VOCATIONS

Parents play positive role in development of vocations

By Frank Flegel

REGINA — Ian and Anita Hanna have three children, two of whom became so involved in their church that one, Eric, entered the Jesuit Seminary and the other, Sarah, took up missionary work in Winnipeg. Their oldest son Graham has a passion for science and philosophy and is working toward a masters degree in philosophy. He’s been doing some teaching on ethics to medical students at the University of Manitoba, which also takes him into spiritual and theological issues.

It is unusual in this “modern” age for children to grow up with a passionate interest in and curiosity about their faith, and that speaks well of their parents who encouraged and motivated them. Eric is now 25, Sarah 23 and Graham 29.

Illness in Ian’s family took them out of town and circumstances did not permit a telephone conversation. To meet the deadline for this vocations issue, the following interview took place via email.

Q: Ian, I understand you recently converted to Roman Catholicism. If that’s correct how does a non-Catholic parent inspire two children to engage in the priesthood and in mission work?
A: Anita is a lifelong Catholic, and a member of a family with a strong tradition of activism and parish involvement. They were strong models for their family and their grandchildren. Anita was always involved in parish life, taught Sunday school and got each of our three children involved in church activities from a very early age. (Even though Ian was not a Catholic and did not attend mass, he was always supportive of our attendance at church and he participated in the kids receiving their sacraments, says Anita.)
I became a Catholic in 2000. All three of our children were interested in the material I brought home from the lay ministry program, particularly the encyclicals dealing with social justice issues. It was interesting for all of us to explore the church’s rich tradition of speaking out on behalf of the rights of working people, and the development of the concept of the preferential option for the poor.
We both encouraged our children to read widely, be intellectually curious and in the spirit of ecumenism, explore the foundations and beliefs of other world religions, ask questions and be active members of their community.

Q: How long has your son been with the Jesuits?
A: Eric left for Montreal and the beginning of his journey in the seminary in August 2009. He spent several weeks over Easter in Pickering, Ont., working at La Storta, where Canadian Jesuits spend their retirement years. Now he’s back in Montreal with his brother seminarians.

Q: What prompted him to choose the Jesuits? It’s a long haul with them, while a diocesan priest is about seven years.
A: This was one of those situations that should encourage those in the Catholic educational system. Both Eric and Sarah had wonderful experiences at Campion College at the University of Regina. I wasn’t even aware it existed until my children were there. Both received top-notch instructions from accomplished Jesuit Fathers. Sarah was happy to serve as a peer minister. They both were able to attend daily mass and seasonal celebrations in the Jesuitical context. That kind of intense exposure to the Jesuits was a life-altering experience for them and our family.

Q: What prompted your daughter into missionary work and what sort of missionary work is she doing in Winnipeg?
A: Through a friend she met at Campion, Sarah was introduced to the Ukrainian Redemptorists, part of the Yorkton eparchy. They have a long-established tradition of going where the action is. For years, these Redemptorists have been running the Welcome Home, in Winnipeg’s inner city. The Welcome Home runs programs for local families and children, giving out food and sandwiches one day a week, it has programs for children several days a week and a program for families on Thursday evenings and Sundays. Young people like Sarah can sign up for a year of service, and renew for another year if they want. They live in community, right inside the mission house. They do great work and all donations go straight into programs, so they’re a very worthy place to send your dollars.
Sarah was looking for a temporary experience, in between the completion of her degree and starting grad school — an experience that was not a lifelong commitment. The Welcome Home turned out to be ideal. She has learned so much about living in community, working with the less fortunate and what life is like in “the hood.”
The Ukrainian Rite is also very musical. Virtually the entire liturgy is sung! Sarah found it appealing because it was identical to the Latin Rite in the theology, but also very different.

Q: Your children must have been engaged with the church. Considering that most young people these days don’t even go to church, let alone get involved as they have, what is it in their makeup that has taken them in this direction?
A: In our humble opinion, the trick is finding something a young person is interested in, then relating that to an apparent need in the church. Eric once led a meeting through a Jesuit-based discernment process. Sarah is a great singer, and was always active in music ministry or youth programs. They were both altar servers when we lived up north and had a wonderful role model who encouraged the children to serve the church.

Q: Was there much family discussion before they took their respective paths? If that discussion took place, what kind of guidance did you give them about their choices?
A: Sarah’s journey just seemed to be a natural incremental progression in her service to the church and the community. She asked how we felt about her leaving home and earning no money for two years to live and work with the poor. We both thought it would be a great experience for her and encouraged her to make the leap of faith.
Eric was entering a lifelong commitment. Since confirmation classes when he was 14, when he first thought he might be called to the priesthood, he was often talking about eventually becoming a priest. We were always open about that being one of his options in life and encouraging him without pushing him before he was ready. You don’t see many young people having or even expressing an interest in serving the church.
There were, of course, discussions about what he would be missing out on — getting married, being a father. However, he spoke with great passion about being part of a worldwide community, never having to worry about trying to get a job or what you’re going to be doing next. What he saw as a warm, all-embracing security I would see as a stifling level of control. I wouldn’t last a minute in community. He thrives and prospers. It was also one of the things that prompted Ian to go to RCIA to find out more about the Catholic Church and what a vocation to the priesthood would mean.
This is what parents should remember: everyone is different. Not all of us are cut out for religious life. We all have different gifts. These gifts can be expressed in a Christian context in the workplace, in a hospital, in a school or a bar. You don’t have to be a priest or a nun to live out a vocation. Find something you’re passionate about and use that passion in a manner that serves God. The children had lots of role models for living with passion — their parents and grandparents, the people they met as we lived in different places in Canada, their mentors at Campion College.

Q: Do either of them have goals of what they expect to accomplish in their vocations?
A: I suspect Sarah will re-emerge in “civilian” life, finish her education and find her way. However, she has been forever changed through her experience. We suspect she will always live at that level of commitment and service no matter what area of life she is in. They do a food distribution program at the Welcome Home. The number of hampers depends on the amount of food they receive from local businesses. Once you have turned a family away because there is no more food, your life is changed forever. Poverty is no longer an abstraction.
The Jesuits are committed to excellence in the academic arena. They have a reputation for pushing the envelope in scientific theory, art, literature and theology. I’m sure Eric will find a place where his skills, talents, passions and abilities will be well used.

Q: Was there anything special they did to hear the call? And upon hearing it did they try to resist? For example, most priests I have spoken with did not have the priesthood as their first vocation choice and several tried different careers before finally accepting what to them was an incessant (and to some annoying) voice before finally accepting the call. For others it was sort of a slow revelation and for others it was a single incident that opened their eyes to what they were called to do and for still others it was something they aspired to since childhood.
A: I don’t think there was an “ah-ha” moment for either of them. If there was, they haven’t expressed it to us. Both seemed to naturally and gradually fall into their chosen paths. I’m sure Sarah will try a number of different careers in the years ahead. As I mentioned previously, Eric felt the call at an early age and has explored other possibilities but they always paled in comparison, and the happy exposure to the Jesuits sealed the deal.