Oct
15
2019
By Anonymous (not verified)
For the past few years, the Marian Fathers have had more than 30 men in formation, more than most dioceses in the United States. This past spring, Fr. Michael Baker, MIC, and Fr. Matthew Holladay, MIC, were ordained to the priesthood as Marians. Then in August, at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, five men professed their first vows as members of the Community; another 13 men in formation renewed their vows; and another six entered the community, either as postulants or novices.
Finally, Br. Matthew Tomeny, MIC, and Br. David Smith, MIC, professed their perpetual vows with the Marians. By professing their perpetual vows, Br. Matthew and Br. David promised to live in poverty, chastity, and obedience for the rest of their lives as members of the Marians. They are both continuing their formation to become Marian priests.
Brother Matthew, originally from Tampa, Florida, joined the Marians in 2013. He is the fourth of 10 children. His mother, Nelly, described him growing up as quiet, kind, and devout. She remembers him collecting Rosary beads in a box as a child.
"Since Matthew was born, I prayed to the Divine Mercy that Matthew would have a vocation to the religious life - from when he was 10 days old," she said. "And then I asked the Blessed Mother to always, always, always protect the vocation, and she did, and I'm so thankful for that. What a miracle, and what a blessing!"
Brother David, originally from Azusa, California, joined the Marians in 2011. His mother, Joan, described her son as quiet, funny, and a delight. David, the sixth of nine children, felt the call to the priesthood in 2009 on a trip to the Holy Land with his mother, not long after the death of his father.
"I can just tell in Br. David's voice - he's so happy. And that makes me so happy," Joan said.
Father Donald Calloway, MIC, the Marians' vocations director and the spiritual director of the Thirteenth of the Month Club, credits the growth of the Marians to Divine Mercy, Our Lady, and the brotherhood among the Marians.
"When guys come and visit us, they really get a sense that we're men of the Church, and we want to give everything for people to get to Heaven," he said. "And the guys love that!"
During the service for the profession of vows, reading from the Congregation's Constitutions, the Very Rev. Fr. Kaz Chwalek, MIC, the Provincial Superior of the Marians, said that being a Marian means spreading the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. As the Founder of the Marian Fathers, St. Stanislaus Papczynski knew that by preserving Mary from all stain of original sin, God proved His love for all humanity, because through the Immaculate Conception, Christ conquered sin and made us fit for eternal life in Heaven. The other Marian charisms include praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, serving the Church wherever the need is greatest, and spreading devotion to Divine Mercy.
Finally, Fr. Kaz encouraged these young men to heed the words of Renovator Blessed George Matulaitis, who wrote:
Finally, Br. Matthew Tomeny, MIC, and Br. David Smith, MIC, professed their perpetual vows with the Marians. By professing their perpetual vows, Br. Matthew and Br. David promised to live in poverty, chastity, and obedience for the rest of their lives as members of the Marians. They are both continuing their formation to become Marian priests.
Brother Matthew, originally from Tampa, Florida, joined the Marians in 2013. He is the fourth of 10 children. His mother, Nelly, described him growing up as quiet, kind, and devout. She remembers him collecting Rosary beads in a box as a child.
"Since Matthew was born, I prayed to the Divine Mercy that Matthew would have a vocation to the religious life - from when he was 10 days old," she said. "And then I asked the Blessed Mother to always, always, always protect the vocation, and she did, and I'm so thankful for that. What a miracle, and what a blessing!"
Brother David, originally from Azusa, California, joined the Marians in 2011. His mother, Joan, described her son as quiet, funny, and a delight. David, the sixth of nine children, felt the call to the priesthood in 2009 on a trip to the Holy Land with his mother, not long after the death of his father.
"I can just tell in Br. David's voice - he's so happy. And that makes me so happy," Joan said.
Father Donald Calloway, MIC, the Marians' vocations director and the spiritual director of the Thirteenth of the Month Club, credits the growth of the Marians to Divine Mercy, Our Lady, and the brotherhood among the Marians.
"When guys come and visit us, they really get a sense that we're men of the Church, and we want to give everything for people to get to Heaven," he said. "And the guys love that!"
During the service for the profession of vows, reading from the Congregation's Constitutions, the Very Rev. Fr. Kaz Chwalek, MIC, the Provincial Superior of the Marians, said that being a Marian means spreading the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. As the Founder of the Marian Fathers, St. Stanislaus Papczynski knew that by preserving Mary from all stain of original sin, God proved His love for all humanity, because through the Immaculate Conception, Christ conquered sin and made us fit for eternal life in Heaven. The other Marian charisms include praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, serving the Church wherever the need is greatest, and spreading devotion to Divine Mercy.
Finally, Fr. Kaz encouraged these young men to heed the words of Renovator Blessed George Matulaitis, who wrote:
If I may ask, Lord, let me be but a dishrag in Your Church, a rag used to wipe up messes and then thrown away into some dark corner. I want to be used up and worn out in the same way so that Your house may be a little cleaner and brighter. And afterwards, let me be thrown away like a dirty, worn-out dishrag.
BCBB