November 5, 2010
People of Faith
Retired stock broker hails everyday people, the power of prayer
BY STEVE HALBIG
The People of Faith feature is compiled by Steve Halbig, who asks a series of questions of people of the diocese — some who have reached the “age of wisdom” and some who are younger. All will share stories of faith.
Michael “Mike” Hagerdon, age 52, a native of Lima, Ohio, didn’t come to Southwestern Indiana until March 2005. Since his arrival though, the retired stock broker has been very involved in the church. He is a Mother Teresa Award recipient from St. Joseph Church in Jasper, where he is the high school religious education coordinator and in charge of the Confirmation program. Read more about him and his faith in his answers below.
Married to Kay, April 21, 1979 — Parents of three sons; none married.
Patrick born in 1984 — scheduled to graduate from the University of Toledo, College of Law, December 2010 with JD and MBA.
Robert born 1986 — currently attends Vincennes University with an intended major in Health Sciences/Nursing.
Andrew born 1990 — currently attends USI with a major in Computer Science.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What did you end up doing? As a young boy, I had the typical desires to be a cowboy, firefighter and police officer in random order. However, in eighth grade, a teacher started talking about the New York Stock Exchange and investments and I knew then I wanted to be a stock broker. After attending Ohio State University, I joined a regional firm out of the Chicago area. In 1988 I purchased their Ohio office and formed a privately held investment and benefit administration firm. I divested my interest in 1996-98. This allowed for greater involvement in raising our sons, including serving on school boards, coaching, working as an advocate for abused youth and mentoring. I have also been very involved in community programs with emphasis on habilitation and housing for the mental retardation/developmental disabilities population, senior and low-income housing and education. Served in the Toledo Diocese as a parish representative to the late Bishop Jim Hoffman, parish council president, youth leader, RCIA formation team and catechist for St. Charles Borromeo.
Who influenced you growing up? Among the greatest influences in my life have been my maternal grandfather; he gave me my first Bible and encouraged (bribed) me to memorize the Our Father and the 23rd Psalm. Then my parents for their dedication to their marriage in good times and bad, for believing in miracles and a strong sense of doing what is right. Also Kay, my wife, for a unwavering faith in God, the Catholic Church and our family. I have great admiration for Mother Teresa of Calcutta, in what one person could accomplish as a humble servant.
Who do you consider the best role models? I find the best role models to be everyday people that I meet and learn from daily. It can be the person that is facing personal challenge and rallies in faith, the person facing death that turns all of the worry over to the Holy Spirit or the young persons that quietly make the choice not to be popular at the expense of their beliefs.
Our priests, bishops and other Church leaders that face the day-to-day challenge of being held to a higher standard, a nearly impossible standard, and yet mostly meet the challenge. When we stop and hear the stories, the world is full of role models. Most of them are next to us at any given moment.
What is your first memory of church? I can recall being very young and the excitement of getting “dressed up” to go to church and I also recall that excitement fading. Sunday school was awesome. Since I was the youngest in my family, every popsicle stick creation, every cut and paste piece of art were attached to the great shrine we know as the refrigerator. Then came vacation bible school and that represented freedom because I was able to spend hours (two maybe three) on my own.
What do you like most about being Catholic? The Catholic Church represents beauty to me. I also like knowing there are things we do today that tie us back to the time of Jesus. The call to be mindful as we genuflect, the simple sign of the cross as we enter and leave the sanctuary represent a few things that make the difference between attending church and participating in Mass. I like these things because they help me humbly give thanks.
Of those things that are possible to change in the Catholic Church, what would you change? Oh how I would like to make our church more welcoming. That is not a statement on St. Joe Jasper but nearly every Catholic Church I have attended. We have been to magnificent churches, tiny churches, ones set in great beauty, some historic, important wonderful churches and I recall only one that we visited that went out of their way to make strangers feel welcome. It was one man, one church yet I still remember it over 20 years later. That helps show us that just one person can make a difference. I do not know why, but churches of other denominations (generalization) seem to be doing a better job of welcoming and including strangers. I can’t help think Jesus would expect more from us in the pews. However, I cannot cast the first stone; you know what he said about that.
Any regrets in life? Regrets would be all of the years I thought I was in control. The wasted energy, emotion and destructive results of trying to make MY will be done. My grandfather had me memorize the Lord’s Prayer when I was eight; perhaps I should have paid more attention to that line “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
What do you do in your spiritual life that you would recommend to others? The cornerstone of spiritual life is prayer. I teach a session on prayer during our Confirmation program and know that prayer is the common denominator in every person of faith. I use a quote from the late Dr. Martin Luther King; “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”
This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray.” Pope John Paul II and I feel prayer can be a 30 second pause to think of some one who needs support or hours of conversation, sometimes confused, sometimes pleading, sometimes simply giving thanks. We are called to be prayerful. In fact, there are few people that I dislike and fewer that I truly might say I “hate,” and I found the only way over that emotion was to pray for them, pray for my enemy. Call me amazed but when I did, that emotion changed to sympathy and acceptance.
In prayer, I have witnessed miracles. We all have. In prayer, I have experienced healing. We all could. In prayer, I have given thanks. We all should.
It is only after becoming a father and knowing the depth of love I have for each of my sons that I can begin to grasp the depth of God’s pain as Jesus was crucified. Becoming a father also helped me understand pure and absolute love, a love that forgives all, a love that we hear of in the Prodigal Son, a love that we can all strive for.
We are told “Pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. There are times I cannot imagine where else I could turn, what else I could do.
What is your best wisdom on life: I would have to be wise to impart much wisdom, so therein I am limited in comments. Know that everything you have is a gift from God. If you were born intelligent, give thanks; if you have wealth, if you have a place to sleep, if you have food give thanks to God. Most of all remember that every week we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Allow God to lead.
Contact Steve at shalbig@evdio.org