by Mike Snyder | Mar 4, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
As a candidate on Overseas-Training Program (OTP), the pandemic has given me a chance to re-think about how I could be a presence of God´s love in these trying times. One such challenge arose when the government of Bolivia announced that the school year would end 8 months earlier and that all students would continue to be advanced to their next academic grade. These decisions had great impact on the locals, especially those in the rural areas. Parents in these areas found it hard to support their children in their learning because they neither had the academic ability nor the time. The inequality in terms of access to proper education become evident when schools in the city began implementing online classes which was neither available nor affordable for those in the rural areas.
At Centro Nueva Vera Cruz, the team of local educators together with Father Paul Sykora M.M., felt the need to address this social injustice by reopening our support school to help the students in the Southern Zone be more prepared for the new academic year. It wasn´t an easy decision since the covid-19 infection rates in the city area was still increasing. However, with much planning, we decided to take some managed risks to offer tutoring programs.
Collaborating with the community, we implemented new biosecurity measures; having disinfection processes on entry, and screening and turning away children who were unwell. In the classroom, we also maintained social distancing. All the children were very cooperative because they truly valued this opportunity to learn. The level of motivation they showed was encouraging for all of us, yet, I had other challenges ahead.
As a beginner in Spanish, it was a humbling experience trying to help them with different subjects. Even though I am a trained educator, I had to relearn how to teach in this context, trying to translate all the content knowledge into Spanish. Also, I had to be unashamed to ask for help from fellow educators and even the children. I felt in solidarity with the children because truly, I was learning more than I was teaching.
Matthew at work teaching his students
The work was intense because we had 3 months to complete 8 months of schoolwork. To cope with the diversity of children, we had to be creative – differentiate tasks to maintain engagement, organize dynamic ability-based groupings and even use peer-tutoring. In the process, we saw more children trying to help each other. They learned patience when they saw us occupied, more importantly, they learnt to manage their own behaviors to prevent disruptions.
We grew as a community, exchanging our cultures and even my faith journey that brought me here to them. Our friendship expanded to outside our classroom. Some started participating in our Sunday Mass. I thanked God when I saw them growing to be active members of our community of faith. Their participation inspired me to start an Advent Reflection program.
The program was ecumenical. We had 14 participants, singing local hymns and learning about the Nativity story together. We also each made a nativity creche and for some, this would be the first in their family. I was very touched that 6 children from the upper hillside joined us. They walked 50 minutes to get to our center! At the end of every session, they would ask me for the leftover snacks to bring home. Knowing their circumstances, I was always ready to offer something for their trip home. Their presence made my own reflections on the pilgrimage of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem more substantial. They thought they came to make a creche for their family, but they came and brought Jesus to the other children, to Father Sykora, and certainly to me, a missioner-in-training trying to discern my call.
A crèche created by the children
Many of us live a life more privileged than we know. Yes, some of us have experienced hardships, discrimination or even didn´t get to buy the newest gadget that all our friends have. Yet, there are whole new realities out here, out in the peripheries, where Jesus is calling us to. The mission here isn´t about building beautiful churches or proselytizing. It is a calling to a deep encounter with self and others, so that we can better understand the presence of God that has been here, way before any missioners stepped foot on this land. Pope Francis speaks of Mission as stepping out of our comfort zone to bring about and have encounters with God. I took a risk four and a half years ago to step out of my comfort zones to participate in Maryknoll missions. Six months ago, together with the team at Centro Nueva Vera Cruz, we took a risk to attend to the needs of the local community. We have certainly gained more than we have given. Through the risks we took together, God´s love and presence permeated our daily experiences. I feel confident to say that we, the community of Nueva Vera Cruz, are all better people because of the risks we shared. The question is, will you be willing to take some risks in your own life to join us in this mission to enrich your faith life through participation in a new one?
Fr. Paul Sykora, Matthew and the students
by Mike Snyder | Mar 4, 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 by Fr. Dae Kim now serving in Brazil:https://youtu.be/gKmCyhA6eAk
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.
Cristo de la Concordia (Christ of Peace) Sculpture in Cochabamba, Bolivia
This is the largest sculpture of its kind in the world.
by Mike Snyder | Mar 4, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
We are proud to announce the launching of our newly revised website that also features a new vocations video. Please check it out and let us know what you think about it!
Maryknoll Vocations | A Life of Mission Overseas (maryknollsociety.org)
We also offer volunteer opportunities lasting from six weeks to one year that can nourish your vocational interest.
Fr. Joyalito Tajonera with volunteers in Tanzi, Taiwan. Learn more about our volunteer programs at
(Volunteer Opportunities & Life-Enriching Experiences | Maryknoll (maryknollsociety.org)
by Mike Snyder | Mar 4, 2021 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - Events
Former Superior General, Fr. John Sivalon, once described Mission this way:
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!
Each year at this time I enjoy sharing these words from Fr. Sivalon. They remind me of the Apostles at Pentecost: “Suddenly, from up on the sky there came a noise like a strong, driving wind which was heard throughout the house where they were seated. Tongues as of fire appeared, which parted and came to rest on each of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to express themselves in foreign tongues and make bold proclamation as the Spirit prompted them.” (Acts 2:2-4)
The Apostles emerged from that experience on fire and boldly went forth to Jerusalem, Judea, the surrounding lands and finally even Rome proclaiming the saving message of Jesus. They, as have generations of men and women who have followed in their footsteps, were filled with a dream instilled in them by the Risen Jesus. They had been like twigs filled with the fire, the passion for God’s Mission as lived out in the Paschal Mystery that is Jesus. For the past 110 years Maryknollers have been among those twigs generating sparks that have ignited others and others and others. We continue to go forth and invite you to join us for the short term as volunteers, the long term as lay missioners, and the life time as Priests, Brothers, and Sisters. We welcome you to Maryknoll (https://maryknollsociety.org)!
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?
