoled.
For all of us, through them, are ennobled, encouraged,
Inspired and enriched beyond what we deserve
And because of these angels the human race will endure
With brighter eyes, clearer thoughts and purer hearts.
– Joe Veneroso, MM
by Fr. Rodrigo | Jun 12, 2024 | Summer Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
When Maryknollers return from abroad to our Center in New York, they often bring home the characteristics and concerns of peoples they’ve come to know and love in mission. Some Maryknollers return passionate about social justice causes that improve the lives of so many faced with violence, poverty and oppression. Some Maryknollers return deeply contemplative of the interfaith and intercultural dialogue they’ve shared with others in ancient lands. It’s said of Maryknollers who return from Africa — they come home smiling.
All Maryknollers smile in a special way these days. We are “bringing home” to us in the ordination, on June 8th, of two men from Kenya — Joshua Mutende and Charles Ogony — the smiles and joy of peoples steeped in music, dance and the simple gratitude of lives that daily overcome some of the most pressing hardships the world can offer.
Joshua and Charles have journeyed through our Initial Formation Program for most of the past decade. Though eager to make final oath and be sent abroad as Maryknoll missionary priests, they have, from “Day One” as seminarians, never ceased being missioners; they have witnessed the joy of mission from their own cultures, families and personal gifts. We welcome them home to us, as life-long brothers in mission, smiling.
Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of a newly independent Ghana, remarked, “I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.” Maryknoll candidates and members from Africa give birth to Africa within Maryknoll; to its joys, its sorrows, its passions, its sufferings; to its music, dance and sense of hospitality unique among the world’s regions. As Africa is born within us, so is Christ. Congratulations Joshua and Charles! We are blessed.
by Fr. Rodrigo | Jun 12, 2024 | Summer Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
Dear friends,
Thanks for reading “Voices of Our World.” One of the questions I receive often from young adults is “Why do you stay in this vocation as priest?” Or, another way to put it, why haven’t I left?
Whenever I consider these questions, I’m reminded of wisdom shared with me by the late Maryknoll Fr. Jim Stefaniak, MM, who served many years in Peru. He counselled me that the reasons for joining missionary and religious life are not the same as those for staying.
Twenty years ago on May 13th, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, I was accepted as a Maryknoll seminarian. This month, I celebrate thirteen years as a priest, a life that has both challenged and rewarded me in ways that still surprise me. It’s occasions like these when I take time to consider my reasons now for staying. I have three — Jesus, Maryknoll, and Our Lady of Fatima. Primary of these is Jesus.
The late Jesuit superior, Pedro Arrupe, SJ, observed:
“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings; what you will do with your evenings; how you spend your weekends; what you read; who you know; what breaks your heart; and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”
Take the love of Jesus away from me and everything crumbles. Without the mission of Maryknoll, my way forward loses direction. Without the protection of Our Lady of Fatima, I grow discouraged. All three sustain me.
My reasons for remaining a Maryknoller may, of course, change in the future. It is, nonetheless, important for someone contemplating a life of mission to have reasons to join as well as reasons that motivate one to stay. Join Maryknoll and stay with us; it is worth it!
by Mike Snyder | Apr 4, 2023 | Spring Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
A tangle of twigs lies drying in the sun,
And then a spark catches one, and she,
Astonished by divinity, topples and tumbles and ignites
Another and another and another and
Soon the whole tangle is aflame
Gibber jabbering in many tongues!
Chattering and blabbering until babbling comes
Singing – in so many harmonious parts even the twigs can’t count them!
by Mike Snyder | Apr 4, 2023 | Spring Newsletter, Vocations - Blog
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So, they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. (John 1:38-39).
I will start with a quote from one of our formation directors, Fr. Brian Barrons. Or as some would call him, Shenfu BB. “Do not go to a doctor who has dead plants in his office.” Yes, we do have daily morning prayers and Mass that makes us open to receive the graces and the challenges that come during the day. Yes, we do have plants in our house. Yes, all our plants are alive, and for those that seem sickly, we have a plant clinic close to our chapel. One among us is gifted with plants and all of our plants are lovingly cared for.
Why are we talking about plants? The Maryknoll community is like a fruit orchard. Every fruit is different from the next yet quite similar. We are a proud international and intercultural community, under the hands of our formation directors; Frs. Russel Feldmeier, Brian Barrons and Br. Mark Gruenke. We enjoy being with one another, learning from each other and accompanying each other as we grow together to produce good fruits that will benefit the people in missions where we serve/will serve.
This is way more fun than you can imagine, and it is more amazing than it sounds. Our day together begins by gathering in the chapel for Morning Prayer and Mass. And as our Bolivian friends will say, “de la Misa, a la mesa” /from the Mass to the table/. We gather for Mass followed by breakfast. Then we disperse for classes or ministries. The next community activity will be evening prayer followed by dinner. But that is not always the case. Breakfast and lunch are meals that are open for personal and communal enjoyment. They are multicultural. It is not just toast and butter, but we do often enjoy mandazi and samosa from East Africa. How about the delicious Hong Kong noodles from Singapore and Singaporean noodles, wait for it, from Hong Kong. How about that!
It gets even better when we are surprised with delicious tamales and enchiladas from Mexico. One may ask, who prepares all these? The answer is that we are an international community. Each member does something for others and before you know it, you are hooked up to ugali with carne asada or orange chicken and, certain types of foods that you may never have imagined because of their awesomeness. And as you leave the fruit orchard, you have an entire basket of fresh and delicious fruit. Fruit that fills us and refreshes us. We are refreshed for our commitment to mission. The fruit orchard is always alive.
Thursdays are days we share as a community and reflect on the ways we understand each other. It’s a time of discovery. It’s a time to answer questions like “why do you always prepare ugali? Why do you always bow when you greet people? Why is your accent like this? And so many other questions. And as we grow together, we learn to take care of each other. Some members are given coordinating responsibilities like caring for plants in the house, shopping, sacristy, liturgy, music, library and many other things dealing with community living.
The weekends are always my favorite. Here, there is a grandeur of awesomeness. Since members have a little more time, that means, there is enough time to prepare a great meal, or there is enough time to cooperate in doing more items in the liturgy. During the weekends, we enjoy multicultural meals and multicultural events. We learn to prepare and serve different meals from different cultures. We get to know why each meal is very important and the history behind the meal. This is how the fruit salad from the Maryknoll orchard tastes.
That is not all. We have our own great celebrations that make us stand out. We can’t let any celebration pass us by just like that. This orchard attracts the best of the butterflies and the best chefs like to come to us to get the best fruits. We cannot miss great celebrations like the Lunar New Year, Dia De Los Magos and Cinco De Mayo, a member’s birthday, the day of the dead, our countries’ independence days, Thanksgiving and many other celebrations.
Come and experience this orchard, full of life, full of awesomeness. Come and be part of the great orchard!
