Fr. Charles Irvin, Diocese of Lansing at 402-A E. Madison Street, DeWitt, MI 48820 US - My Life as a Priest

Fr. Ray Rademacher of Holy Trinity Parish in Fowler (1935-2002)
Ordained in 1962 before the Second Vatican Council, Fr. Rademacher served as a parish priest and pastor for 40 years. He served as pastor of St. Casimir Parish in Lansing and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Ann Arbor. He was an associate at the parishes of St. Joseph in Owosso, St. Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing, St. Augustine in Kalamazoo, and others. During the last six years of his life, he served as pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Fowler. Even during the last painful months of his life, Fr. Ray continued to serve his people - like agreeing to do this article and visiting the sick even when his health was sometimes worse than those he was visiting.

The call of God was the first thing to come to mind looking back on my life. So many people are God's mouthpieces through the Church. A lot of priests and lay people helped to foster the vocation in me to become a priest. After considering different professions that involved helping people, such as social worker and teacher, I realized I could do all those things by serving God and people as a priest. It was never something that was expected in the family but they encouraged and supported my decision. The best thing my parents did was that they loved each other and us, gave us all we needed but not all we wanted. Serving good people who are interested in living the faith has kept me doing what I do as a priest. The best part of being Catholic and a priest (I can't separate the two) is celebrating the sacraments with people at key moments in their lives. There are some I have baptized, given first confession and holy Communion, married them and given them last rites. Pleasure is leading other people to Christ. The negative part of being Catholic is a misunderstanding many people have about the Church. Some people are told what we believe as Catholics by others who are not even connected with the Church. There are many social injustices within the Church. It has made strides towards true justice with some of the bigger issues, such as gaining more equality for African-Americans and migrant workers. I felt the presence of God most one Sunday morning celebrating Mass at St. Casimir in Lansing. In the middle of the homily, I felt a special awareness and attentiveness. The whole liturgy seemed to have an extraordinary reverence on everyone's part. That moment had to be acknowledged because I realized that we had prayed together as one prayer when God visited that house. When I haven't felt His presence, I have wondered, 'Where are you God?' I simply looked around and found the answer. I may have been angry with God once. It was a toss up between being angry with the bishop or God. A question I ask myself every day is 'Whose will is going to win out today, Lord? I know it should be Yours but ... ' Sometimes when you lose something or someone important to you, you aren't able to deal with it at that time. My father died when I was 11, but I didn't have a sense of it until an uncle, who was a mentor to me, died when I was 21. Only then was I able to grieve my father's death. When dealing with adversity, you can be surprised by things when you need to move quickly in a mental framework before you act. An issue may be the adversary. I always ask: How will God best be served? If someone mistreats me, I may momentarily and internally blow up, but I try to say, 'Why waste good energy on it?' My biggest joy as a priest was having the unexpected privilege to be part of a parish building a new church at St. Jude in DeWitt. It was also a disappointment not to share more time in the new facility but I was blessed to have a complete cycle of the liturgical seasons there. The most interesting thing about people is that even though we're all individuals, people are alike in many ways. I've always believed in the goodness of people. I've never thought much about what people might say after meeting me. I hope it would be that I could make a difference in their lives. I have received true love from so many of the friendships I've shared with priests and parishioners. I've kept in contact with many of them despite the separation. When it comes to seeing true wisdom, some of the priest mentors, especially pastors in my parish assignments, each have shown human insight into different things. What I would most want to imitate about Jesus is His compassion and understanding of people. About imitating children, I would want to have their openness and eagerness to learn new things. The one thing I want people to know about Jesus is the gift of His life He offered for us as forgiveness of our sins. St. Joseph is my favorite saint. He worked quietly providing for Jesus and Mary yet never sought the spotlight. I've often said, 'there's a question I'd like to ask God' but I can't think of any now. On the presumption that I get to heaven, I hope God would say 'welcome home.' I am happiest when I hear the first reconciliation of adults becoming Catholic. My favorite meal is prime rib, twice-baked potatoes, peas with pearl onions, Greek salad with feta cheese, roll and butter, and some sinful dessert.

Fr. Bernie Reilly of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson
Fr. Reilly was ordained April 28, 1973, at St.Mary Cathedral. He has been involved with the Emmaus support group for priests for about 20 years. Fr. Reilly served as an associate at three parishes including St. Luke in Flint, St. Casimir in Lansing, and St. John the Evangelist in Fenton. He has served as pastor of St. Leo the Great and St. Luke in Flint, St. Jude in DeWitt and, currently, St. Mary Star of the Sea.

God's calling manifested itself in me over a period of time. A number of people influenced me at the impressionable time of life (in answering the call). The parish priest was my role model for the priesthood. A Franciscan sister, who was a teacher in Catholic school for seventh and eighth grade, actively encouraged my vocation to the priesthood. It's ironic that I remained in contact with both over the years and was with them at their deaths. I was leaning toward it but then went to public high school and got distracted. Gradually, the seeds that were sown began to grow and the pieces of the puzzle started to come together for me. I was baptized and grew up Lutheran until becoming Catholic at age 10 with my mother. Looking back on my life and things that come to mind, I recall the kids in our neighborhood in Hammond, Ind., where I grew up. I still remember a boy named Duane who died of leukemia at age 11 and we just couldn't understand it. The best thing my parents did for me was to give me the opportunity to accept responsibility for my actions and decisions. In other words, instill accountability. One of my biggest joys was my father becoming Catholic shortly before my ordination. I take joy in many things. Another joy was starting a new parish, the Nativity of Our Savior in Portage, building a new church, school, and rectory. I haven't had any big disappointments in life. My fidelity to the calling of the Lord has kept me doing what I do. My heart is in it and God's grace makes it all possible. I've always believed that I can rely on God's grace. I feel God's presence always, but there have been extraordinary times when I've felt it more, such as at my ordination, giving first Communion to children, celebrating Mass in the Holy Land, and saying Mass on Holy Thursday for all priests. I've felt God's presence the least in times when I've been indifferent or neglectful of prayer. I don't think being angry with God is using the right words. We may become frustrated when certain things happen but we shouldn't be angry with God. I enjoy celebrating the sacraments in the ministry of faith most about being a priest. There's a big difference being a priest responsible for one parish and its people and being the bishop responsible for many parishes and a quarter of a million people. Seeing the power of God at work in everyone gives me great hope. I've learned that the vast majority of people are good, open and have goodwill toward others. I've seen true love all my life in so many people. Love has no limits. It's a profound reality when a person loves so much they can give, forgive and overlook so much. I've seen true justice a lot in life. A just man or woman is faithful to what they chose in life whether it's the priesthood, marriage, teaching or any other vocation. Wisdom is common sense and the virtue of prudence that helps us to see the whole picture and make the right decision. With the divine wisdom of Jesus, it all connects. Only God truly sees the whole picture. When God seems far away, who moved? We move away from God. Often times, I think God is the busiest when we have to learn our comeuppance. The death of my parents and loss of that generation of my family was difficult for me. In situations where you lose someone important to you, you should turn to the Lord, accept the new reality of life, and adjust your life to that reality. When dealing with an adversary, I try to let people talk, say their piece, and usually suggest that they sleep on it before dealing with the problem. I admire so many saints, but St. Joseph is probably my favorite. He did God's will without question, serving as the foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary. I would most want to imitate Christ's total gift of love to us and His total surrender to death that allows us to become members of His family. Another thing everyone should know about Jesus is that His love is unlimited and therein lies our happiness. Two questions I would like to ask God - one scientific and another scriptural. Scientifically: Why the immensity of the universe? Scripturally: What happened to all 120 people in the room at the time of Pentecost? When I see God in heaven, I hope He would say what Christ said to the good thief who asked Him to 'remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus replied, 'On this day, you will be with me in paradise.' Breakfast is my favorite meal. I am happiest when I'm preaching. I enjoy doing that. I don't know a lot of things, but I trust God to know what I need to do His will.

Bishop Carl F. Mengeling
Bishop Mengeling was ordained May 25, 1957, at Holy Angels Church in the first ordination class of the newly formed Diocese of Gary in northwest Indiana. He served as associate pastor of St. Mark Parish, Gary and then studied at the Alphonsianum University in Rome, earning a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. He returned to teach at Bishop Noll High School in Hammond, St. Joseph Calumet College in East Chicago, IN, and St. Procopius Seminary, Lisle, IL. He served as pastor of All Saints Parish in Hammond, Holy Name Parish in Cedar Lake, Nativity of Our Savior Parish, Portage, IN and St. Thomas More Parish in Munster, IN until his ordination as bishop of Lansing on January 25, 1996.