Two Vocations in One Life
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The
word "vocation" may be defined as, "a call from God to a
distinctive state of life, in which the person can reach
holiness." * In His infinite love and mercy, God has allowed me
to experience two vocations in my one life |
| Brother Ken Apuzzo, Sr |
|
After almost thirty years of marriage, my wife Barbara died
suddenly and unexpectedly. We had
enjoyed a good life together. We
made our vows in the Catholic Church, lived our first ten years in New York
City, and were blessed with five children: two daughters and three sons. Our
two daughters and two of my sons are now married with children of their own. In
fact, I have sixteen grandchildren. Let
me tell you some more about my first vocation.
My career in banking and automation was just
taking off. Our youngest was one-and-a-half years old when we purchased our first
home in suburban New Jersey. I was
in on the ground floor of the first wave of computers to hit Wall Street and
rode the rocket of success into senior management. From
world’s point of view I had it made. I felt I was doing the right thing for Barbara and the
children. I worked hard; spent long
hours at the office every week and worked many weekends. I
was young for the positions I held, which made my success seem that much more
glamorous.
We
were "a good Catholic family." The
children went through Catholic elementary schools, received the Sacraments as
prescribed by the Church, and we served our local parish in different ways. I
gave the highest priority to my role as father/husband, but my career and family
responsibilities often placed my personal religious practices on the back, back
burner of my life. Over the years I
stopped attending Mass regularly and slowly drifted away from the Sacraments. However,
all other family members had to “tow the mark” and stay with the Church or
suffer my wrath. Perhaps you readers
know someone like I was.
Notice
I say ‘was’. God reentered my
life through an experience with our youngest son who at age six was preparing
for his first Holy Communion. I had
been away from the Sacraments for about ten years. To
fully embrace the requested “family participation” in my young son’s
sacramental celebration, I had to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For
me, this was a meeting long overdue. I
was very uncomfortable, but God blessed my confession as a true “prodigal son”
moment. The Lord in His mercy
poured out on me his abundant love and drew me back to Him and the Church.
The
Lord began to work in my family through a series of conversion experiences. First
Barbara and I, then on by on my children gave our lives over to Jesus through
the movement of the Holy Spirit. The
evidence of this goodness was overwhelming to me and I decided to leave Wall
Street and “the glamour of it all” so as to be more present at home and to
live a deeper Christian life.
When
my wife died, I was not prepared for it. I
became somewhat confused as to what I should do with my life. I
didn’t want to go back to Wall Street and resume my old career. I
had no desire to remarry, so this narrowed the options somewhat. It seemed to me something else had to happen. During
the next two years I prayed and sought help from my Christian friends. A
desire began to grow in me that I should dedicate myself to serving the Lord in
his Church. The more I prayed the
stronger it became.
By this time my oldest son,
Ken Jr. had become a permanent member of the
Brotherhood of Hope, and my youngest son, Chris, was in the formation program.
My heart quickened at the thought of religious life. In my sons I found good sources of information and reflection and they
shared in my prayerful search. So I
decided to approach the Brotherhood and began spending some time with them. Thus began my second vocation.
I was 56 years old when I entered
the Brotherhood in 1993. Through my sons and through my own observations, I had come to
know something of the Brotherhood. I
was drawn by their joy-filled, Jesus centered, hard working life. They
treated one another with respect, kindness, and charity. But
I knew the life would be a challenge for me and I had many doubts. Can
I respond successfully to God’s call? Am
I really being called? Do I carry to
much “baggage” from married life? I’m
so much older than the Brothers. How
will I fit in?
Despite all my concerns, though, God seemed to be saying “Don’t
look back to the past glory days, but trust me to guide you and care for you.” During
the years of formation God has revealed to me the need for personal growth and
adjustment in areas that I had not seen before. God
is now my primary relationship. He
is first in my life. He is my
exclusive love.
He has even brought a special love and understanding to my blood
relatives allowing me to be at peace in my new family of Brothers. I’m
known to some family members as “Brother Pop”. To
my grandchildren I am still Grandpa, or Gramps, but sometimes I’ve heard that
they get a charge out of telling their friends and people they meet, about their
grandpa the ‘Brother’.
For
me, one of the great joys of Brotherhood life has been the realization that
evangelizing others to the Lord Jesus (something I have always loved doing) is
now my full-time job. There is great
need today to help people find their way back to Jesus and the Church. God
gave me an evangelist’s heart and now has placed me among others who desire to
share the love of Christ. Together
we respond to the Lord’s word in Scripture; "Rejoice in hope, be
patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Rom 12:12)
* definition from Father John Hardon's
Pocket Catholic Dictionary
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