Fr. John O'Brien, S.J.

Jesuit priest

John grew up in the small city of Mission near Vancouver, B.C., and his family moved to Brudenell, Ontario when he was 12 years old. For ten years the O'Briens lived in the former rectory across from Our Lady of the Angels Parish, where John and his brother Joseph were frequent altar servers. After studying communications at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio and the University of Ottawa, John spent a year in Barry's Bay, working as a dean in the founding year of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College [https://www.seatofwisdom.ca]. Later, he became the principal of Wayside Academy [olwayside.ca], a small Catholic school in Peterborough. In 2006, he attended the Casa Bathasar, a house of discernment for young men located in Rome, and finished a degree in philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

After entering the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 2008, he spent two years of novitiate in Montreal, and after professing vows, completed a Masters of Arts degree at the Toronto School of Theology. Later he finished a Master of Divinity and a License in Sacred Theology (STL) at Regis College, University of Toronto. John taught at St. Mark's College in Vancouver, and was involved in service trips to Canada's far north and leading Ignatian retreats with young adults. He was ordained to the diaconate at St. Hedwig's Catholic Church in Barry's Bay on April 2017, and to the priesthood in Toronto on May 20, 2017. Presently, he is the vocations director for the Jesuits [jesuitvocations.org] in Canada.

Vocation Story

God is very patient with us. At least, he has been very patient with me, the least likely person to be called to religious life and the priesthood. Although I grew up in a devout family – we prayed the rosary each night – I was not very pious myself. Although I was passionate about truth and justice, I was more inclined to be a journalist than a priest. Due to some pressure I'd experienced as a youth (not from my parents who were wonderfully supportive of all I chose to do), I had built a strong resistance to the idea of the priesthood. But God slowly led me to consider consecrating myself to his service. And finally, all I can say is "You have seduced me O Lord, and I let myself be seduced!" (Jer 20:7).

When I was younger, I received certain graces that planted seeds for this vocation, although I did not know it then. During my late teenage years, I attended what was called a "marian youth cenacle" at St. Hedwig's Church in Barry's Bay, founded by some friends and led by a Madonna House priest, where I learned much about the faith and the fellowship that it includes. To this day, I have retained friendships with many of those who attended.

The first moment in which I felt a stir to some form of consecrated life, however, took place when I was bringing a group of students to Martyrs Shrine in Midland. While we were watching a video about the Jesuit martyrs, I felt something surge within me. Since I'd attended Canadian Martyrs Parish in Combermere, I knew about these missionary men, but I was struck by the level of sacrifice they'd made to bring the Gospel to such harsh lands. I felt in my gut that only a love very great and surpassing could have motivated them to do so. If such a love was possible in this life, I knew I needed to have it. Later, I made a silent ten-day retreat, directed by a Companions of the Cross priest, during which I heard an inner voice say "follow me". Several years passed as I processed what this could mean. I was very involved in the Church as a lay-man, working closely with my bishop and directing a Catholic school. But I was also fiercely protective of my autonomy. So I knew deep down that following the Lord meant relinquishing control for a form of discipleship that was scary.

But I took some baby steps. I read about a program in Rome called the Casa Balthasar, a place where young men could live in community and read great texts from the Catholic tradition, and discern one's vocation. I knew I could trust the discernment methods of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which had been reliable for so many over the centuries. I took the plunge, quit my job in Peterborough, and left for Italy. For a while, I was torn between marriage and consecrated life, the two "ways of vows" that would give definition and form to a Christian life. While I was there, the moment came. During a retreat, while meditating on Christ calling Peter out of the boat, I knew that following the Lord meant as a Jesuit, even though I hardly knew the Jesuits, other than a few professors in Rome. But there was something about the radicality of St. Ignatius that drew me, and the idea of placing one's entire existence at the disposition of God in this way, sight unseen, was ironically attractive. If God didn't want me to lay down my life for a spouse and children, then He alone would know the best way to use me as a consecrated person. With the vast array of possible missions as a Jesuit, God would deploy me in the best possible manner. While thinking in this way, I could walk on water. When I raised objections, I began to sink. As long as I kept my eyes on Jesus, the way forward became clear.

The vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, also known as the "evangelical counsels", are the keystone to every religious vocation, for they keep us united closely to Christ, our leader, and to be "missionable" in the most practical way. What I discovered over time is that they are also the entry-point to a kind of freedom that surpasses the frail autonomy I thought I needed. They made me available to love and serve the world and relate to other people in ways that exceeded all my expectations. I recommend them to any one with the ears to hear. The presupposition, of course, is that God continues to call people to this life, in every age, in season and out. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I consecrated you." (Jer 1:4).

In case anyone is wondering what the Jesuit vocation is about in concrete terms, St. Ignatius has this to say about it in the Constitutions that he wrote, a passage known as "The Formula of the Institute" [https://predmore.blogspot.com/2009/09/sp-exx-formula-of-institute.html]. Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. also wrote an article about the Jesuit vocation here [https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2007/01/15/what-distinguishes-jesuits].

Most of all, I love that the Jesuit charism includes helping people find their vocation in the Church, whether it's diocesan priesthood, marriage or religious life. In this and other ways, we are here to support the Church. That's why I like giving the Ignatian retreat now, especially to young adults who are searching. And there is a special need for missionary disciples today, whether that's through the Little Way of St. Therese on a domestic front, or the evangelistic way of an Ignatius or Xavier. We all have a task and a mission. God will reveal it if we muster the courage to ask.

Being a priest is a humbling mystery, and in my present assignment I am often travelling the country. But I love coming back to the Diocese of Pembroke, which is like a spiritual home. It's the place where some of the key graces of my vocation were given, where parish priests exemplified the priestly life for me when I was still a boy, where the cenacle youth group formed in me a more adult faith, and where to this day, many diocesan priests who I consider friends are a tremendous inspiration by their fidelity to their promises and the ways in which they live their priestly life. TheCompanions of the Cross and Madonna House remain resting places along the journey. And finally, here is where the People of God, many friends and family, provide their support for my vocation by their wisdom, prayers and love.

Most of all, to God be the glory, the greater glory, for being patient with me, a poor sinner, over the years, and yet calling me to labour alongside him under his banner, regardless of my weakness. For his gentle forbearance, I am eternally grateful. To him be the glory also in the ongoing task of raising up a new generation of missionary disciples, a renaissance of religious vocations. What's that mission and work all about? "Come and See", Christ would say. It's an adventure that never ends.