November 7-13 was National Vocation Awareness Week. Throughout that week at daily Mass, we prayed our Paulist Vocation Prayer. You can pick up a prayer card in the lobby. It has a icon image of our founder, Servant of God, Isaac Hecker.

In honor of National Vocation Awareness Week, I asked each of the Paulists to answer, "Why Paulist?" in discerning their vocation.

Fr. Steve Bossi, CSP
Final Promises on Jan 26, 1985 at age 42

Why Paulist? I am an American through and through - served in both the US Army and the American Peace Corps and worked for years in our nation's capital. So it was important to me to live my call to priesthood in a community that is at home in American culture, where my Catholic faith could live in dialogue with the culture of my homeland. I knew I could not live alone like most diocesan priests; I wanted to live in community. But so many religious communities have European roots. That was not comfortable for me. Plus I wanted to live in smaller communities with local houses of four or five members, not big houses where one can feel isolated and alone. Berkeley is the 7th Paulist house in which I have lived and I have been happy in every one. As I come to the end of my years in active ministry, I can say I made a choice that was right for me.


Fr. Kenneth Boyack, CSP
Final Promises on December 17, 1978 at age 32

Saying YES to Christ’s call to follow him as a Paulist missionary priest is a fruitful, fulfilling, and joyful way to live my life. Ordained in 1979, I continue to be inspired by St. Paul the Apostle, our Paulist patron. He wrote “It is he [Jesus Christ] whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power working within me” (Colossians 1:28-29). The mission of presenting everyone perfect in Christ is both challenging and rewarding. Helping others find new life in Christ is immensely meaningful to me. I also have discovered that serving as a Paulist priest enables me to experience God’s abiding love here and now and provides me with a proven pathway to reach my ultimate goal: eternal life with God in heaven. You can view my vocation story here: https://paulist.org/who-we-are/bio/fr-kenneth-boyack/.


Fr. Ivan Tou, CSP
Final Promises on May 11, 2001 at age 40

Like the prophet Jeremiah, I too can say, "You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed." (20:7) I was all set to be a Computer Scientist, being good at math all my life, whereas failing 2nd grade CCD and finding English classes and writing difficult. I however could not escape the Paulists. They were my campus ministers while at MIT and UCLA. I admired the Paulists I came to know - smart, down to earth, friendly. These holy men were not what I imagined a priest to be. My hometown priest, I thought lived somewhere between earth and Heaven, appearing to celebrate Mass, greeting folks briefly after Mass, and then disappearing until the next Sunday. I admired how the Paulists empowered folks to own their faith and share it. So many of my friends at UCLA made major career changes, becoming a theology professor, a campus minister, a liturgist-music director, a director of the Catholic Conference at Texas then California, a Marist priest, a doctor to Native Americans, etc. Many of my other friends became very active in their parish. Witnessing the power of God working in people's lives, I wanted to be where the action is at. I wanted a "piece of the action" of God and the Paulist Fathers were my doorway to working actively with God.


Fr. Steven Bell, CSP
Final Promises on September 7, 2007 at age 39

I chose to be a Paulist Father for three main reasons. First, the Paulist are very good about meeting people where they are and evangelizing in a way that is more invitational than prescriptive. Secondly, the Paulists are down to earth and very relatable and that’s not just in the ministry but also in our fellowship and community and in our houses. Thirdly, and perhaps my favorite, is that the Paulists are intentional about the work of reconciliation so that we might know how to make right what has been wronged and bridge what has been broken.