From Brotherhood to Fatherhood
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2008
Gregory Mussmacher, God Bless!!
Another great e-mail blast from Father Leo, Rock On Padre!!
From Brotherhood to Fatherhood
Meet two brothers from Lincoln, Nebraska.
Both are studying for the priesthood. The older brother, Matthew, is at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. His younger brother, Michael, is studying here at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland .
A few weekends ago, these brothers and a few other seminarians got together and cooked dinner for me!
They wanted to thank me for the various times I’ve hosted dinner, taught a cooking class , or had them over to meet my family. It was one of those rare occasions where I didn’t have to cook, even though I couldn’t resist stirring some sauce and helping with plating designs.
What was more impressive than the great food they prepared was the sense of brotherhood these men demonstrated and shared with me. Needless to say, I was not only grateful for the tasty meal, but also inspired by their example.
After almost 10 years of priesthood, I should be accustomed to hearing stories of young men who want to become priests to serve a cause greater than their own. Despite what people think of the younger generation and talk of a vocation crisis, there are many, many good young people who desire to live a life of service. In talking with these young men, I realize the answer to the lack of priests can be found when families grow stronger and parishes become more faithful.
From this dinner conversation, the idea struck me that increasing the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life will come about when we concentrate on strengthening faithfulness in family relationships. Vocations come from the home. That has been the experience of these young men, and it is also my experience.
Parents, ask yourself the following questions: “Would I be happy if my son wanted to become a priest or my daughter entered a convent?” “Would I discourage my child from serving the church in a religious vocation?” “Do I teach my kids how to pray about God’s will for their lives?” “Am I trying to live my vocation as a mother or father to the best of my ability?” “How do I show my children what it means to be faithful to God’s calling?”
Don’t worry. If you have never asked yourself these questions, it’s not because you’re a bad person. But, it could mean that you have been deceived by the evil one who doesn’t want you to ask such important questions about your life or your family. Let’s face it: the devil throws up many distractions (being busy, materialism, pride) that prevent us from asking ourselves important questions like these. Instead, we spend more time worrying about the future of the church. Parents should remember that raising their children to be successful is NOT their primary responsibility. Instead, they are called to raise children who are faithful to God’s will.
If families and parish churches (i.e., the church family) don’t encourage children to try and follow God’s will, then are we not praying the “Our Father” in vain? Do you suppose that our materialistic society will encourage young men and women to consider priesthood and religious life? Of course not! The vocational discernment will come about when families become more faithful to prayer, church, and service. So go ahead and do what I did with these young men – have dinner and talk about God . I realize that such dinner conversations may be difficult at first, but after a while, families may realize that God should always be a part of the dinner conversation. More importantly, God desires to be part of the family dinner .
My dinner with these young men not only inspired me, but satisfied my desire for brotherhood by being with young men who want to share in this priest’s fatherhood.
The “Thank You” – Pollo Fiorentina
These young men told me this recipe came from one of their parish priests back in the Lincoln Diocese. As I said before, vocations come from families and their church families , the parish church . After talking with these guys, I was inspired to write another book. It will be called, Feeding the Flock and the Shepherds . When I find the time (after I write the book about marriage , Spicing Up Married Life! ) I’d love to write this book about vocations complete with essays, questions, and recipes that can be used by parishes and families to talk about vocations. If your parish hosts a vocation dinner, you’ll get the chance to see many young men who are willing to talk about how God is working in their lives while enjoying good food .
Click here for the recipe these young seminarians made for me. It was definitely a crowd pleaser.
A Family Prayer for Vocations
Gracious and loving God, help the men and women of our parish families to hear the call to serve in this diocese. Our needs are great and our people thirst for Your presence. Open the hearts of many. Raise up faithful servants of the Gospel, dedicated holy priests, sisters, brothers, and deacons, who will spend themselves for Your people and their needs. Bless those who are serving now with courage and perseverance. Grant that many will be inspired by their example of faith. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Ask Fr. Leo for fatherly advice.Any submissions may be used in future Grace Before Meals publications.
Please forward Fr. Leo’s weekly email blast to anyone you think would benefit. If you haven’tsigned up for the Food for the Body, Food for the Soul weekly email blast, go here to register now. Also visit our blog.
Forward email
Email Marketing by
Leo McWatkins Films 10950 Gilroy Road Suite J Hunt Valley MD 21031
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Wednesday, Oct 1, 2008
Gregory Mussmacher, God Bless!!
Another great e-mail blast from Father Leo, Rock On Padre!!
From Brotherhood to Fatherhood
Meet two brothers from Lincoln, Nebraska.
Both are studying for the priesthood. The older brother, Matthew, is at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. His younger brother, Michael, is studying here at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland .
A few weekends ago, these brothers and a few other seminarians got together and cooked dinner for me!
They wanted to thank me for the various times I’ve hosted dinner, taught a cooking class , or had them over to meet my family. It was one of those rare occasions where I didn’t have to cook, even though I couldn’t resist stirring some sauce and helping with plating designs.
What was more impressive than the great food they prepared was the sense of brotherhood these men demonstrated and shared with me. Needless to say, I was not only grateful for the tasty meal, but also inspired by their example.
After almost 10 years of priesthood, I should be accustomed to hearing stories of young men who want to become priests to serve a cause greater than their own. Despite what people think of the younger generation and talk of a vocation crisis, there are many, many good young people who desire to live a life of service. In talking with these young men, I realize the answer to the lack of priests can be found when families grow stronger and parishes become more faithful.
From this dinner conversation, the idea struck me that increasing the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life will come about when we concentrate on strengthening faithfulness in family relationships. Vocations come from the home. That has been the experience of these young men, and it is also my experience.
Parents, ask yourself the following questions: “Would I be happy if my son wanted to become a priest or my daughter entered a convent?” “Would I discourage my child from serving the church in a religious vocation?” “Do I teach my kids how to pray about God’s will for their lives?” “Am I trying to live my vocation as a mother or father to the best of my ability?” “How do I show my children what it means to be faithful to God’s calling?”
Don’t worry. If you have never asked yourself these questions, it’s not because you’re a bad person. But, it could mean that you have been deceived by the evil one who doesn’t want you to ask such important questions about your life or your family. Let’s face it: the devil throws up many distractions (being busy, materialism, pride) that prevent us from asking ourselves important questions like these. Instead, we spend more time worrying about the future of the church. Parents should remember that raising their children to be successful is NOT their primary responsibility. Instead, they are called to raise children who are faithful to God’s will.
If families and parish churches (i.e., the church family) don’t encourage children to try and follow God’s will, then are we not praying the “Our Father” in vain? Do you suppose that our materialistic society will encourage young men and women to consider priesthood and religious life? Of course not! The vocational discernment will come about when families become more faithful to prayer, church, and service. So go ahead and do what I did with these young men – have dinner and talk about God . I realize that such dinner conversations may be difficult at first, but after a while, families may realize that God should always be a part of the dinner conversation. More importantly, God desires to be part of the family dinner .
My dinner with these young men not only inspired me, but satisfied my desire for brotherhood by being with young men who want to share in this priest’s fatherhood.
The “Thank You” – Pollo Fiorentina
These young men told me this recipe came from one of their parish priests back in the Lincoln Diocese. As I said before, vocations come from families and their church families , the parish church . After talking with these guys, I was inspired to write another book. It will be called, Feeding the Flock and the Shepherds . When I find the time (after I write the book about marriage , Spicing Up Married Life! ) I’d love to write this book about vocations complete with essays, questions, and recipes that can be used by parishes and families to talk about vocations. If your parish hosts a vocation dinner, you’ll get the chance to see many young men who are willing to talk about how God is working in their lives while enjoying good food .
Click here for the recipe these young seminarians made for me. It was definitely a crowd pleaser.
A Family Prayer for Vocations
Gracious and loving God, help the men and women of our parish families to hear the call to serve in this diocese. Our needs are great and our people thirst for Your presence. Open the hearts of many. Raise up faithful servants of the Gospel, dedicated holy priests, sisters, brothers, and deacons, who will spend themselves for Your people and their needs. Bless those who are serving now with courage and perseverance. Grant that many will be inspired by their example of faith. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Ask Fr. Leo for fatherly advice.Any submissions may be used in future Grace Before Meals publications.
Please forward Fr. Leo’s weekly email blast to anyone you think would benefit. If you haven’tsigned up for the Food for the Body, Food for the Soul weekly email blast, go here to register now. Also visit our blog.
Forward email
Email Marketing by
Leo McWatkins Films 10950 Gilroy Road Suite J Hunt Valley MD 21031
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