I was at Georgetown in the mid ‘50s. During those college years, I had the urge (today we would say it was a “call”) to dedi­cate myself to the service to others. Back then, if you wanted to do church ministry, you had to be a sister, brother or priest. The place of the laity in the church was not a topic of conversation at the local pubs on Wisconsin Avenue in DC!

My Danvers, Massachusetts, pastor told me that in Boston one could not expect to be a pastor for at least 25 years. I wasn’t that keen on being a diocesan priest anyway! I then investigated religious life because of my sincere interest in prayer, community, ministry and Mary.

The logical thing to do was to check out the DC phone book. Most Religious Orders had houses near Catholic University, so I visited several … in alphabetic order, no less! I started with the Augustinians on Harewood Road, the Benedictines at Saint Anselm’s, the Carmelites at Whitefriars Hall, the Discalced on Lincoln Road, the Franciscans up the hill from Michigan Avenue, the Paulists on 4th Street, and of course the Jesuits at Georgetown.
To make a long story short, I visited Whitefriars Hall on a day when the “frats” were lined-up in the foyer for Confession. I was ushered past those silent men with their heads bowed, and hands under their scapulars. Father Ernie Larkin relieved my apprehension about them, and then told me that the Carmelites do not have one ministry that is more important or more worthwhile than another. Depending on a man’s interests and gifts, a Carmelite can do just about anything if it is with a prayerful spirit. I liked that idea.

I have no regrets about joining the Carmelites, even though I had to spend two years at our seminary at Niagara Fall, Ontario, because Father Murray (the rector) would not accept my philosophy credits from Georgetown because the text­books there were not in Latin!

People say that you either love or hate the novitiate! I loved it! Whitefriars Hall was ok as well. I liked Father Christian Ceroke’s New Testament and Father Romaeus O’Brien’s Canon Law classes the most, and I found Father Eamon Carroll to be a man who graded us fairly. (I can’t say that about a few of the others!) Funny stories about my seminary experience (and other Carmelite’s stories) would take a whole issue of the Review, so they should be shared on another occasion.

Ministry as a Carmelite priest has been one terrific experience after another! DeSales High School and Salpointe High School were first assignments, filled with excitement and zeal. Being a chaplain at Dartmouth during Vietnam and the draft lottery was a challenge. Marriage Encounter and co-founding Kino Institute with Father Ernie Larkin under Bishop McCarthy gave me a great sense of satisfaction, and a new interest in dealing with adults and married couples.

I studied Spiritual Direction and Spirituality at Weston for a year, with the intention of returning to Phoenix and Marriage Encounter. I should have known that Father Paul Hoban, the Provincial at the time, would axe that idea. He asked me to go to the Hall as prior! The pastorate at Tucson’s Sacred Heart took me back to Arizona, followed by ten years as principal at Salpointe. Then it was Darien as provincial, a position to which I had never aspired. Being with Lukas during his final years was a very inspirational time for me. He taught me a lot about patience, resignation and a constantly cheerful outlook on life. God bless him!