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 gummies packaging | krave cbd gummies | hlt meds cbd gummies | paradise gummies cbd | bits cbd gummies | eliquis and cbd gummies | greenvibe cbd gummies ed | power peak cbd gummies uk | cbd gummies geneva ny | medix cbd gummies reviews | about zencore male enhancement | enlarged skin on penis | marijuana male enhancement | lucky 13 male enhancement | purekana reviews gummies | vyrixin male enhancement pills | stamena 10rx male enhancement | penis enlargement air pump to | male butt enhancment | tlc tugger enlarge penis | penis enlargment sleaves | power force male enhancement | male enhancement industry size | penis enlargement dr miami | small penis enlargement scam | enhancing the male orgasm | extender male enhancement | best male enhancement productd | max fuel 72 male enhancement | medical weight loss prices | nutrizen acv keto gummies | most effective keto pills | where to buy good keto gummies | keto gummies what do they do | keto gummies nearby | amazon proton keto acv gummies | kelly clarkson and cbd gummies | does golo diet pills work | atkins diet pills | dollar general diet pills | keto fitastic keto gummies | are ace keto gummies legit | keto pills really work | keto and acv gummies oprah | ellis penis enlargement | anatomy 1 keto gummies | 500mg cbd gummy worms | the libido gummy | does keto plus acv really work | michael fox cbd gummies | best health gummies | how much keto gummies | verified cbd gummies | penis enlargement fda | adipex diet pill ingredients | harrison cbd gummies | extensions 2 male enhancement | pro burn keto gummies reviews | cbd gummies high reddit | 5s penis enlargement | keto triplex gummies | vitapur cbd gummies ss | one pill male enhancement | apex weight loss gummies | illuminati cbd gummies | penis enlargements pumps | gummy bears keto | blue jay cbd gummies | power gummies review | bioscience keto gummies legit | cbd chicago fruit gummies | new penis enlargement implant | compare keto acv gummies | tamra judge cbd gummies | penis enlargement pills in uae | the latest diet pill | hard cbd gummies | penis enlargment price | fat loss diet pills | cbd 20mg gummies | shark tank gummies for pain | retro fit keto gummies reviews | cbd oil vs cbd gummies | enhancement pills for males | reviews keto plus acv gummies | purekana cbd gummies | male enhancement png | do go keto gummies really work | gentlegrove cbd gummies | anaconda penis enlargement | bio lyfe keto gummies | jolly cbd gummies review | male enhancement gel products | qe keto gummies | cbd gummy pain |