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The Road to Rome
by Brother Gerry Clyne, OFM
I was raised in a strong Protestant Family. Going to Church a few times a week was common. Eventually, I went of to a Bible College to possibly become a minister (like my twin brother). There I met people who greatly influenced me. One was a student who used to be a Catholic. The other person was a professor. Although he was not Catholic, he exposed me to a broader notion of church including concepts such as sacramentology, liturgy, the communion of the saints, Tradition, and Religious Life. He awoke in me a longing for a sense of historicity, of transcendence, of mystery and of esthetics, which I discovered in Roman Catholicism. |
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I became drawn to the Catholic Church and to Religious Life but I struggled with such things as Mariology and Papal primacy. There is a saying: "The road to Rome is via Canterbury". And it was for me; I began to attend the Anglican Church. It was a good interim step. It was "catholic" enough without having to deal with the specific "Roman" issues right away. Another burden was my family. They were very disturbed with my interest in Catholicism and Religious Life. It was very painful to pursue a course in life that caused the ones I most loved so much grief. ... It was also during these college years that I first encountered Religious Life. I was able to make several trips to St. Peter's Benedictine monastery in Munster, Saskatchewan. I also met Fr. Richard Rohr a Franciscan friar from Cincinnati, Ohio who gave my general interest in Religious Life the specific Franciscan direction. After four years of college I graduated with a Bachelor's of Theology. From there I moved to Waterloo, Ontario where I began attending mass at the university. Eventually I went through their RCIA program and finally, after five years I became a Catholic.
Almost immediately after, I began inquiring about the Franciscan order. In St. Francis all that I found in Catholicism came together with my passion for nature. Because I was a new convert I was required to wait for two years before joining. In August of 1988 that I entered the Novitiate and on October 4th, 1994 I made Solemn Vows. I love being a Franciscan; I feel I have come to be what I always really was. And now that I am the Vocation Director I feel I have come full circle, helping other young people.
Brother Gerry Clyne, OFM
Vocations Director Franciscans of Western Canada
6770 - 129th Ave. Edmonton, Alberta TSC 1V7
ph. (780) 476-2338
e-mail: friars@connect.ab.ca
Web site: www.connect.ab.ca/~friars/
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