To a self-centred society, the priesthood is anathema. Three prominent Australian priests – Fr Anthony Percy, Fr Thai Vu and Fr John O’Reilly – beg to differ.
Fr Thai Vu
Eighteen years ago, a Vietnamese teen, Thai Vu, was sitting alone in a Cambodian prison, aged 13. Today he has a love affair with God – he is a priest: alone, but not lonely. Anthony Barich reports.
Since the Allies failed to drive the Communists out of Vietnam in the controversial war of the 1960s, Australia’s south-east Asian neighbour has not been a friendly place for Catholics to live.
Only last week in Vietnam, hundreds of Catholics, including priests, were severely beaten by police while restoring a church, then arrested. It seems nothing much has changed since 20 years ago, when a couple gave people smugglers money to send their son, Thai Vu, to Thailand to escape persecution. They could not pay for themselves.
He was captured by police en-route in Cambodia, and was thrown in prison for a month for entering the country illegally. He eventually made it to Thailand, but when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees found out he was sent back to Vietnam, as minors could not claim refugee status without accompanying parents or guardians.
Today, having migrated to Australia by legitimate means, his survival instincts serve him well as priest, especially as Perth’s archdiocesan vocations director, appointed at a relatively young age (he’s now 31) last year by Archbishop Barry Hickey.
While the appointment was unexpected, the role has taught him much about himself and the way God works in men who, despite living in one of the most heavily secular countries in the Western world, have felt the call to radically follow Christ in the priesthood.
Amidst this demanding role, Father Thai loves nothing more than jumping in a car, driving into the middle of nowhere and camping out with nothing but his survival instincts to protect him. He’s driven just about all over the vast State of WA, and finds solace in solitude. This ability to be alone but not lonely is essential for the priesthood, where marrying is forbidden as, among other things, it hinders one’s ability to truly serve God’s people.
This ability may not be well honed before one joins the seminary, which is partly why it’s seven years of discernment and study before one is ordained a priest.
Importantly, a student can leave at any time, “and that’s perfectly normal”, Fr Thai says. It is better that one serve the Church through others as a layman in the world than be ordained a priest unsuited for the role.
Fr Thai had some refining to do himself during his years at St Charles’ Seminary. He wasn’t exactly a party animal, but was very active on weekends. With the help of the formation at the seminary, he gradually cut down his weekend commitments so he gets to the stage where he can return from Mass on the weekend and be content praying, reading or contemplating, while maintaining strong links with family and friends.
“It didn’t change over night, but if you’re happy about it, it will change, and I am happy, that’s why I changed,” he says.
Having been inspired to the priesthood by the good work of visible priests as he grew up, his tumultuous early teens gave him the resilience to get through his daily trials, always looking for a better tomorrow. “You have to enjoy the work of the Church,” he says.
There are many other signs young men can detect in themselves that could be telling them that Christ is calling.
If he loves prayer, spending time working and helping others; if he loves to have time to be with himself, then he may be called. He must love himself with all his strength and weaknesses; yet he still needs friends, both Catholics and non-Catholics, male and female. Yet he must be rooted in prayer with a yearning to follow Christ.
“Without prayer, he’s finished (as a priest),” Fr Thai says.
Developing a relationship with Christ is easier said than done – someone we can’t physically see except when his appearance is veiled in the Eucharist.
Fr Thai likens the relationship – which is essential for being a priest – with pursuing a girl.
“First you see her for her looks and character, but the more you spend time with her you learn the qualities that you like, and hopefully you can follow those qualities and make them yours,” he says.
“It’s the same with Christ”, who can be discovered through much time in prayer and contemplation, he says, through studying His life in Scripture and in the teachings of the Church. Through all this, ”you know who you fall in love with – God. The more time you spend time with God the easier it will be to hear his call for you to discern.” Modelling oneself on Christ and serving God’s people is also tough, as “Christ is God and can do many good things, but as humans we struggle with human weakness, we want worldly things, and we don’t have the gift to do everything.”
So knowing your limits is the key, he says, while always pursuing Christ by following the example of God; love all to whom you’ve been put in service. Love the Church, with all its strengths and weaknesses.
“The call to the priesthood will always be there, even though over the years the priesthood has experienced much controversy, but Christ continues to call men to be priests,” he says.
The nature of the priesthood changes through the centuries. St Peter was married, but “part of being the Church is trusting that the Holy Spirit has guided us through change”.
Fr Thai has changed much when Archbishop Hickey chose him at a young age to guide other young men through the discernment process into the priesthood. Some of the men he encounters have degrees, “and are more intelligent than me”, but God still calls them. “The biggest challenge for all is to have the ability to say ‘yes, I just want to have a go’,” he says.
While seminary numbers in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are healthy, the overall trend since those turbulent ‘60s has been a downward spiral, similar to the overall Mass attendance.
“It’s not that God isn’t calling us, people are responding to the call differently, by volunteering for different causes, which in itself is part of the discernment process,” he says.
“If you don’t need anything and have everything in life, you won’t ask for help. But being honest we all need something. We may have all material things but in our hearts we have a yearning.
“But whether we have the guts to answer that call or to go out and follow that voice in our heart makes the difference.
“Religious life and the priesthood is not popular in the Western world. But for those who have really strong faith, that’s not a problem. At World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney I saw hundreds of thousands of young faithful proud to be Catholic.”
The biggest challenge in the priesthood today he says, is that priests have so many meetings and deal with so many emails, calls, and requests for school references, among other things – which is fine, but it restricts the priest from what he used to be able to do in times gone by, which is focusing on the sacraments and service to others. As for the future, Fr Thai has no idea. Whatever it is, he feels secure in the knowledge that Christ can do all things, through him as priest.
Fr John O’Reilly
For Fr John O’Reilly, receiving a Papal Honour is not as great as the truly rewarding work of a priest: giving people hope and revealing Christ to a world who desperately need Him. His message to young men considering such a calling is similar to the words of the late Pope John Paul II at the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila: Be not afraid.
By Anthony Barich
The sacrifices one makes becoming a priest is worth the rewards of bringing Christ to a world that badly needs Him, says a Perth priest who received a Papal Medal for over 50 years of service.
Fr John O’Reilly, who at 81 has been a priest for 51 years including being archdiocesan vocations director, chaplain of Aquinas College and running a successful Antioch group for 15 years at Applecross, said priests are a visible witness that the Christian life is worth dedicating oneself to.
Being a priest – and visibly, identifiably so – is counter-cultural as society is about indulging where as the priesthood is a life of sacrifice; it would appear the priesthood is therefore unnatural, but nothing could be further from the truth, he says.
The secular nature of society makes it harder to hear God’s call today, and the very nature of the priesthood has changed as society itself has changed.
When Fr John was first ordained, drug and internet porn addiction was not an issue.
Today they are. But this is all the more reason why courage is needed to show Christ to the world, he says.
“It’s not unnatural, it’s different, and you need to be courageous enough to be different,” he says.
“The priesthood is making Christ present in the world today.
“We all face the same things about what we’re giving up. Most of us discerning a vocation would count the cost – giving up the normal social life, we’re entering into a new way of life for something that’s counter-cultural, but vitally necessary.
“The rewards justify the things you give up.
“I got home the other day after counselling a young man for about three hours, I thought to myself driving home, ‘there are the trophies of the job’ – giving people hope.
“I got a medal from the Pope and I’m thrilled to bits about it, but souls are our trophies, and the help we can give to people, lifting them up, like Jesus did during His ministry.”
He said the power of witness is essential, but can be daunting for discerning men afraid of wearing a priest collar or crosses on the collar, which represents the “ministry of witness” which all Christians are called to in the way they live.
However, he said that when he was first ordained, his mates respected him more for not being shy about what he believes in.
The priesthood, he says, is making Christ present in the world today.
“If you feel that God’s calling you, what does it matter?” he says.
“The early martyrs knew they’d be killed for their love of God and Christ; that love was enough to make them do it whatever the cost.
“It would be wrong to put off discerning a vocation because of what others might think.”
“As priests and Religious we have a greater responsibility to witness as people can see that we’ve given our lives to something we believe is worthwhile,” he says.
“We’re selling a product, not for our own sake but because it’s worth letting people know that the Christian life is worth dedicating yourself to.
“It’s giving people a chance to know that we’ve got a product that’s worth enquiring about.
“If I was in trouble in the street I wouldn’t know to call on a policeman for help if he wasn’t in uniform.”
“To discerning young men who might be scared by the thought of wearing a collar, would you be just as intimidated wearing an army or police uniform?
“Only with the help of God can we do it.”
Questions he gets about loneliness as priests can’t marry are answered thus: “We’re all as lonely or busy as we choose to be.
“Of course, it’s human to be lonely, but if we find something to fulfil it, we don’t need to be lonely.”
Fr Anthony Percy
Fr Anthony Percy, Rector of the Seminary of The Good Shepherd in Homebush, Sydney, is a worldly, energetic priest – and a died-in-the-wool Sydney Swans fan.
It’s a vocation like no other. There are no girlfriends, the pay is lousy, the training takes seven years of intense study, and to cap it all off, the boss is someone you can’t see.
"It’s a vocation that’s out of this world," Fr Anthony Percy quips with a smile, amused by the definition of priestly life coined by a Canberra journalist.
Worldly, energetic, full of enthusiasm and a self-confessed die-hard Swans footie fan, 46-year-old Fr Anthony and his gregarious golden labrador, William the Conqueror, have become a familiar sight around the tree-lined streets of Homebush, NSW since he took over as Rector of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd on January 1 this year.
Now overseeing the training of 42 seminarians, Fr Anthony is excited by the “calibre of the young men coming through” and says his aim is to help them with their aspirations, and to develop as young men and as priests.
“It is a privilege as well as a challenge to be at the intersection of what God desires for someone, and what the young seminarian himself is desiring from his chosen vocation.”
Determined to help create “great priests” of the highest quality, he stresses that no matter how deep and committed a young man’s vocation, his chances of becoming a great priest will not be realised without the continued support and help from others within the priesthood. “It is important young men who come through with a real ecclesiastical personality understand that they must work together in profound unity in their priestly life.”
Lots of faith and lots of humour
Listing the qualities a priest needs as: “lots of faith, lots of humour, a love of people, a commitment to service and humility,” Fr Anthony adds that it is also important a priest understand not only his strengths but where he falls short.
“The priests I’ve known who are exceptional are not the high powered ones. Instead they’ve all been very humble, very human and very aware of their own weaknesses.”
Understanding that as a priest you are not superman and that your weaknesses and frailties are precisely the reason God chose you, is vital for any great priest. “If the person is a man of faith, Christ will help transform those weaknesses. Christ died in weakness on the Cross but now he lives with God in Glory.”
With a doctorate in Philosophy and Moral Theology from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, Fr Anthony is a renowned theological scholar and author of Theology of the Body Made Simple.
A clear concise inspirational treatise on Pope John Paul II’s catecheses on love, intimacy, sex and marriage, the book has been translated into Chinese, Italian, Spanish and German and is now in its fifth printing. What sets it apart from other tomes is that along with his scholarship, Fr Anthony is able to use his wit, warmth and down-to-earth practicality to make even the most complex issues easily accessible to lay people, particularly the young.
Little wonder, he is in demand as a speaker at secular and non-secular universities across Sydney as well as on xt3.com, the international catholic networking site set up for World Youth Day 2008. Tackling issues that concern young people head-on, he gives them wise pastoral and spiritual guidance on sex, marriage, relationships or questions of faith.
“The sacrificial notion of celibacy means giving up something very beautiful. But just because we give this up does not mean we don’t understand relationships or the problems and joys of marriage,” he says.
While many in the secular world proudly list letters after their names, proclaiming their accomplishments in academia or other fields, Fr Anthony who has an honours degree and a doctorate, insists the only ones a priest ever aspires to are the letters PHD.
“Which stand for poor humble Diocesan," he explains with a twinkle, adding that like most priests, all he has ever wanted to be is a "normal run-of-the mill priest" and "serve in a parish so I could help people and lead them to God.”
Vocation from childhood
Fr Anthony’s desire to become a priest began in childhood.
“I was still at primary school when I first began thinking about it,” he says, adding that later at secondary school he had a bet with a mate they would both become priests. “I bet him he would and he bet I would. But he didn’t and I did.” The priesthood however was still several years in the future. After spending his final two years of secondary school at St Joseph’s College, Hunter’s Hill, he enrolled instead at the University of NSW where he obtained an honours degree in finance.
“Although I’d thought about becoming a priest, it really wasn’t until my second year at uni that I really began to give this serious thought. That’s when I realised God was calling me and as soon as I finished my degree in finance and risk management, I went straight to St Patrick’s College at Manly."
The third in what he describes as a “typical middle-sized Catholic family” of four girls and two boys, Fr Anthony was born in Sydney but grew up in Cooma, NSW where his businessman father ran a news agency.
“All of us kids worked in the shop and I also had a paper run, tossing papers at people’s windows as I pedaled by on my bike. Dad taught us early on the value of things and made us save our money. But he was also very fair and paid us above the award rate,” Fr Anthony recalls with a smile.
From his father, Fr Anthony also learned the basic principles of business and from both parents not only developed a strong work ethic but a deep and profound faith and love of God.
“When I told my dad I wanted to train as a priest, he went off to see the Archbishop and when we heard I’d been accepted, he said: ‘well, if it works out, son, great. And if it doesn’t, that’s fine too. He and my entire family were very supportive.”
Ordained in 1990, Fr Anthony spent the next several years as an assistant priest in Queanbeyan and the wheat belt towns of Ardlethan and Barellan before being sent to Washington DC where he obtained his doctorate in philosophy and moral theology. Returning to Australia, he served as a parish priest in Young, Gunning and most recently, Goulburn.
Then in 2008 he was appointed to his current post as Rector of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd.
A wonderful life
“I enjoy being a priest,” he says unequivocally. “It is an all consuming vocation not unlike a marriage and when you commit yourself, your time is no longer your own. But that’s not a complaint. It truly is a wonderful life.”
And no matter how pressed for time Fr Anthony is these days, he insists he always can find 30 minutes or so to walk William the Conqueror around Homebush’s streets, and a couple of hours every month to catch a Sydney Swans’ game.
“My great great uncle was a priest in Wagga Wagga from 1917 and played for the Melbourne Bloods, the team that later became the Swans,” he says and with a grin adds: “But if he hadn’t played for the Bloods, I’d still be a mad Swans fan.
“I’m a Swans addict and this is one addiction I have no intention of addressing.”
– Interview courtesy of the Archdiocese of Sydney