It is strange to want to summate something as the first steps towards the rest of your life. I stood at the door of the retreat house for St. Paul of the Cross Monastery in Pittsburgh not entirely sure of what awaited me, but with what I considered a reasonable understanding of where I came from.

Less than a month ago, like many young people of my age, I adorned a cap and gown as I walked across a stage to receive my college diploma. What I chose to do after though, is what distanced me from my peers, and brought me to the door of the Passionist Monastery.

I chose to break the traditional path that my other fellow graduates would endeavor because of the calling I felt. This was by no means an easy decision, but the affirmation I received in my three and a half weeks of training in Pittsburgh for my experience with Passionist Volunteers International was the blessing I needed to be able commit whole heartedly.

I, along with ten other volunteers, all of us recent college graduates, began to root ourselves in the eminent experience of overseas missionary service. To do so, we took great pains to reflect as both an individual and as collectives, particularly in the group with whom we would live with in intentional community in either our site in Jamaica or Honduras. It was made clear to us that with the stresses of international service is it important to know oneself. This task, though appearing straightforward enough, was perhaps the mot difficult part, but the lynchpin of my orientation experience. It is in my path of self discovery that I could truly understand how this volunteer experience corresponded with God’s plan for me. I began to see how this experience offered opportunities of growth and understanding that truly affirmed my presence there.

Contributing to this understanding and my place in the program was grasping the Passionist charism. Studying the history of St Paul of the Cross, the expansion of the Passionist Community into North America, and the work they continue to do around the world gave us future volunteers valued perspective. We became part of something bigger than a volunteer, and throughout the training period, my own interaction with the Passionist priests and brothers demonstrated to me how familial our embrace with the Congregation of the Passion would be. Furthermore, our study of Passionist charism also gave us the fundamental mission ideology we share, “ to accompany the crucified and suffering of today”. The way in which we each grasped this accompaniment is very personal but serves as the modus operandi in our individual service abroad.

It is a unique opportunity to be able to love and serve with the support of a collective and the autonomy of the individual. That is what I needed when I passed those doors into the retreat house. To enter a new part of my life, be able to look back, but have confidence in where I am going.

By: Brendan O’Leary
Serving in Mandeville, Jamaica July 23, 2010-July 2011

Brendan and his fellow PVIs are generously giving a year of their lives in service to others. Please consider a donation to support their work! Please make checks payable to PASSIONIST MISSIONARIES.

Passionist Missionaries Inc.
526 Monastery Place
Union City NJ 07087-3398
Tel: 888/806-6606
E-mail: DLisotta@cpprov.org

Donate on-line by clicking the button below.
The Donate Now button will redirect you to Caring Habits, Inc. (CHI) which is the credit card processing company for The Passionist Missionaries website. You can use the drop down menu to direct your donation to Passionist Volunteers International.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Passionist Volunteers International Celebrates Anniversary! (thepassionists.org)
• Fr. Edward Beck on the Power of Charity (thepassionists.org)
• St. Benedict’s Clinic Responds to Dengue Outbreak (thepassionists.org)
• The Teacher Within (thepassionists.org)