A Love of Service

It might have been helping out at the Tootsie Roll Drive or delivering baskets to the homebound. Whatever the reason, it was Brother Fred Cabras’ love of service, cultivated from the time he was a young boy tagging along with his parents, that eventually drew him to consider joining the Capuchins.
 
There are close to 40,000 priests in the United States who belong to religious orders — each with its own unique set of charisms and characteristics [see section below].
 
In Michigan, the most well-known Capuchin is, of course, Blessed Solanus Casey, known best for his work with the poor in and around Detroit.
 
Each religious has his own unique vocations story and Brother Fred is no different. The road that led him to the Capuchins had a few twists and turns along the way.
 
The Paw Paw native cites his home parish, St. Mary’s, and small town community as being the biggest influences in his life.
 
“I remember the first time I knew I was somewhere special was when my grandmother died,” he said. “Every day for about 2½ weeks, someone would bring us a meal. That made an impression on me.”
 
It was that support that was also evident a few years ago when Brother Fred’s older sister died. The Church was “packed,” he said.
 
“It’s just a lovely, supportive, strong faith-filled community.”
 
Even with the influence of a strong Catholic community, Brother Fred envisioned his life as a psychologist. But as we know, “man plans, God laughs.”
 
“I never deviated from my goal until God intervened,” Brother Fred said.
 
“Probably the first time [being a priest] crossed my mind, I was around 12,” said Brother Fred. “One time I was watching the priest from my vantage point behind the altar and I remember thinking, ‘That looks really cool.’”
 
And like many middle-schoolers, Brother Fred put those thoughts “on the back burner.” He attended Hackett
Catholic Prep and then moved to Chicago. It was then that, as he puts it, he “became more intentional in my faith.”
 
While attending the University of Illinois at Chicago, he met Capuchin Friar Tom Nguyen, who was doing campus ministry. At a friend’s urging, Brother Fred attended a “Come and See” weekend hosted by the Archdiocese of Chicago.
 
Brother Fred admits that his original intention in attending the weekend was to hang out with his friends.
 
“It wasn’t until the closing Mass and right before Communion that I felt this overwhelming push and at the elevation I just started crying and continued until after Communion. I just had this overwhelming feeling of love and felt like someone gave me a huge hug.”
 
It was then that Brother Fred thought he should give his vocation discernment a chance. He started meeting with a spiritual director and through the archdiocese joined a vocation group and became actively involved at the campus’ Newman Center.
 
Fred found himself on what he calls a “similar but different path,” as he pursued degrees in psychology and social work to fulfill his dream of being a licensed counselor. Today, he works in the Emergency Room at Northwestern Hospital in downtown Chicago.
 
It was his three-day visit to the Capuchin house in Detroit and witnessing all the different ministries that sealed the deal for him.
 
I fell in love immediately,” he said. “They do wonderful work — it reminded me of the stuff I did as a kid.”
 
It wasn’t long after that experience that Brother Fred began his candidacy program, which was followed by nine months of postulancy and then a year as a novitatiate. He then came back to St. Clare Friary in Chicago to pursue his master’s degree in divinity at Catholic Theological Union, which he finished this past May, while simultaneously completing his master’s degree in social work at Loyola University.
 
After being a full-time student for the past six years, this May Brother Fred was ordained a deacon and, God willing, will be ordained a priest for the Capuchins on Dec. 7, 2019, at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Milwaukee.
 
He now serves as a deacon at Nativity of our Lord Parish in the Bridgeport, Ill., area, which involves serving at Mass, celebrating funerals, etc.
 
As he gets used to his days as a non-student, Brother Fred is looking forward to integrating his academics and studies in a greater way to help the Church. One of his personal goals is to bring awareness to the need to minister to those with mental disabilities.
 
“I just want to get out and help people as much as I can,” he said.
 
When asked what advice he has for other men discerning a vocation, his answer is simple: “Follow your heart.
 
“Every step along the way I’d ask myself did I have peace in my heart and I knew that it wasn’t always going to be easy and it wasn’t always going to be happy but I had peace that I was doing what God was calling me to do.”
 
 

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Here are the three key differences between diocesan priests and religious order priests:

WHERE THEY LIVE
Diocesan priests serve in the particular geographical region of a diocese or archdiocese. Usually, the bishop assigns them to a parish, where they live independently and interact with the parishioners and broader community. Diocesan priests sometimes live with other priests who serve at their parish, but each can own his own property. The bishop can move a diocesan priest to another parish within the diocese.
 
Priests who are in a religious order are not assigned to a particular diocese. Instead, the superior of the order tells a religious priest where he will live to carry out his ministry. It could be in a different city, or even a different country. Religious priests live in community with one another. Communities vary in terms of rules and lifestyles. The religious priests in community own possessions communally.
 
WHAT THEIR MISSION IS
Every priest arguably has a different mission, depending on the particular circumstances of his life. But there are some generalizable differences between the missions of diocesan and religious priests. A diocesan priest is generally called to serve the needs of his parish. He celebrates Mass and administers sacraments to the parishioners, including baptism and reconciliation. At the same time, he runs the parish by making administrative and financial decisions. Additionally, a diocesan priest serves the particular pastoral needs of his parish, such as visiting the sick and spiritually accompanying parishioners.
 
In contrast, religious priests can work in a wide variety of ministries, though they also administer the sacraments and celebrate Mass. Their work depends on the charism of their religious order, which refers to the spirituality and particular focus for which the order was founded. Ministries can include teaching, working with the poor, assisting the elderly, leading a contemplative life of prayer and much more. Rather than running parishes, a religious priest receives orders from his superior to do a particular job within the community’s charism.
 
THE PROMISES THEY MAKE
All priests make an important and unique commitment to the Church when they decide to enter seminary and when they are ordained. But there are some differences in the types of promises priests make, and when they make them. Diocesan priests make three promises to the bishop at their ordination:

• To recite daily the Liturgy of the Hours
• To obey the bishop
• To live a life of celibacy

 
Religious priests make temporary solemn vows before their ordination as part of their formation. After a certain number of years, depending on the order, they make final solemn vows. These vows, which are shared by religious brothers, sisters and priests, are the three evangelical counsels:

• Poverty
• Chastity
• Obedience

 
Diocesan priests and religious priests are wonderful gifts that Christ has given us in his Church. In their separate but complementary ways, they help the Church to flourish. Let us pray in a special way today for vocations to the diocesan and religious priesthood, and for all vocations to consecrated life.