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Br. John Marie Bingham, OP
After nine and ½ months in the womb, the doctor induced me to come out. I was
happy where I was and didn't much care to move, but I suppose God had better plans. After
birth I realized I had been blessed with very supportive, loving and faith-filled parents.
My dad was an Episcopal priest and my mom a source of strength and discipline at home.
Daily prayers were a part of our life, and every Sunday my mom would drag my brothers and
me to my dad's parish and sit us in the second pew, Epistle side (that's on the right),
whether we were late or on time. Even with this regimen, I don't distinctly remember
learning the basics of Christianity. I reckon I had an osmosis experience or
something because by the time I started attending Catholic schools in 7th grade, I knew
the Christian (and Catholic Christian) faith better than many of my Catholic classmates.
As
time went on, my parent's convictions concerning the truth of the Gospel began to lead
them closer to Rome. In their private conversations, they stopped using the phrase 'if we
join the Catholic Church', and started saying 'when we join the Catholic Church'. In the
spring of my junior year of high school it happened. My dad made the formal announcement
that he was leaving the Episcopal Church and priesthood to enter the Church of Rome. I
reckon my schooling had made me ready. In any case, my mom, younger brother and I
came with him.
After graduation (and a couple extra years of searching), I enrolled at Thomas Aquinas
College in Santa Paula, California. At the College, I frequented the sacraments, started
discerning my vocation, and met my first Dominican - Fr. Bart de la Torre. But when my
time was over in sunny California, I still couldn't figure out God's will regarding my
vocation. So after graduation, I journeyed back home to Georgia. After a year there, I
accepted a position as Assistant to the Vocation Director of the Diocese of Savannah, GA.
The vocation director's name was Fr. Brett Brannen. Now Fr. Brett watched me twiddle my
thumbs concerning my vocation for a couple of months, and then he had had enough. He
called me into his office and gave me a proverbial kick. (Not the first time I needed help
to get moving.) "God can't drive a parked car." I had to get up and go visit
religious orders and let God open the doors he wanted me to walk through. This I did.
After a few visits to various communities, I discovered that the Dominican charism of
seeking the truth, living the truth communally, and preaching the fruits of the
contemplation of that truth resounded in my soul. And so I entered the Order, made vows on
August 30, 2003 and I am now studying to be a priest as a son of St. Dominic. If you are
still out there seeking your vocation, I would pass on the kick I received. Don't give up
and park your car. Get in and go - God won't drive without you, but he will guide you
where he wants you.
[Updated: 9/12/03]
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