by Mike Snyder | Jan 6, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
We understand that not everyone is a Facebook user. However, if you take the time to visit us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mklvocations) you will find several short video testimonies of Maryknoll Missioners speaking about their vocations and experiences in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Here is a sample is by Fr. Peter Latouf:
We also have a private Facebook Vocations Group that meets regularly to watch interviews with Maryknollers where they have the opportunity to dialogue with us and with each other about missionary life. Please visit our Vocations Facebook page and if you are interested in joining this group then just contact Fr. Rodrigo at vocation@maryknoll.org or follow the instructions on line for membership. The photo here is of Fr. Bob McCahill serving in Bangladesh.
Please read this announcements for the MM Vocation Facebook ministry group.
by Mike Snyder | Jan 6, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
This photo was taken in China where I asked a nun who entered the convent many years ago prior to the Communist takeover to give me a blessing. As Maryknoll’s new Vocation Director, it has been a challenging experience to lead the vocations office under the uncertain situation this pandemic has brought us. As I look back, the assurance of God‘s blessing is a hopeful sign that we will get through this, together. During the Christmas holidays I took time off to visit my parents who were curious about how is the work of our vocations team going. We do our small part and we let the Holy Spirit do the rest, I said to them.
Let the Holy Spirit give you that sign you are waiting for to make the leap of faith! Allow us in the vocations team to walk with you in your discernment process. The life of a missionary is such a blessing that begins at home, the first Bethlehem. My hope for this 2021 is that we may share the assurance of God‘s blessing with each other, transmit the trust that has been curtailed and fulfill the message of the prophet Joel encouraging, “old people to continue dreaming” while at the same time, “helping young people to become visionaries” of a promising future.
by Mike Snyder | Jan 6, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Yours are the hands with which Christ can bless the world.
Yours are the eyes with which Christ can shine compassion on a troubled world.
Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good.
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands,
No feet,
No eyes on earth
But yours.
The mission bell at Ndoleleji Catholic Church, Tanzania
by Mike Snyder | Jan 6, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
In October we accepted another new seminarian to our Initial Formation Program and it is with pleasure that we welcome Josephat Odundo to Maryknoll! This brings the number of men admitted to Maryknoll in 2020 to 4 and the total number of Seminarian and Brother Candidates to 18.
Josephat is 27 years old and comes to us from Kenya with a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology
by Mike Snyder | Jan 6, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
This is a photo of the Mau Escarpment, a steep natural rampart along the western rim of the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya. West and south of the city of Nakuru, it rises to more than 10,000 feet on the Equator. Its crest is covered with a vast forest. To the south the woods are more open, and the plateau falls to an open country eventually leading to the famed Serengeti plains of Tanzania. As it is on the Equator, the weather remains the same year around – so there is no winter!
Since the first time I, Fr. Mike, saw this escarpment as a young seminarian arriving in Nairobi, Kenya and traveling to Tanzania I have always been awed by the breathtaking beauty and majesty of Africa. It has spoken to me of adventure and excitement as one encounters the many cultures, languages and warm welcome of its people.
We are sending you this newsletter because you have indicated an interest in the missionary vocation as a Catholic priest or Brother. Looking to the future and contemplating what God has planned for you may cause you some hesitancy (see Getting Beyond Our Fears in this edition of the newsletter). But you should also take small steps through prayer, the Eucharist, spiritual direction, the counsel of friends and family and volunteer service to nourish the possibility of embracing such a vocation.
Missioners leave their home countries to share their lives, their talents and faith with the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In his letter to the Romans St. Paul wrote these wise words: “For those who love God all things work together for good.” Maryknollers have devoted their lives as missionary disciples, messengers of God’s love and mercy for all people. We go to share this Good News and are graced so often to find it lived out daily among the people we came to serve. We witness to a miracle as we wish to give so much of ourselves for others but find that, in the process, we are rewarded by God with so much more in return from the people we have gone to serve.
As always we look forward to hearing from you: Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa-Chavarry (vocation@maryknoll.org), Fr. Mike Snyder, Fr. Joe Donovan and Mr. Greg Darr
by Mike Snyder | Jan 6, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
Candidates have often told me they find the period after they’ve read the material, met with the vocation director, chosen the community, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, the most difficult. They know that in order to finally address this calling that they’ve felt for so many years, they must move forward and begin the application process. This next step is where the rubber hits the road. Inertia sets in, and like an airplane circling an airport, their vocation remains in a comfortable and unobtrusive holding pattern.
This phenomenon affects most of us whenever we face a major life-decision. We face a choice. Either we choose to let the uncertainty and fear of the unknown hold us hostage, or we claim the freedom from fear that comes with being a child of God.
In his book Soul Brothers, Richard Rohr writes about Peter the apostle. He is the “everyman” – the regular guy – because like us he is blessed with an array of gifts that occasionally get overshadowed by fear and bad decisions. Its not until he realizes God’s unfailing love that Peter moves beyond his fears and begin his part in building God’s kingdom.
“On the personal level, which is where it all starts, Peter is a grand and honest statement about how we all come to God. This pattern is a great surprise, and for many a great shock and even a disappointment. We clearly come to God not by doing it right but ironically by doing it wrong.
…Biblical holiness has to do with God’s call, grace and faithfulness to us and not the faithfulness of our response, which is why the text goes out of its way to show Peter’s first response as almost always incorrect, and his second response almost always forced upon him by the goodness and patience of Jesus. Check it out for yourself in all of the Peter stories. He is the first in foolishness, and the first in surrender. That is the normal path. Until the cock crows, we do not get it. Until the cock crows, we do not know ourselves. We are all saved in spite of ourselves, and never is that more clearly illustrated that in the life of Peter. God loves Peter because God is good, and that is what Peter finally sees and what makes him fall in love with Jesus in return. Finally, Peter the everyman runs with John the beloved to the resurrection, always trying to catch up. … Once I knew that fallible, failing men like Peter were the norm, then I was able to hope for love – and find hope for myself.”
“What if I really don’t have a vocation? What if I have to quit?” I’m convinced these questions have plagued candidates (including myself!) for the last hundreds of years. The problem lies in allowing fear (of change, failure, etc.) and uncertainty to hold us hostage in a state of complacency. Like most major decisions, choosing to discern your vocation involves action, risk and ultimately trusting in God.
We know that not all of who enter will remain with us to the end. Part of every formation director’s ministry is to assist the student in discerning whether or not they are called to such a life. Those who leave have not failed. They have, in fact, succeeded in what they originally set out to accomplish – discerning God’s call. They can now go on and continue their journey in another community, marriage or as a single person. There is no failure in trying and finding it is not for you. We fail when we allow our fears to paralyze us from exploring our vocation.
Lent is a time for looking inward; a time to ask the hard questions. You may want to spend some time asking yourself:
- Am I truly responding to what I believe God is asking of me?
- Am I allowing fear (of failure or of not being “good enough”) to hold me back?
- Do I allow my fears to keep my vocation in a holding pattern?
by Mike Snyder | Sep 6, 2020 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
We are proud to share a poster with our 18 seminarians and Brother candidates. In his letter to the Romans St. Paul’s writes: “For those who love God all things work together for good.” Please keep these future Maryknoll Missioners in your prayers! As always we look forward to hearing from you: Fr. Rodrigo Ulloa-Chavarry (rulloa@maryknoll.org), Fr. Mike Snyder (msnyder@maryknoll.org), Fr. Joe Donovan (jdonovan@maryknoll.org), and Mr. Greg Darr (gdarr@maryknoll.org)
by Mike Snyder | Sep 6, 2020 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
On Saturday August 22, 2020 Maryknoll ordained Deacon Greg McPhee to the priesthood. Fr. Greg came to us with a background in law as a criminal defense attorney in Syracuse, New York. As a seminarian he was sent to Tanzania, East Africa for two years on our Overseas Training Program. After the ordination ceremony there followed the Mission Sending Ceremony where we learned that our new priest has been assigned to Latin America.
During his Ordination Mass homily Bishop Edmund Whelan, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York said: “It’s a different world… we don’t know what’s coming tomorrow. All of you (Maryknoll missioners) have gone into situations where you didn’t know what was ahead of you, but you made it work. And right now, we have no idea what’s ahead of us in the Church here in New York, in the Church around the world… And as I was driving here today, I said, ‘You know, these guys have lived like that every day since Fathers Walsh and Price (Maryknoll Co-Founders) came up with this idea,’ so thank you. Because you got it right, we’ll get it right, as long as we remember it’s God who’s the one who’s got it right.”
by Mike Snyder | Sep 6, 2020 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
Jonathan Navarro Jose is 37 years old and comes to us from Auburn, Washington. He is a soccer coach, a member of the Knights of Columbus and has been very active in his local parish. He will begin the Initial Formation Program as a candidate to become a Brother.
Chunsing Jonathan Cho is 24 years old. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Jonathan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Welfare from the University of Washington – Tacoma.
Stephen Harden is 24 years old and comes to us from Houston, Texas. Stephen has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Supply Chain Management from Texas A&M University.
by Mike Snyder | Sep 6, 2020 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
“Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others”. Pope Francis, Joy of the Gospel
Pope Francis is a missionary pope! You can tell he is writing from personal experience. Most Maryknoll missioners could have written the same message. With a faith inherited from our parents and nourished in our parish communities we left “security on the shore” and became excited by the mission of communicating life and God’s love to others. We don’t regret that decision because our lives have grown through the experiences of learning new languages, adjusting to new cultures, meeting new people and making new friends.
As missioners we want to give of ourselves for the sake of others, especially the poor and those living on the margins of societies. But, in the process, God graces us with so many experiences that witness to God’s presence in the world. Sure there are difficult times and unexpected events that can even be tragic, but, in the midst of it all God is with us. And when we are down we often see the face of Jesus in the people we went to serve and are lifted up. This is the gift of the missionary vocation!
Never be stymied by the challenges presented in life. Rather, be close to God in prayer, follow the teachings of Jesus and take the steps necessary to find the place where God calls you!
