Congregation of Alexian Brothers - A CALL TO SERVICE AND HEALING

[Music] every religious vocation begins with a call God reaching out speaking to you and that call is often shrouded in mystery as God often speaks to a man in surprising impersonal ways it was July of 2012 when four men who don't know each other asked me have you ever thought about religious life it was the fourth inquiry within the span of a week why is it I will do whatever you ask but please tell me I'm listening to the radio and on the radio comes an announcement from the Alexian Brothers who I had never heard of before and the Alexian Brothers were looking for men between the ages of 20 and 55 who were interested in a healing charism helping people heal throughout their lives and I thought to myself suddenly is this it god no God they didn't want the struggle of marrying or giving myself over to the church to continue anymore in this life and so I told God alright this is it this is my last time I'm going to Google and if nothing comes up god it's over I googled and this website came up for all their locations and I opened up the page and the posse Alexian Brothers being alphabetically but letter a came up her so I clicked unknown said well who are these guys so I began reading about them God calls men from every walk of life to consider religious life in community there's no one cookie cutter candidate God calls men who are teachers and truckers plumbers and accountants salesmen and mechanics got a commercial driver's license own and drove for a little while over the road coast-to-coast I've been in nursing for the past 36 years as a hospital nurse and then from there I moved out into the community and I began a career as a community health nurse our inner struggles are meant to be conquered by I got a job with Halliburton working in Iraq for three years went all the way from the Syrian borders to the Iranian borders through Turkey on top I studied for a while and became a hospice nurse I'm a land surveyor technician by trade I work outside and dealing with different land serving equipment I worked in Arizona I owned train derailments and then there's a big old oil strike on there's lots of money and Williston North Dakota so off to Williston North Dakota I wasn't I worked there for about two years I also have a history of selling real estate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts this call from living as an individual to one living in community can challenge us we have to make changes in our life a life in which we may be very settled and comfortable after many years of renting an apartment I was able to save enough money for a house when I got a new car I have a good job with great benefits when it dawned on me where I was thinking oh my goodness all these things that I have what good are they I had a house I had successful relationships with family and friends I had become a strong member of the local community that I lived in even though that I had reached the height that I had reached there seemed to be something else that was gnawing away at me and that was a deeper relationship a deeper personal relationship with Christ that I just wasn't able to accomplish in the living that I was doing what prevented marriage from taking place was that soft draw the invitation of one day having a home within Christ within the church and somewhat of a mystery to explain it's just this beautiful draw this beautiful feeling of peacefulness that comes through and so there I am he went from Lutheranism to Coptic orthodoxy and then I went to the Catholic Church and I had to take our CIA classes in order to be able to join and there started my journey towards the Alexian Brothers we Alexian Brothers reverence our long history of healing ministry formerly we served very directly as nurses and medical practitioners but now we offer healing in a broadened sense walking with people enduring pain loneliness and suffering men that are coming into the Alexian Brothers need to discern if they're willing to get their hands dirty work with the pork as an 800 year old order that has always been our terrorism to work with those marginalized in society they have a deep interest in reaching out to those who are marginalized excluded the sick poor the hungry the homeless I began to understand that you can be just a common ordinary man such as myself nothing particularly special and to do extraordinary things to defend and be the voice of the voiceless to work and provide hopefully a place of dignity for those who no longer find themselves of any value to actively minister the love of Christ through self to others when the time is right then you'll have a roommate we have a program that's called TLP transitional living program and that program is dealing with people that have mental issues it allows our participants to stay up to two years in a structured environment now out of that hundred you still have to buy you Twyla trips they learn coping skills they learn cooking skills they learn how to manage a budget people come to talk to me about their faith we prayed together for their needs their loved ones their sons or daughters the Alexian Brothers are in a phase of exploration into how they can continue their healing ministry in today's world to rediscover the margins of society where pain and suffering are always the greatest hey Bill I got something for you I'm really proud of you this is this is from the brothers one of our values is partnership and that allows us to to look at the needs of today and not reinventing the wheel but seeing an existing ministry that may need the brothers health and support when no one else wanted to care for AIDS patients the Alexian brother stepped up to the plate they started a program in Chicago called the Bonaventure house she tries to see the face of Jesus and everyone she means we aren't ordained priests we are a lay ministry which again allows us to see the needs of today without worrying about a parish job as we move forward into the future we want to be able to have brothers that have a heart to work with the poor the Alexian Brothers are always on the cutting edge they're always looking for what is the next marginalized group of people they will be working in areas where it may not be as safe as they may be accustomed to but knowing that they're going with God and God is with them and that the brothers in the past have done that and that is our purpose that is our charism I don't worry about tomorrow I always trying to do a little bit better today Christ will be with us no matter how difficult it becomes it's often important for me to undo myself and allow myself to be redone and to understand that there is a fraternity here and it's no longer I but it becomes a wig I vow and promise to Almighty God to live in the congregation of Alexian Brothers if you feel the Lord is calling you gently gradually or even very clearly we invite you to consider life with us as an Alexian brother we're men with an 800 year old tradition service prayer and community we're not frozen in time but dynamically active and seeking out God's will for us as a congregation today will never abandon our tradition and core values but we're open to the movement of the spirit and shaping our lives today and into the future if you're here for a very comfortable secure life you're in the wrong place because it is not going to be comfortable and it's not going to be secure but there's something new in the wind I think we have to be attentive to whatever this something new is it's a very very exciting time this is really about a deepening relationship and an opportunity to serve an opportunity to say yes yes to daily communal prayer and sharing in the Eucharist yes to serving and walking with those on the margins yes to over 800 years of men living the Alexian tradition in service in Brotherhood and fidelity yes to life as an Alexian brother [Music] you

Channel: Congregation of Alexian Brothers

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Keywords: consecrated life, religious order, older vocations, men vocations, religious brothers, religious life, vocations, vocation, discernment, religiousbrothersday

Id: y9XdU7UHnjI

Length: 10min 32sec (632 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 25 2017