William Gural made his perpetual profession on 18 January in Fairhaven (USA). In what follows we hear something about his experience of his final profession:
"I am very blessed and honored to have professed my final vows to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the hands of our Fr. Herman Gomes at St. Joseph's parish in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA. The rite and Mass were very encouraging and confirmed my vocation. The words of the liturgy: the flowering of God's grace, the search for evangelical perfection, the hope of increased apostolic action. Everything sounded true and touched my heart.
As Fr. Herman said in the Eucharist, I was not receiving a sacrament, but confirming the promises given at my baptism. I felt that the people present (the Body of Christ) were not only there to support and love me, but were somehow also strengthened in their baptismal call to follow Christ and glorify God in their lives.
I chose the Scripture readings on the call of Isaiah (Isa. 6) and the Matthew text that refers to the call and the need for evangelizers, because I believe that I have responded to the call of Christ to be a worker in his harvest. I hope that these passages will also speak to the many other people who are called to serve Christ and to work in his vineyard.
People have told me how beautiful and peaceful the Mass was. Several times comparisons were made with weddings. My seminar course from the book of Revelation covered the marriage of the Lamb to his people, which I felt I was experiencing. Christ also speaks of consecrated life as a foretaste of the eschatological banquet, which we also experience in the Eucharist.
The parishioners worked overtime preparing Damien Hall and making me feel very loved. Likewise, the choir sang so angelically, especially the Litany of the Saints. They even learned a new song "Light a Fire on Earth", a very popular missionary song in Fiji, where I was in seminary.
My prayer was that people would be blessed by the vows and the final vows Mass, and I believe that God heard my request (and surely blessed others).
The day before, I received a kind of preliminary blessing when I went to St. Joseph's School, where the children there blessed me with their prayers, songs, gifts and gifts. Their generosity and outpouring of love also made tangible the words of Christ about those who gave up their home, wife and family to receive a hundred times more blessings from God.”
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01/22/2020