December 3, 2010
Personal Reflection
Vocation series 2: Celebrating the gift
Christopher Droste is shown with Dick and Zoe Cannon this summer during his internship at Sacred Heart Church in Vincennes. Click for a larger version.
By ZOE CANNON (Sacred Heart Church, Vincennes)
Life’s most valued blessings are based on a sense of partnership. A great friendship is an incredible blessing. A successful marriage is one of the most powerful gifts of human existence. A love-filled home is one of this world’s precious opportunities. Each an experience of great partnering, but the most wonderful partnership of all is when you partner with God.
Seminarian Christopher Droste is in his second year of theology at St. Meinrad. He is the son of Jack Droste and Rita Droste of Evansville. Christopher spent this past summer as a pastoral intern with Father Jason Gries, at my parish, Sacred Heart Church in Vincennes. My husband and I developed a close relationship with him as he joined us for prison ministry at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, taking Communion to the nursing homes, cheering on teams during the World Cup soccer games at our home, and through many great conversations about his journey in discerning the vocation of priesthood.
Encouragement and sharing love of Christ among friends is important. In a letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, for you have not been given a timid spirit, but a spirit of power, love and discipline. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord; the power that created the universe, that raised Jesus from the dead, that empowered His disciples to witness to crowds in languages they didn’t even know, is the same power that dwells in each believer.” In his personal journey for this series, Christopher shares that kind of spirit and power. He writes:
“I was born into a very God-centered environment. My family, friends and parish community of St. James in Haubstadt made the mystery of God present in a special way. Prayer was a profound experience for me at a young age. Yet throughout life’s trials, there have been moments when I’ve been tempted to doubt his presence; however, it never took long for someone to intervene and bring me back to my senses.
“My life journey has been an ongoing progression of growth and maturation. Surviving high school, I went on to college, because that seemed to be the next step. I had no goal in mind and the responsibilities of being a student were a challenge. I informed family and friends that I wanted to pursue another dream at all cost. The dream was songwriting, to make a living by composing music and words. I quit school and went to work at my father’s tool shop to save money for a move to Nashville, Tenn., where I enrolled into a technical school. A year and a half later, I was a newly-licensed heavy equipment mechanic. I moved back to Evansville and worked as a mechanic with a mining and construction equipment dealer. I continued playing music at a circuit of bars a few nights a week.
“During this period of time I suffered the passing of my grandmother, Rose Adler. I was always in awe of her, because she possessed such an exceptional presence, radiating joy, love and a deep faith. You would think a person of this stature would make you feel small, but her humility made you feel totally accepted, and embraced by her maternal affection. Her memory remains very present to me, and I believe she’s very involved in the shaping of my vocation.
“If I was going to take songwriting seriously, I needed to learn the craft from people who were living a life dedicated to the trade. After some soul searching I found myself in Austin, Texas, the self-acclaimed “songwriting capital of the world.” The encounter with people here demanded that I take a good hard look at myself. During this critical period I turned to the one thing I hadn’t actively participated in for years, prayer. The more answers I demanded from God, the bigger the questions became. I began to question everything about my life. What were my intentions and what was I trying to accomplish? This search for meaning wasn’t to be found in the circles of people in the music industry.
“On a sunny, Sunday in the fall of 2006, I gathered the courage to go to Mass. I remember entering the doors to St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Austin. I seated myself in the back and prepared to just listen and observe. The Gospel proclaimed the commandment ‘love one another’ and something happened; the power of the words pierced my heart. I remember asking myself, ‘Who did these words come from, Jesus?’ I remember going numb for quite some time. I remained in the cathedral for hours pondering what had just happened. I feared leaving because at that moment I knew life would never be the same.
“I began reading books from the local library about Christi-anity. I consulted a priest at the local parish. He encouraged me to continue my private study, to faithfully attend Mass and to receive the Sacraments. He off-ered to hear my first confession since high school. The experience of God’s mercy was be-yond words and I began to see things in a whole new light.
“I wanted to return home to Indiana and reconnect with my faith. I wanted to go back to college, so I applied to Marian College in Indianapolis and planned to major in music and Catholic Studies. I had no career goal in mind; I just wanted to see where the road might lead. When asked if I thought about the priesthood I reacted with a resounding, absolute ‘No!’ Then I was informed that a new college seminary had just started on the Marian campus. In a matter of weeks I contacted the Diocese of Evansville, applied as a seminarian, got accepted, and was now attending Marian College at the Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary.
“I have to admit that I never actively sought out the priesthood for myself. I was called home by the Father’s mercy through his Son, Jesus. As he’s shaped me through this faith journey, he’s shown me how close his son’s Sacred Heart is to mine. God calls his shepherds after his own heart and I believe this is exactly how he has attracted me to the priesthood. Every day I must surrender in my own heart. The call to love everyone is always a challenge in a world that seems indifferent to the Christian message of faith, hope and love. I’ve taken a seemingly unconventional route to arrive at this point in my journey. With all humility I am willing to pursue God’s will in my life with a calm intensity. The complete love story that God has composed for my life remains to be written.”
Christopher admits the big-gest challenge for him in pre-paring to become a Catholic priest is the thought of the overwhelming daily responsibility. “The role of guiding and inspiring a community, living in communion with others, serving pastoral needs, communicating a profound sense of personal and communal faith all require great attention. What I need most from people in the way of support, as I prepare for priesthood, is prayer and a sense of belonging to a community which express the joy of living a life of service for Christ and the Church.”
Pray for all our seminarians. Thomas Merton says prayer is “Finding the place in you . . . ” This partnership with God will bless them, as we celebrate the powerful gift of priesthood. I cannot think of a better way to thank them for their ministry than to ask God to send them partners — in mass — pun intended!