(Take a look at "A Day in the Life of Fr. Vincent" by clicking here.)

"I am so grateful to God for the chance to finish out my time in this context of lively fellowship and of service to those who are seeking to grow in the spiritual life."  

A daunting assignment: write a profile of a life that covers ninety years but use only four to five hundred words. The task is not made easier by the subject's habits of introspection, nor by his frequent choice of detours on the journey.

Since the final destination of the journey ( or what the subject fervently hopes is the final destination) is a happy ending, I choose to begin with that, and then go on to the itinerary. I quote from my 1996 Christmas letter (mailed in February of 1997). "My life continues to be filled with blessings, the first of which is surely the community of Santa Maria de la Vid Priory. We are more and more becoming the true community we have envisioned in our mission statement. I am so grateful to God for the chance to finish out my time in this context of lively fellowship and of service to those who are seeking to grow in the spiritual life."

Now to the itinerary. My life began in Marinette, a small town in northern Wisconsin, on April 29, 1918. I was my mother's first child, but my father's third. His first wife had died. My mother bore five more, of whom three lived: my sisters Virginia, Maxine and Lois. My parents were people of strong faith, and our family life was ideal. My mother died in 1935 and my father in 1965. My father married a third time, happily.

From grade one through grade 12, I was educated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. All grades were in the same building. The progression was from the ground floor to the third floor. I chose St. Norbert College because it was closer, smaller and less expensive than Notre Dame (not very adventuresome). I registered as a "Pre-theologian" because my intention was

eventually to enter the seminary. By the end of the freshman year, I had changed my major from philosophy to chemistry, and had set aside the notion of priesthood. I graduated in chemistry and went on to graduate school in biochemistry .

After one year of graduate school, I returned to De Pere to join the Norbertine Order. Because I had a commission in the reserve corps, I was called to active duty just after Pearl Harbor. I was assigned to the Armored Force School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. When my request to be reassigned to a line unit was denied, I took advantage of an opportunity offered to seminarians to return to the seminary, and rejoined the Norbertines.

I was ordained in June, 1946, and assigned to be chaplain at St. Norbert College. After one year, I was sent back to graduate school to get a master's degree in biochemistry. When I returned to De Pere, I was appointed assistant principal of St. Norbert High School, then a boarding school on the college campus.

After five years in that service, I asked permission to try the Trappists. I went to Gethsemane, Kentucky, stayed about six months, and returned to De Pere. I was then assigned to teach at South Catholic High School in Philadelphia. In 1957, I was appointed Dean of the College at St. Norbert College, a position I held for ten years.

In 1966, I requested, and in 1967 received, laicization in order to marry. As a layman, I continued my work as a college dean at City Colleges of Chicago, at the University of Illinois in Champaign, and at Edmond Community College in Lynwood, Washington. We have two daughters. In 1980, my wife left us. As our daughters grew up, I was faced with the prospect of a solitary life. I began to think of a return to community life as a religious. I made inquiries of the Abbot of St. Norbert Abbey, and was encouraged to pursue my intention. The incompatibility of marriage and the vow of celibacy required a judgment of nullity from a diocesan tribunal. When it was granted in 1985, I reentered St. Norbert Abbey. I was simply professed in January of 1986. After refresher courses at Catholic Theological Union and at St. Norbert College, I asked to join the new community in Albuquerque, was granted my wish, and arrived in August, 1986. After solemn profession in 1989, I was restored to full priestly ministry. In 1997, I wrote the happy paragraph quoted above.

So much for the trip. If variety is really a spice, I am highly seasoned. Whether or not I am tasty, I leave to the palates of epicures more objective than I.

As circumstances and choices propelled my body on these erratic vectors, what was happening inside? Some of the segments have had strong and lasting influence on the person who carries my name. My exposure to science (biochemistry, biology, astronomy, cosmology) have given me a respect for the Creating God, for the mystery of person, for the phenomenon of life, and for the obligation to respect and promote life by choosing a healthy life style. I think my exposure to science has also made me curious to understand the things I encounter and to use the faculties God has given me to satisfy that curiosity. As a consumer and user of factual information, I acquired some skills in the ordering and presentation of such kinds of information.

While I was working at St. Norbert High School, a confrere (Father Ferdinand Dupont, of happy memory) invited me to join in the activities of a group of families in Green Bay who had established contacts with the Grail at Loveland, near Cincinnati. The Grail, a community of laywomen, was being educated and formed by the work of the European theologians who were eventually very influential in shaping the documents of Vatican II. I joined the Liturgical conference and went to their meetings. From these experiences, I gained a new understanding of and respect for the Scripture and for worship as "indispensable sources of the true Christian spirit." I also began to understand the place of the laity in the Church: the people of God, baptized to be "priests, kings and prophets" as members of the Body of Christ. I acquired an ineradicable impulse to evangelize the baptized about who they really are.

Toward the end of my stay in Seattle, I joined a parish which had encouraged the formation of small groups for mutual support, for prayer and for service. I got involved in the RCIA program, and from that association, I was invited to join a small group. My life was unraveling at that time, and my membership in that group was tremendously helpful. From that experience, I made contact with some national small group networks. I became, and continue to be, convinced that small Christian communities are the future of parish life in the Church. When I came to Holy Rosary, I worked hard to establish a program for such small communities.

Since coming to Albuquerque, I have also been invited to share in the work of the Archdiocesan Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. I am active in the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue, established by the Commission. I am grateful for the new understanding I have of our brothers and sisters of the first Covenant, which is still honored by the Creator God. We have much to learn from their concern for and service of others, and from the courage and wisdom that kept them faithful to their covenant in the face of terrible and shameful persecution from the Christian establishment.

 

(Take a look at "A Day in the Life of Fr. Vincent" by clicking here.)