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In
Search of the Spirit
A
monthly letter from the Glenmary Vocation Office
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September 2006
Father Rollie Hautz'a Amazing Call
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| “It’s nice picking up new stories, you know, because it means getting new relationships,” Father Rollie says. And "nobody has more stories than Father Rollie, according to Father John Rausch in his story about Father Rollie for Glenmary Challenge. He is pictured here wtih Betty Meade. She and her husband, a Pentecostal minister, entered the Catholic Church at Father Rollie''s mission in Dungannon, Va., in 2002. |
The story of someone's call into religious life still amazes me. Father Rollie Hautz entered Glenmary in April 4, 1944, but I only heard his story for the first time last month.
Every year all Glenmary members gather for our Congress. This is a time of celebration, reconnecting, recreation, prayer and education. The theme this year was "Glenmary Spirituality." Part of our reflection was in small groups and that is where I heard Father Rollie's amazing story of call. I share it with you with his permission.
Father Rollie was in his senior year of high school and had been thinking about becoming a priest. Yet, like any young man, he was wondering if this was really what God wanted--and, if so, should he join the diocese or a religious community.
A religious sister who knew his struggle advised him to pray the "Rosary of Petition." This meant praying the Rosary for 27 days asking the Lord, through Mary, for one specific thing. Then, after the 27 days of petition, you were to immediately begin praying the Rosary for another 27 days in thanksgiving for the petition granted— whether you consciously knew the petition was granted or not. Father Rollie liked this idea because he wanted to join a group that was dedicated to Mary. Thus, using a Marian devotion to determine his call seemed perfect.
During these days of prayer, the young Rollie heard of Glenmary and called Father William Howard Bishop, our founder, for an appointment. He was granted an interview. His mother drove him to the Cincinnati headquarters and waited patiently in the car. Rollie spoke to Father Bishop for 45 minutes. During the interview Father Bishop told him of the missions, of his dreams, and of the needs of rural America. Rollie was inspired by what he heard and asked to join. He was accepted on the spot!
Driving down the driveway with his mother he realized that this was the 27th day of his Rosary of Petition. It was also 4/4/44 (April 4, 1944), a coincidence that Father Rollie proudly remembers. The next day, now accepted into the new society of Glenmary Home Missioners, he began to daily pray the Rosary in thanksgiving.
Father Rollie very definitely sees the hand of Mary in his call. And he has faithfully prayed the Rosary every day since--for 62 years (53 of them as a Glenmary priest).
Every call by God to religious life is unique. Oftentimes little coincidences of the past take on greater meaning in light of the future, like the suggestion of the Sister to Father. Rollie or the date 4/4/44. Therefore, as you search for the inner voice of God's call, it is important to pay attention to the little coincidences and the small stuff. I also encourage daily prayer to know God's will and to have the courage to do God's will.
A while back I was talking to a young man and advised him to do just that. "If I do that," he exclaimed, "then I will be a priest." That may have been true in his case, but usually it does not happen so clearly. He, or anyone, still needs to discern carefully God's call. Daily prayer for God's grace and wisdom will certainly lead you closer to where God wants you.
Whether you follow in Father Rollie's footsteps by saying the Rosary 27 days or use another style of prayer, just continue to ask: "God, what is your will for me today? And give me the courage to follow it." Maybe 62 years from now you will be telling your vocation story to the amazement of younger men.
