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Father Stephen Hornat, Outreach Ministry
Selma, AL |
| click here to read his story » |
I went down to Selma, AL and started the Edmundite Mission
Corps to give college graduates an opportunity to spend a year
working in service with the poor.
It was a life changing event for a lot of the young people -
working in a poverty situation gave them a lot more focus as to
what they wanted to do in life and helped them establish priorities.
Some of them taught for the first time in a public-school system
and loved the challenge of it and decided, “maybe I have the skills
to be a teacher or a social worker.” So it really gave them an
opportunity to explore possibilities for themselves. |
It was life changing for me as well.
I went down South with these grandiose
ideas that I’m going to make life better for
someone, but I found out that I was the one
that was being gifted. The people we worked
with enabled me to take a look at my own life
and the areas that I needed to change and, quite
often, that’s the experience of a lot of young
people as well.
In another year I’ll be going back to Selma
and I’m really looking forward to it. I spent
nine wonderful years there. For me, it’s going back home. |
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Father Marcel Rainville, Formation Director
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| click here to read his story » |
| My life as an Edmundite has been a very exciting one. I think I have a wider worldview than I would have had as a diocesan priest, especially having spent 20 years in Venezuela. At first I worked in the middle class parish, Prado del Este, and did a lot of counseling — marriage, spiritual and mental health. I’m proud of the work I did there and in the barrio of Las Minas. There was a cultural divide that took awhile to disband, but it did. Seeing the two communities come together was very gratifying and I’m proud of whatever I did in a meager and humble way to create a spirit of community in those two parishes. |
To someone who is thinking about religious life, I would say come and see. This can be a tremendous adventure if you’re willing to give it a chance and give yourself to it. There’s a lot you don’t see in this way of life and in this community that is exciting. It’s more rewarding than I ever expected it to be. |
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Father David Cray, Parish Priest
Vermont |
| click here to read his story » |
| My experience with the Edmundites has been diverse, probably more diverse than most. I’ve lived in Ontario, England, Quebec, Vermont, Connecticut, Alabama and Louisiana. The place where things came together best however was Quebec — the need was there. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s the city was having quite a revolution; French ascendancy was taking place and there was an exodus of English-speaking people. We had an important role in maintaining the English-speaking Catholic communities. The language was under attack and so these communities were under attack.The Edmundites there had a tightly knit community and even though we left in 1989, people still refer to those churches as Edmundite churches. |
So I’ve done a number of things — parish administration, education, vocations and formation work. It sounds phony, but it’s like what parents say of their children, I love them all. I’m very happy where I am now — I’m the pastor of a church in Charlotte and St. Jude Church in Hinesburg — but I’ve always been happy.
When push comes to shove, I give my life to religious life. Commitment to religious life is what keeps me going.
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Father Mike Cronogue, Superior General
Winooski,
Vermont |
| click here to read his story » |
The thing I always tell folks who are interested in religious life is that the Edmundites seemed like a good fit. At age 22, I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but I knew I didn’t want to be an engineer. I felt I had a different calling and this just seemed to fit.
One experience I’ll always remember happened right here at Saint Michael’s College. About three years ago, one of our students died in a canoe accident. When we heard the news, a group of Edmundites went over to the “mound” where this student lived and just stood there. People kept coming up to us and said, ‘thank you for coming.’ There was a service the next day and the family came. When it was over, the parents wanted to greet every student. That took a long time, but what amazed me the most was that when they finished and we walked outside, all 500 students were still there. Waiting…and not saying a word.
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We continue to pray regularly for the student and his family and every year at graduation I think about standing on the mound and the importance of presence. You really don’t have to say anything at a time like that because there’s nothing to say. The fact that you’re there speaks volumes. People appreciate that and I think it typifies the things that Edmundites do, which is to try and be present. And in your presence, you’re kind of a witness to the presence of Jesus.
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Fr. Stanley Deresienski, Vocation Director
Winooski, Vermont |
| click here to read his story » |
I’m needed where I am right now — and that’s director of vocations for the Edmundites. I see myself being called by God to help others discover that deep part of themselves where God may be calling them.
As a vocation director, I’m not a recruiter. I’m not like the Air Force, the Army, the Navy and the Marines out there looking for a few people to convince to join us. I’m the person who’s there to help the person discover what the call God has given them is. And then walk with them as they go through that process of discovery. The way I look at it, it’s a benefit to everybody. I do hope that some will be called to join us, but my job is much bigger than getting people to join the Edmundites. It’s helping Catholic men discover that passionate point within them, so that they can become the gift that God has asked them to become.
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There is a great need in our world today for Religious. The world needs doctors of the soul. With all the many crises that attack the heart and soul of people, God calls religious today to bring God’s healing to mend the brokenness we find and to give hope. As a vocations director, I help people to discover the call of God in their lives. I do hope that some will be called to join us but my job is bigger than this. It’s helping men and women discover that passionate point within them, so that they can become the gift of healing to our world that God is calling them to be.
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