Mystery

Born November 21, 1946 
Entered August 21, 1964

Resides Chicago, IL

Who would have thought? No one in my family had been a priest or a nun. I wasn’t the worst kid on the block, but I was far from the best. Going to a Jesuit high school included meeting my first Jesuits. The ones who taught me religion during those yearsseemed aloof and disconnected from any of us. The handful of scholastics engaged us, but the one I liked the most, told me a month before I entered the Jesuits that he was leaving the Jesuits.

Twice I almost left the Jesuits myself – both times because I fell in love. Imagining that I could become a good husband and father, the powerful experience of loving and being loved in the flesh upended my theoretical sorting of the issues.

I discovered the field God called me to pursue…several times. After professional training in counseling psychology and then additional masters in a combination of theology and psychology, I decided to be a priest for a while before choosing where to specialize in doctoral studies.

When Ministry became a professional speciality, as a regent I was invited to help inaugurate a team of women and men, lay and ordained, married and single at one of the first four American Jesuit universities. No longer would universities simply “look to the Jesuits” to offer ministry to students, faculty, staff and administrators. I was also invited to help introduce “team retreats” to Cincinnati at our Jesuit retreat house.

The Church we knew in our youth morphed after Vatican II and then morphed again decades later. I helped most of my friends out of the Jesuits. The grace of staying close to God and to the people I have served has provided staying power. I love being a Jesuit priest. Such a mystery.