Franciscan Monk
Serving at City Mission. 31 years old, healed of deafness as a child.
1) When did you first feel called to the monastic life and the greatest blessing and hardest challenge of walking out this life of devotion? I first felt called soon after receiving the healing (of deafness) in my childhood. It did not come into full fruition until later in my life, however since my childhood I had interacted with lay and full religious clergy and monastics. The greatest blessing, is knowing the truth and being able to discern the situations I am presented with. Thanks to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, I have been saved from much pain and suffering and granted insight and wisdom, especially in situations that would leave someone hurt, let alone traumatized. The hardest challenge of this walk is to accept the fact that I know very little, and consistently take up the posture of a student, always in the presence of the Master. Once one experience is completed, the time to move forward to a new challenge always opens.
2) When you were 5 years old a priest prayed and God restored your hearing, can you talk about how that impacted your devotion to Christ? This had a tremendous impact on my relation to both Christ and the world as I experienced it. I can recall to mind the experiences that Augustine had expressed in his confessions relating to escaping the pollutions of the world in his youth. For me, having been deaf, allowed me to have a childhood of profound silence and stillness, that actually became disrupted by the receipt of hearing. This however enhanced my relationship with Christ, because since then I have ever sought to re-attain that state of stillness and quiet relationship with him, thus allowing me to perceive those things in our day-to-day life that are opposed to accessing that spirit of peace.
3) Your serving in Buffalo at the City Mission right now, what is happening there and how long do you intend to be a part of the community here? During my time with the Buffalo City Mission, a multitude of events are occurring. First and foremost, we are not just building converts in their knowledge and relationship with Christ, but also winning souls over through the witness of those who are faithful servants.
4) What other ministry assignments are you working on?
Currently, we are coordinating the creation of ministerial operations that will provide services to the underserved, as well as other prosperity ministries. This may include a brand new wing of ministry that will be called “Shelter of the Most High” which will be the core of the ministerial formation. Additionally, having successfully completed this establishment, we will be further able to interconnect with other Christian networks locally, regionally & beyond. This will be especially helpful to connecting missions abroad and locally, thus being able to be better beneficiaries to the men and women served by such.
5) Can you talk about your prayer life? My prayer life is quite militant, yet all Christians can engage in such. Besides general prayer, there is a universal book called the Book of Christian Prayer that has a syllabus for almost every denomination out there. Furthermore, it is a psalter, and both lay and clerical can partake in such. This benefits both our immediate surroundings, as well the body of Christ at large.
We also partake in many online prayer circles and request operations, and in the future we could possibly produce a list of such activities and locations. Lastly, we hope to continue to build Buffalo in and through prayer.
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