Thank You, Aaron, Craig and Chris...
For choosing a life of generous service

It is difficult to explain what motivates the generous heart, and how a person chooses to give his life in service to others, but Aaron Wessman, Craig Digmann and Christopher Gutierrez are doing just that in pursuing a Glenmary vocation. Following a rigorous application process, each of these men has been accepted into Glenmary's formation program with the hope of one day serving Christ through the economically poor and the unchurched in the U.S. home missions. They will begin pre-novitiate in Hartford, Ky., this August.

Acts of generosity such as these tend to go unnoticed save a brief moment of congratulations. But to build the culture of vocations preached by Pope John Paul II, embraced by Glenmary and lived by these men, we must continually demonstrate our gratitude for this kind of service. None of these men has the illusion that choosing Christ will mean praise, recognition or a life of comfort. Rural life in Glenmary offers none of these. Precisely because of the challenges, these men are choosing a religious vocation today.

"It is about serving Jesus in the poor," says Aaron, the youngest of the incoming group, from Cokato, Minn.   It is this spirit of selfless giving which sustains Glenmary.  

St. Paul paints many dichotomies in Scripture, including this one about the paradox of life and death: "For me, life is Christ and death is gain!"   Both on this earth and in the life to come, death to self is gain but, more importantly, Jesus is life!   This realization led three unsuspecting men to give up their own life to gain the life of Christ.   In the giving of themselves, they gain life not only for others, but for themselves.  

"This is what is needed," said the late John Paul II, "a Church which is not afraid to require much, after having given much; which does not fear asking from young people the effort of a noble and authentic adventure, such as that of following the gospel."  

I, for one, would like to thank these three men, who have chosen the adventure of the gospel, who are following Jesus' call to "put out to the deep." Let us commit ourselves to supporting them in prayer.

And let us each allow the decision of these three men to confront us with this challenge: How does Christ call me to give my life?   What gifts has he given me for the service of others?  

Explore your heart and discover where you find lasting peace.

Kyle Brandon, 24, is Glenmary's associate vocation director.

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