www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Irish Rock Star becoming Seminarian

NO, it's not BONO!

I start at Christ the Saviour (ACROD) in September and I'm admittedly kind of freaking out. It doesn't help me that my band mates have told the world before I've even had a chance to tell my parish. Not that it's a secret or anything, but I'm just not sure what's what yet, except that I guess I've been accepted -- letters of acceptance or rejection have not come, but I was told to get a cassock, so I assume all is well.

I'm not sure I'm ready for the public pressure of representing the Church, you know? But now I'm going to have to talk about my decision with anyone who asks... I was really hoping for some anonymity for at least the summer. I didn't even know the guys did an interview!

Of course, those guys (i.e. my band mates) don't really listen to me, so I wish they would have explained it better... or told people I was Orthodox -- man, now if I kiss my girlfriend in public it will cause scandal, because everyone automatically assumes I'm Catholic because of the Irish band... what a disaster. I think Halloran is trying to make some kind of joke at the end there, but it falls flat. I wonder if I'll get in trouble for this?

Pray for me! Please!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08199/897453-42.stm

Local Scene: Celtic-rockin' Ceann
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Celtic band Ceann.

� Ceann -- that rowdy drinking crew that calls itself "the busiest Irish band in North America" -- is back in Pittsburgh and at Mullaney's Harp and Fiddle on Friday to mark the release of its third CD, "Making Friends."

Ceann, which started here three years ago and is now split between New York and Pittsburgh, has sold more than 10,000 records, toured nationally and had plenty of airplay on WDVE with the song "Pittsburgh Makes Me Drunk."

"Making Friends" is the band's first CD recorded entirely in Pittsburgh, over five weeks at Mr. Small's. Songs range from traditional tunes like "Star of the County Down" and "Captain Kidd" to feisty originals like "Friends With Benefits" and the goof-rocking "Moron With the Bodhran."

"A lot of the goal of this album was to record some Irish stuff since it makes up a good portion of what we do for a living," says Patrick Halloran. "Our other two albums don't really reflect that. We thought we might be taking a chance with the kitchen-sink mentality of recording, but we thought 'Johnny Jump Up' and 'Old Dun Cow,' both of which are older Irish and Scottish songs, turned out to be two of the better tracks on the album, and we were really just trying to get them recorded so we could showcase that side of our show."

About that "busiest band" claim, Halloran says, "This is our third straight year of 220-plus shows. We've tried to find any nationally touring Irish band who plays more shows, and we've never been able to find anyone who even topped 150. It's helped that we've been able to get some bigger shows. Headlining a festival at RFK Stadium definitely helps mix it up a bit, and we're becoming one of the most popular college bands in the country."

On a bittersweet note, the Harp and Fiddle show will be the last for founding member Marc Wisnosky, who is jumping from Ceann to the seminary to become a priest.

"It's something he had brought up about a year ago," Halloran says. "He actually went to seminary directly out of high school and then left and came to Pitt, where we met and started the first incarnation of the band. I think he felt he got as much out of the band as he needed to and it was time to move on to the next phase in his life. We're pretty clearly lifers in this music thing, and that's obviously not for everyone. Getting to drink for free on the job has probably ruined us from ever having any kind of regular job ever again. I guess seminary seemed like a viable way out of that for him."

The show is at 9 p.m. Go to www.myspace.com/ceannmusic. [myspace.com]

Can't see any problem other than a minor degree of notoriety

It will be a short lived sort of reaction I'm sure and your classmates will have a good laugh once you are all together , I'm equally sure .

Enjoy the limelight while you can Relax - and enjoy your last summer of freedom .

Thanks, I think I'm just freaking out in general. It's a big life change. I'm single, 32, and working and I've lived on my own for almost 15 years, and I'm used to a steady income. The complete change is freaking me out, then I've got some cold feet, too. Then to open the paper and read about it... well, it just surprised me and scared me.

Sad to say, but your average American can't handle this kind of stuff. It's easier to say you're gay than you're religious, I'm starting to think -- at least homosexuals get portrayed fairly in the media these days, priests certainly don't, if they get depicted at all. So when people ask me why I'm doing this (it's always: how can you give up women/sex? I never could!), they never like the answer "I feel called by God". I think that answer is seen as a cop out. Then I have to explain that I'm not actually planning on giving up women/sex; well, I'm single, so I don't have women/sex to give up, as such, but you know what I mean.

I just mean everyone wants that simple answer, but that simple answer, besides "called by God" doesn't exist. How do you explain running from a vocation for 15 years and finally giving up on running and deciding to submit to it? Or how do you explain night after night of dreams about seminary and priesthood? Things like this, regular folks don't care about. The care about how I could be so crazy to "give up" X or Y.

Then there's the explanation that I'm not going TO BE A PRIEST! I'm going to be a SEMINARIAN! There's a distinct possibility (likely, I think according to the statistics) that I'll fail.

That's also a fear. I did minor/college seminary for a year after high school and when I realized it wasn't for me then and there, I disappointed a lot of people, my family not least of all. I don't want to do that again.

whoa, sorry to rant there... I really need to share my fears with someone and I need comfort. I feel pretty alone in all of this, I have to admit. I'm sorry to sound selfish.

Of course you are freaking out - it's a tremendous change in your life style.

Really the question is -

Are you sure that God has called you to enter Seminary and see if you are really intended for the Priesthood ?

You are not going to know that for some time yet.

Could you actually live with yourself if you did not go to Christ the Saviour ?

I well remember Fr Gerald talking to me before he went to Rome - he had always said that he was going to be a Priest - but the few months before he did go , really were an eyeopener.

He had always thought he would be trained in Scotland and go home every weekend - but he was sent to Rome - a new language had to be learned [ all his lectures would be in Italian ] , away from his family and friends . A different kind of lifestyle - living with other folk - some of whom he would not probably have chosen as college room mates .

Don't worry - many have been through this experience - just go and enjoy it .

As to what others think - does it matter ??

You have folk here who will be keeping you in their prayers - folk you have never met , folk you will never meet , some are Orthodox , others are Catholic - BUT they are all praying for you.

Hmm. I find it inspiring that you sense the call for something more in your life. I would say that the important questions are the ones in your own heart. You do not need to prove to anyone else why you are doing the right or wrong thing. I know it is easier said than done, but some in the world will never appreciate you or understand you no matter what you do. If you are called simply follow and rely on the graces given for you to succeed. God will not call you and then fail to help you achieve what He wants for you.
Were I explaining how I could leave a certain fun lifestyle for the seminary I would simply speak of the great respect and desire I have to serve God in this way. That the priesthood is such a humbling and important calling. To lay one's life down for his Church and parish family. To oversee people's most deep and important needs. I would mention that it is not about what you are going to have to give up so much as that there is so much more to be gained. For you and for the world. That Jesus did not ask questions about how He should become more affluent or comfortable but asks us to give our all for Him to be richly rewarded spiritually in one way here and now and continuing in eternity. But above all pray and keep seeking. I certainly will not tell you what to do or not, but just wanted to throw some support out there.
I listened to some clips of your tunes on itunes. Seems to be good quality. I am a little troubled by how much they are more about drinking and what not. Not that I am opposed to all drinking, but I get the feeling with these songs that it is not the most moderate thing. Of course, I am not Irish and do not want to criticize anyone else's lifestyle or say drinking is bad. I am just concerned when it becomes a lifestyle and is mixed with sexuality and a party lifestyle as opposed to on occasional and respectfully and with thanksgiving.
I may be prematurely speaking as I do not know your life and have not read all the words or been to a concert, but I get the impression that it would be a place where a lot of drinking would be going one regularly on the road. Being a musician myself and one who likes to play in bars or whatever venue I can, I can't help but have some concern when musicians and women and drink are mixed. Seems like a dangerous lifestyle for some. But something others could handle perhaps with caution or once in a while.
Again, these are more my impressions or concerns. They may not at all be accurate or true to your situation or what the Church would say.
All the best to you.
Brian

Hi,

It is only natural that you are freaking out, you are being called to freak the world out!

No worries: If the call is not for you here and now either, you'll know soon enough.

If this is actually your time, you're in for a ride, but God is riding with you.

You say something that is sadly, very true: "your average American can't handle this kind of stuff". It is not an exclusively American problem, but you're right, in this culture we have created, it is very hard to live according to the Gospel, especially so if you are called to ordained ministry.

That's where we come into play. We are not here to make the journey easier, rather, we are here to take it with you, so you know you are not alone and we know we are not alone.

Let us all pray for each other.

Shalom,
Memo

My prayers.

I have known other seminarians who left only to return to the seminary and then become priests when they were older and wiser.

The things they learned stuck with them and hounded them until they returned.

Thank you all for you kind words and support.

I think my freak out has somewhat abated. Anyway, I feel more peaceful.

Brian, you're right about the situation sometimes being like the "near occasion" of sin. A lot of the music is in fun, but my calling comes at a time when the band's ideas and my ideas are somewhat diverging, and I no longer feel comfortable with some of the songs. It's a good time for me to move on.

Congrats! We need more good priests! One of my good friends from high school is entering the seminary as well, and has similar concerns so it seems like what you're experiencing is normal! No more freaking out! And my God bless you!

I meant "may God bless you" because He's not just my God. Darn these typos! lol.

domilsean:

Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!



Ever hear of a guy named Jonah? He ran from the Lord and was pursued.

The deep calling within a man's soul that is his own unique call is something that will never make sense to anyone, even the members of your family. It will only really, in the final analysis, make sense to you and the Lord Jesus. Who is the man in the Old Testament who wrestled with God and was left with a bruise in his hip? (Can't remember his name, but the story is for all of us.) We all wrestle with the unique call God has given us as His way of calling us to the perfecting path He has fashioned for us out of His Great Love. And he wounds us in such a way that, though we may try to avoid His call, it is always there in the middle of our thoughts and our lives.



You got this one right on, man. And the simple answer to the person who has no faith gift wouldn't make any sense anyway. It's like speaking a language that they don't understand--something like Jesus teaching in parables and telling His disciples that He did it so it would pass over their heads because the secrets and the mysteries of the Kingdom are revealed to those who are open to them--and open to God. It's something that is like the groaning that the world does waiting for the Lord to come back--it's so deep in there where you live that it's almost hard to talk about. Yeah, no wonder you're "freaking." Chill.



You weren't ready but it was a prophetic event. God was ready for you and let you know early on that He was ready for you and He was willing to wait you out.



No rant there. Just a letting out of the inner wrestling we all do. I just had a revelation about my own pilgrimage that I am still reeling over. All I can tell you from my own "ride" is that committing to Christ is no pony ride. It's the roller coaster like no other--it's the ups and the downs and the wild curves where you hang on with your fingernails and wonder just what is going on. As Chesterton said about orthodoxy being exciting, the commitment to Jesus Christ is the greatest adventure that a man (or woman) can engage in. And it "ain't" (not bad grmmar, just for emphasis) for the timid.

Take a deep breath and plunge right in. The rewards here and in the hereafter are beyond your wildest imagination.



Not selfish at all. We all have those profound moments when we "alone with the Alone" as the Desert Fathers put it. It's that time when it seems like we are completely cut off from others--that no one understands who we are or what it is that is tearing up the fabric of our comfort zone, our safety blanket. It's a little like losing your whole family in a tragedy and finding yourself as an orphan in the world. It's the time when you come face to face with the One Who created you and He tells you deep in there where you live and where you can't wear a mask "I have something for you to do for Me and for My People." His call is something that He has for you that you alone can do in the places He will place you to do it.

In Christ,

BOB

PS: Oh, BTW, I'll be right over the mountain if you ever feel the need to get away for a bit.

Thanks again everyone.

Bob, that guy who wrestled with God was none other than Jacob himself. And then God told him his name was to be Israel after that match.

So I'm in good company!

Prayers,
CS

Sometimes on the spur of the moment the details get lost but the thought is there. That's why it's such a good thing to have good brethren to count on--I don't have to remember everything except to keep my own relationship in good order.

BOB