Jesuit Brother Ken Holman said he found his vocation at a protest.
Brother Ken Holman
His faith came alive, he said, when he attended a School of the Americas protest at Fort Benning, near Columbus, Georgia, to commemorate the lives of “six Jesuit martyrs” and their coworkers “assassinated by American-trained soldiers in El Salvador.”
And Dominican Brother Joe Trout, a friar from Oak Park, Illinois, said he was influenced by spending time with his parents’ missionary friends starting around age 5. But years later, with Dominicans running the campus ministry at Purdue, where he attended school, he said he was gradually attracted to that life.
“Discovering what religious life was really about was that missing piece for me,” said Brother Joe. “There was never anything about the sacramental ministry that was such a big draw, but the life centered on God as a totality of your life — that’s what really drew me in.”
Brother Joe and Brother Ken recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss religious brothers, at the approach of Religious Brothers Day May 1.
Brother Joe Trout
Brother Ken is a doctoral student in U.S. history at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and assistant and organizer with the interreligious Network for Worker Solidarity. Brother Joe, who served for one year at Holy Rosary in Minneapolis, is chair of the Theology Department at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. He also serves on his province’s council and is a member of the Dominican International Theological Commission studying the role of the brother in the Church.
Brother Joe said the term “father” denotes a particular form of ministerial role, a way of imitating Christ as the head and taking on that mission for the Church. The role of brother is “living as the Church,” he said. “The life of brother is to be a part of a group that is making the whole of our lives about God … living in faith, hope and love …”
Only about 5% of Jesuits in the U.S. are brothers, versus priests, Brother Ken said, but in other countries it ranges up to 35%.
For young men trying to figure out a call to the life of religious brothers, Brother Joe advises steadfast prayer. “Whatever you’re trying to figure out, spend more time in prayer because it is ultimately a calling,” he said. “And if you’re not spending time falling in love with God and listening to God, you will not figure it out.”
Brother Joe also advises expanding the horizon in choosing a vocation. “You really do have to ponder the great many ways that someone can follow God and not get too boxed in right away,” he said. “You have to have something driving it and look at real options. But I think many people’s horizons are often way too narrow, and that gets in the way of discernment quite often.”
Brother Ken agreed with going deeper in prayer and finding “a good spiritual director who can really walk with you, help you kind of unpack what you’ve been praying about and discerning the other pieces.” Especially with the Jesuits, he advised, “just take the plunge, take the opportunity that our life is very much about ongoing discernment. We are constantly listening to the call of God. … Don’t be afraid to try it out because there’s … nothing to lose.”
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. April 22 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. April 23 and 2 p.m. April 24.
For more information on religious orders and religious life, visit 10000vocations.org.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Brother Larry Schatz, a member of the De La Salle Brothers, and Brother Logan Murray, a member of the Brotherhood of Hope, who discuss consecrated life, including what it’s like to serve as a brother among fathers; and Allison Spies, archives manager at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Maria Wiering, editor-in-chief of The Catholic Spirit, who describe the Federal Indian Boarding School initiative led by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
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