Religious leaders share vocation stories with Cockeysville students

COCKEYSVILLE – Monsignor Richard Hilgartner counts standing on the top deck of a 1,500-foot container ship as among the most unusual things he’s ever done as a priest.

Invited to bless the massive vessel by a parishioner who works for the Port of Baltimore, the pastor of St. Joseph in Cockeysville said the “Prayer for the Blessing of the Means of Transportation” as he sprinkled holy water on a ship that held 15 decks of cargo in its hull.

“It had like four decks of cars, trucks and all kinds of stuff,” Monsignor Hilgartner told a Feb. 1 gathering of middle schoolers at St. Joseph School. “I got to stand on the bridge and bless this boat, looking out over all the cranes and the Dundalk Marine Terminal.”

As exciting as that moment was, Monsignor Hilgartner said, it’s his day-to-day ministry as a parish priest that’s even more rewarding.

“Yesterday, I was at the hospital with a man in his 90s who’s been a parishioner here since 1959 and he knows he’s dying,” the priest said, noting that the man had chaired the building committee involved in the church building’s expansion in 1967 and had volunteered in a variety of roles, including serving as one of the archdiocese’s first extraordinary ministers of holy Communion.

“I told him that the Lord is going to say to you, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’” Monsignor Hilgartner said.

The pastor shared his experiences of religious life as part of a vocations panel that included three other priests, a deacon, a religious sister, a religious brother and a seminarian who answered written questions submitted by St. Joseph students.

As youngsters munched on salad and baked ziti during the “lunch-and-learn” event, the speakers encouraged them to view those in religious life as “regular people” called to devote their lives in service of God and the Catholic Church.

Father J. Kevin Farmer, pastor of the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier in Hunt Valley and Our Lady of Grace in Parkton, recalled how he served as a chaplain to Baltimore City police and firefighters, as well as agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was featured in the movie “Ladder 49,” which was set and filmed in Baltimore, including at the now-closed Redemptorist St. Michael Church in Fells Point.

“Because I said eight words in the movie, I get checks,” the priest said, drawing laughs when he noted that some of those checks are only for a few pennies.

De La Salle Christian Brother John Kane, president of Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, explained that the ministry of brothers differs from priests in that brothers are not ordained and do not celebrate sacraments. Instead, they focus on specific areas of ministry, such as teaching.

“Our order is focused exclusively on schools and education,” he said. “We are in 90 countries and there are 1 million students around the world who attend Christian Brothers schools.”

As a brother for 45 years, Brother John said he’s served as a teacher, coach and administrator. At LaSalle University in Philadelphia, he met President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, spending five days with the Secret Service in advance of the presidential visit.

Sister Audrey Frances Moran, an Oblate Sister of St. Francis de Sales who teaches at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Baynesville, said she was not a regular Massgoer and didn’t pray at home when she was growing up. While in college, however, someone invited her to a retreat. She prayed her first “genuine prayer” at the retreat and began asking more questions about what was most important in life. She eventually visited religious communities and felt drawn to the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales – a teaching community.

“I said I would never be a teacher,” she remembered. “The Lord laughed and said, ‘You’ll see.’”

Father Steven Roth, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, told students he often “played priest” when he was a child. In kindergarten, he once got in trouble for cutting a hole in the center of his mother’s tablecloth to make “vestments” to celebrate “Mass.”

He noted that they need not be fearful about exploring religious life. 

“I see my sole mission as vocations director as helping people overcome their fears – to help them not be afraid to trust in God,” he said.

James Lancelotta, a seminarian assigned to St. Joseph, said that although he previously had a successful 35-year career as a chef, he didn’t feel fulfilled. After entering priestly formation, he knew he was on the right path as he developed a “stronger feeling of wholeness.”

“When making big life decisions, ask God to help you and he’ll never let you down,” Lancelotta told students. “Invite God into that conversation.”

Other speakers at the event included Father David C.F. Ray, associate pastor of St. Joseph; and Deacon Michael McKinney, also of St. Joseph.

Following the vocations talk, Bridget Roos, a 13-year-old eighth grader, said she was impressed that the speakers all answered the call to religious life at different times of their lives. The challenge for young people who might be interested in religious life today is making the commitment, she said. 

“It’s knowing that that’s what you are doing with your life and that’s who you really want to be,” she said. 

Caleb Matesa, a 14-year-old eighth grader, added that the length of time in seminary (it takes an average of seven years to become a priest) might be another challenge to pursuing ordained ministry.

“It was pretty cool to hear each person’s unique story,” he said. 

Several other schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore held vocations-related events during Catholic Schools Week, including Monsignor Arthur Slade Catholic School in Glen Burnie.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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