This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. By using this site, you consent to the placement and use of these cookies. Read our Privacy Policy to learn more. ACCEPT

The priesthood is more than a profession; it is truly a vocation, as is medicine

Testimony: Dr. Christine Walsh

 

“My daughter Christine, the doctor, my son Martin, the priest, and my son Robert, the teacher.”  That was how our mother always introduced her children, in birth order and by profession.  She was proud of all of us, but I do believe proudest of my brother Martin–and with good reason.  Having a priest in the family is indeed very special.

 

After graduating from St. Alphonsus elementary school in Brooklyn, my brother entered the Salesian Junior Seminary in Goshen, New York, where our family was permitted to visit him one Sunday of each month.  To us city kids Goshen was a different country with horses, lakes, and one diner.  We were always dressed in our Sunday clothes, with my brother wearing the required black suit, white shirt and black tie, reflecting a much more formal time.  I remember looking forward to going to the seminary and hearing funny high school stories about my brother’s classmates and teachers, but I also remember sadness when we said goodbye at 5 o’clock, followed by all that traffic going home on Sunday evening.

 

After graduating, my brother decided to become a diocesan priest, a choice which brought him back home.  He attended the minor seminary in Douglaston and the major seminary in Huntington, generating more funny stories.

 

My husband, our three children, and I have attended Easter vigil and Christmas midnight Mass at whichever parish my brother has been assigned to since his ordination in 1976.  He gives great sermons, knowing his severest critics are right in the front pew.  Afterwards we go up to his room where we talk until 3 in the morning, and then go home to sleep while he has to get up early for Mass the next morning.  Martin has celebrated Mass with our family at home, at ski lodges, and out camping.  How wonderful and how convenient!

 

At family dinners, conversations about the latest movies are interspersed with lively theological discussions, especially when Martin has just returned from a retreat or a class.  He often makes reference to “your Jesuit education,” which applies to all the rest of us sitting at the table.  I frequently use my brother as a “fact-checker” when I read or hear a religious statement which I think is wrong or I just don’t understand.  With his remarkable fund of knowledge, he can often shed new light on a subject.

 

All this has brought us immeasurably closer as a family, the bond growing stronger throughout the years.  It is hard to express what a joy it was to have my brother officiate at our wedding and baptize our children, and what a comfort it was to have him celebrate the funeral Mass for each of our parents.  I’m sure our mother was very pleased to look down and see 12 priests and a bishop with Martin presiding.

 

I have been told that I have been the subject of many of my brother’s sermons.  (Doctors provide good material for TV shows and sermons.)  I, in turn, have used what I have heard my brother say, to console the mother of a dying child.   I have often seen parallels between being a doctor and being a priest.  The priesthood is more than a profession; it is truly a vocation, as is medicine.  Both require emotional involvement, personal sacrifice and enormous time commitment.  To be a good doctor, one must be willing to empathize with a patient and try to understand all the personal and social causes and consequences of an illness.  To be a good priest, one must recognize the often hidden causes of an individual’s frailties and unhappiness, and grasp the complexities of a myriad of personal problems.  It is an enormous privilege to be permitted to examine a person’s body or a person’s soul.  In each case, a human being places trust and confidence in another human being who is a relative stranger.  God works through each of us to heal the body or the soul, and sometimes both.

 

Christine A. Walsh, M.D. is the sister of Fr. Martin Kull
Fr. Kull is the parochial vicar of St. Anselm in Bay Ridge



cbd plus gold gummies | chewit cbd gummies | green valley cbd gummies | liberty cbd gummy | 8 year old cbd gummies | cbd gummies scam email | cbd pharm gummies | buku cbd gummies reviews | buy cbd gummies hemp bomb | 60 ct cbd gummies hp | mule cbd gummies review | buy trileaf cbd gummies | best rated cbd gummies us | free trial of male enhancement | flowzone male enhancement | testosterone male enhancement | size matters male enhancement | xantrex male enhancement | is flo gummies worth it | zen leaf cbd gummies for ed | best way to enlarge the penis | enlargement cream for penis | spray on male enhancement | max load male enhancement | take male enhancer witu food | gummies for erections | can you enlargen your penis | firmx male enhancement | male enhancement 2024 seller | male enhancement equipment | dr tobias male enhancement | dr oz keto gummie | tightrtone keto acv gummies | bcbstx weight loss medication | banned diet pill ingredient | keto snax gummies | research on keto gummies | keto fiber pills | proven weight loss pills | kelly clarkson gummies amazon | ss keto gummies | keto gummies kaley cuoco | who sells acv keto gummies | cost of acv keto gummies | true form keto acv reviews | keto gummies avis | byolife keto gummies reviews | kelly clarkson selling gummies | no2 booster male enhancement | biocut keto acv shark tank | cbd gummies online canada | rhino male enhancement shot | do pure slim keto gummies work | cbd gummies dosagw | best cbd gummy for ed | diet pills from the 70s | cbd 30mg gummies | gummy vitamins one a day | do oprahs keto gummies work | cbd gummies age limit | do shark tank gummies work | vibez keto gummies reviews | is cbd oil gummies | vigorasm male enhancement | keto apple gummies reviews | lobster cbd gummies | shrink x gummies reviews | no caffeine weight loss pill | cbd to thc ratio gummies | 4 hunnid male enhancement | keto flo gummy reviews | 3mg cbd gummies | score male enhancement review | wegovy weight loss medication | cbd gummies glendale az | ptx male enhancement formula | keto gummies aid | cbd rankings gummy | irwin male enhancement | axion weight loss pill | lofi cbd gummies website | male penis enlarge | acxion diet pills | cbd gummy bears melatonin | hyperion male enhancement | best keto gummies 2024 | cbd gummies in iowa | get girth male enhancement | gummy turmeric weight loss | dr jeremiah cbd gummies | vigorax male enhancement | keto pills how they work | cbd gummy packing | the best sex male enhancement | activ keto acv gummies | best cbd thc free gummies | flo gummies review | tru form keto gummies reviews | 30 count size cbd gummies |