Our Lady of Propetual Help: Pray for us
By Bernard Messier
It is my sixth year in formation with the
Companions of the Cross. I cannot get
over how time goes by so fast! In the
beginning, ordination seemed so far away
and now it is just around the corner. If all
goes according to plan, I would make my
lifetime commitment just before my ordination
to the diaconate in September
2007. Not too long after, I would be
ordained to the priesthood in late spring
of 2008.
Throughout my seminary years, I would
often hear the big question, “What made
you want to become a priest?” Well, first
of all, no one made me; I freely chose to
do it. Secondly, my answer to the call to
the priesthood was not an immediate one.
I avoided joining the seminary for many
years. In fact, it had to take a miracle for
my eyes to be opened to God’s will in my
life.
The earliest time I could remember hearing
God’s call was at an early age. As a
child, I was very rambunctious. I would
always get in trouble for teasing my siblings.
There was this one time when I was
reprimanded for teasing my sister. My
dad was very disappointed in me. When
seeing the disappointed look on my dad’s
face and how I offended my sister, I was
very saddened. In noticing the state I was
in, my mother wanted to console me by
telling the story of Saint Maximilian
Kolbe. She said, “Saint Maximilian was
also in your predicament as a child.”
There was this one incident when the
Saint’s mother was so angry with him that
she sent Maximilian off to church saying, “You go to church and our Mother Mary
will deal with you!” So Kolbe did. When
he was in the church, the Blessed Virgin
Mary actually appeared to him. She was
holding two crowns, a red and a white
one. At this time of the story, my mother
paused and asked me the question, “If Our
Lady appeared to you holding two crowns
and asked you to choose, which one
would you pick?” “Both of them,” I
answered. “Saint Maximilian also chose
both crowns,” replied my mother. Then
my mother continued the story of Kolbe.
The white crown symbolized the crown of
purity, meaning the priesthood. The red
crown was that of martyrdom. As the
story goes, Saint Maximilian Kolbe
became an amazing priest and eventually
embraced martyrdom in Auschwitz.
When I heard this story for the first time,
I was so inspired. It was then that I wanted
to become a priest. I wanted to give it
all for Jesus, including my life. I was
filled with joy in this decision and I was at
peace with it. In spite of this great experience,
when I reached puberty, it was a
different story. I had discovered girls. My
high school sweetheart was first on my
priority list. Priesthood was no longer on
the radar. I convinced myself that priesthood
was just a childhood dream. After
all, I was now becoming a man and all
men get married. Well, so I thought.
By this time, things moved from bad to
worse. I was now involved in the partying
scene. I believed at the time that this was
a good occasion for “fellowship” with my
peers. Life was great! I had popularity and
the Epicurean lifestyle seemed to be very
promising. Well, so I thought. After some
time, God began to intervene because this
lifestyle was not the way he intended. In
the beginning of the New Year, my mother
decided to pray a Novena of Our Lady
of Perpetual Help for the protection of our
family. A novena is when one recites certain
prayers over a period of nine days
asking for a particular petition. It is often
asked through the intercession of a saint.
In this case, my mother petitioned God
through the intercession of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. On the ninth day, my mother
forgot to pray the last prayer. The day
after, my mother was awakened around
12:30 in the morning and was prompted
to pray the last prayer of the novena.
Now, we all know that God is not legalistic
on these matters, but this incident happened
for a reason. It was around that
time when I snuck out of my window
heading to a party. As I was pushing my
truck out of the driveway, I noticed that
the road was a different colour. I thought
it was just the residue from salting the
roads. However, to my great surprise, I
learned quickly that it was heavy frost.
While driving, I lost control and collided
into a tree at a speed of 120 km/h! My
friend and I were miraculously protected.
The vehicle was crushed and yet, we
crawled out without a broken bone.
This incident was a wake-up call. My
eyes were opened to the reality of who I
was. I am a child of God and the life I was
living was not what he intended. God had
other plans for me and I needed to trust in
his divine will. It was at this moment that
the long journey toward answering the
call to the priesthood began. I attribute all
of this to the powerful intercession of Our
Blessed Virgin Mary. Furthermore, I hope
this story encourages all you parents out
there. Keep praying for your children!
You can never go wrong in invoking Our
Blessed Mother.
Our Lady of Perpetual
Help: Pray for us!
