by Fr. Timothy Armbruster, C.PP.S., Vocation Director
“What do you mean by ‘to read the signs of the times and to hear the cry of the Blood’ asked Thomas Keller, an inquirer at the Discernment Weekend held October 6th-8th at Precious Blood Center, Liberty. His question came after we had been discussing a bit of our history and Precious Blood spirituality, and were discussing the Profile of a Missionary that was developed some years ago during a gathering of C.PP.S. Formators at Giano, Italy. The profile lists the qualities of a Precious Blood missionary. It is shared in hope that it will help prospective candidates discern their call to our Congregation. The profile is divided under the headings of Mission, Community and Spirituality. It reminds us that as Missionaries we are called to evangelize through the apostolic and missionary ministry of the Word. We are called to live life in community, which supports our mission. And our community life is sustained and directed by a spirituality of the Precious Blood.
Listed under the heading of Mission, is “to read the signs of the times and to hear the cry of the blood.” In answering the question, we referenced Cain and Abel from Genesis and spoke about reaching out to those on the margins by defining who might be considered living there. We spoke of what it means to read the signs of the times through Precious Blood spirituality and what it means to be present to those we encounter.
Thomas Keller from Garden City, KS, who is attending Thomas Aquinas College in California, joined us for the weekend, along with Quinn Broverman from Springfield, IL, who joined us via webcam.
Both inquirers asked great questions. However, since neither of them has been exposed much to our community, we had to make sure the language we used was being understood. Thank you to Frs. Ron Will and Mike Goode who joined us for dinner and prayer on Friday evening. After prayer, our conversation continued into the evening around the bonfire as we shared C.PP.S. stories, family stories, and got to know one another. Thank you also to our Formation Team from Chicago who joined us, Frs. Lac Pham and Dennis Chrizt, along with candidate Matt Perez and Fr. Steve Dos Santos, vocation director.
Welcoming inquirers and speaking with others who have expressed an interest in religious life brings a sense of great joy to my ministry. It gives me a renewed sense of hope and belief in Gaspar’s vision of a thousand tongues.
Will you lend your voice in welcoming and inviting others to consider the call to religious life and sharing in the spirituality of the Precious Blood?