My Vocation Story
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- čas přidán 7. 11. 2022
- I am hesitant to share my personal vocation story because it feels egotistical to do so and why should anyone care? However there seems to be a huge interest in this type of story so here goes! Wish me luck!
Website: www.trappistabbey.org
Lately, I have been thinking about Monasticism and the call to it. I shall like to believe, therefore, that this video is made for me. Thank you and God bless you.
Thank you for the kind and welcome comment Emalda. It is indeed for you, and many others like you, that I have made this video.
That was the most honest vocation story! He didn't ignor shortcomings in the recent Church history-the women fans of some priests anyway. I am not looking for vocation. I'm retired. I guess I'm looking for a stronger religious life. Thank you Br. Brian.
Thanks for your comment which put a broad smile on my face. I used to feel 'guilty' because I did not share the enthusiasm for priests of those women you mentioned, but now of course I see they were a kind of 'spiritual groupie' all along. I hope you do find a way to deepen your religious life. Take care and thanks again.
What a story. My conclusion upon listening to you is you had so many reasons, excuses and pitfalls let alone a very mired time in church scandal yet God find's a way to make a calling, healing and mission. Praise God.
We must be broken before we can be healed. We must be empty before we can be filled.
Dear Brother Brian
Thank you for your bravery and honesty in telling this inspiring story.
I am sure that you help many people, directly and and indirectly, with both your work at the abbey and through the videos that you produce here.
The RB talks a lot about humility and you show it in a well-rounded manner. The most humble souls are treasured in the eyes of God, despite the "faults" in ourselves that we see.
Your healing of the stutter reminds me of the Prayer of St Francis: "It is in giving that we receive." You give to many people generously so you were healed. Thanks be to God.
May you have many more years of joyful, peaceful service to the Lord and come closer to seeing an aspect of the Divine in yourself (we are made in God's image, are we not!).
May God bless you and be with you always.
Rev. Andrew
Dear Andrew. Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. They mean a lot to me. God bless you in your ministry.
Who would be interested? Well me for one Br Brian! God bless
Your comment put a very big smile on my face! Thank You
That took courage, Brian, and will prove helpful to many. We ask God only to use us.
Hi Ginny. Thanks for the kind and welcome comment. I don't feel doing this video took a significant amount more courage than usual. I believe that all our personal stories have a lot more in common than most of us realize. So in a sense, I feel I am telling the story of many people, not just my own. Thanks again Ginny and God bless you.
Merci beaucoup pour ce témoignage frère Brian 🙏
Beautiful story. You are bringing Jesus and monastic life to our post-Vatican II world. Thank you Brother Brian. Brother Bernard
People sometimes bemoan the fact that the churches in Ireland have emptied out and there are fewer vocations. But a church full of people who don't want to be there is worse. You know now that the people in the church on Sundays are there because they want to be. I think Ireland is back where it was at the beginning, when people needed to be converted to a new faith. That is not a problem, it is an opportunity. With Brothers like this, and his witness, the church will come back.
Thanks. I really enjoyed and appreciated your comment, especially the tone of positivity in it. Regarding my witness helping the Church... I sometimes, feeling the weight of my weakness, that I am more a part of the problem than the solution 🙂 But of course if I take that too far I am denying God's love and grace. The Church also needs people like you with your great positivity. Thanks again! 👍
Thank you Br.Brian. I had childhood asthma and was a stutterer also.
Thanks for sharing your story.
I sometimes find myself thanking God for the pure gift of being able to draw a clean, clear breath of fresh air. I don't take this for granted!!!! I guess nobody that ever had asthma does take it for granted. Thanks for your comment.
@@brianbr5388 So do I Br.Brian.I praise God every day esp.on my daily walks.
Later could you talk more about the "will" in regard to monastic obedience.
@@angelagobert4101 You must be telepatic because I have been thinking of that very video for some time now. It is a very complex topic but I think I will narrow it down to my personal experience only. So thanks for the suggestion. It is a very good one.
Gday Brother Brian from Australia. Thank you for your videos which I have just found after watching some documentaries on the monastic life.
Thank you for sharing your story! I always love to hear how God calls his children to himself. It is interesting to see how a story can touch or help others in their journey. God bless you and again thank you!
On behalf of all of us misfits, thank you Brother.
I used to do anything to avoid being considered a misfit but now I love the idea of being a misfit. Thank you for considering me one. The more I think about it, it seems to me that we are all misfits in one way or another. Some of us just don't realize it yet!!! 🙂🙃🐻❄👍
Thank you so much !
Great stuff
God bless you
🙏
meraviglioso
grazie!!!
I care. ❤️
Beautiful story.Have you ever been on retreat to mount melleray in waterford?,Beautiful childhood memories from there.
Thanks for comment Linda. Yes, I spent two weeks in Mt Melleray and loved it. One of the most beautiful spots on the planet. The view of the monastery on the side of the mountain from the local town of Cappoquin, is haunting to say the least.
I've always had a fascination with monasticism and considered it several times over the years, however pretty much every aspect of my life said otherwise and there's no way I could force the issue without causing harm to others. Whilst I respect the vocation and even have a certain amount of envy for those with a clear vocation, my own faith is pretty much non-existent these days and there are too many issues with the church and Christianity as a whole that I find irreconcilable. Having a wife and young child now it's no more than a pipe-dream, a world that I can occasionally dream about but never participate in.
If it is any consolation to you, when the cross gets very heavy, monks can fantasize also, about being married and having kids. I have long ago given up thinking that state in life is important. What is really important is being a disciple of Christ. I do believe that your attraction to being a monk (impossbile because of marriage and children) is actually a call to a deeper prayer life and commitment to Christ. Our minds always sneakily turning God's call into a particular fantasy or other. Another thing I am convinced about is that the evil spirit is working very hard to keep you, and others like you, from involvment in the Church. It knows that you will play a significant role, with God's grace, in helping rid the Church of its currrent disease of narcissism... the very thing the same evil spirit is trying to protect. I often wonder what would happen if latent Christians like yourself begin to wake up and follow the real call to prayer and discipleship. We would see a lot of evil spirits (in the Church and elsewhere) running for the hills! Take care and thanks for the comment.
@@brianbr5388 Latent is a good way to put it. Having been raised Catholic a certain amount of attachment to it is baked in, although when I sit and think about it carefully I don't really believe several key points, and when I look at the state of the church I see an organisation that I find hard to want to be part of, and often at odds with Christ as I understand him. On the other hand I've found that having a meditation practice or prayer life is necessary, so I practice zazen and pursue a sort of prayer based life outside the church.
@@pertinaciousD My apologies. I misread your earlier comment and made the assumption that you were hankering to return to the Church. I seem to make that assumption about everybody! 😀 Anyway, wishing you much peace and growth right where you are at. 👍
Br Brian, I am conflicted between diocese, trappist and franciscan life. I am 29 years of age it's quite tough. A big part of me wants to remain in Ireland. What are the trappists like in Ireland? Can I contact you privately.
You are welcome to contact me privately. I have started putting my email address in the description of my my most recent video
czcams.com/video/XEq0XAVgW_k/video.html
Subscribed yesterday love your contents, what are the hints of a sacerdotal vocation if you know about that ? In union of prayer !
Thanks for your new connection with the channel. It is a good question you ask. Off the top of my head, without thinking too much, I would say 1. A desire to get closer to God and serve Him with all you have, and forsake a lot to achieve that goal. 2. A deep desire (accompanied by some natural abilities in this regard) to serve others and assist them in their journey to God. 3. Possessing a 'holy allergy' or a 'holy disgust' for the social status and privilege that can come with being a priest, (i.e. desire for leadership/power) knowing that this is a disease that blocks union with God and service of our brothers and sisters. As I have never experienced this particular calling my answer is limited but also based on a lot of experience and observation over many years.
@@brianbr5388 thank you anyway for this answer it helped me i really need to do some retreat now
@@raphael7688 Wishing you every grace in your seeking👍
You’d be a better than average priest
Thank you for your most generous and welcome comment. But I think the People of God are suffering enough without my miserable self being inflicted upon them! 😃
@@brianbr5388 and THAT is exactly why😎