Dear Friends in Christ,
It has been my hope for a while to begin a regular newsletter to share with our many mission partners in the Diocese of Worcester. So many of you support the work of the Office for Vocations in various ways, with your prayers, your financial support, or volunteering, everything form helping tutor seminarians in English or re-painting rooms at the House of Studies when needed. Many of our priests graciously take seminarians on weekends or during the summer, pass along names of parishioners who are discerning a priestly vocation, or even act as spiritual directors to seminarians living at the House of Studies and to potential applicants. All of you are partners in the work that I do as we work as a community to build a culture of vocations in the Diocese of Worcester.
What do I mean by a culture of vocations? I mean one in which people are regularly asking God, “What is it you would have me do?” (Acts 9:6) and listening to him. My hope is that each month I can share a reflection with you as to what is going on in my office and also share something from one of the seminarians. This month, I asked Jim Boulette, one of our seminarians, to reflect upon one of our great priests who did so much as a supporter of vocations, Father Robert Bruso.
As this is our inaugural e-newsletter, please pass it along to friends who you think might also be interested.
All of you who support our work are in my prayers daily. May God bless you and your loved ones.
Sincerely,
Father Donato Infante
Vocation Director
Diocese of Worcester
PS If you received this newsletter by e-mail forwarding and would like to sign up, please visit our website here.
August 22, 2020
Queenship of Mary
"Coronation of the Virgin" by Diego Velasquez is in the public domain.
Contact Info:
director@worcestervocations.com
508-630-4473
FR. ROBERT BRUSO 1950-2020
By Jim Boulette
I met Father Bob in the summer of 2012 while volunteering for the Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council. He was being installed as the Associate State Chaplain and was so beloved by the State Board and all the Knights throughout Massachusetts that he served three two-year terms under three State Deputies. In his last term the State Chaplain retired, and he was elevated to that position.
Fr. Bob and I forged a close friendship after we met. I had just recently started discerning the next stage in my life and he knew that I was searching for something. Fr. Bob had a deep love for God, his priesthood, the people of God, the Knights, and he was especially close to all the seminarians of the diocese. Toward the end of 2013 I told Fr. Bob that I was seriously considering becoming a priest, he immediately took on the role of mentor to me. He wanted to assist all seminarians in becoming good and holy priests. Fr. Bob was not one to beat around the bush, he was a straight shooter and if he had something to say he would just say it, of course it was always in love and with the other person’s best interest at heart.
Fr. Bob would always take a seminarian for their summer assignment to help in the formation process whenever possible. Once, another seminarian asked him why he never requested to have me for a summer and when I was told what his answer was, I was truly humbled. He said, I do not ask for Jim because I would not be able to be unbiased due to our friendship.
Fr. Bob would often give talks at the annual Vocation Office Discernment Retreat, and I remember that he would always give the advice to buy a record book before ordination so that once you start celebrating Masses they could be recorded. He would continue that this was because when you are old like me you can look back and see the tens of thousands of times that you acted in the person of Christ.
I believe that our friendship grew to the point that it did because we both had a late vocation, he was ordained at the age of 43 and I, God willing, will also be ordained at 43.
Cleber (another seminarian) and I visited Fr. Bob in his last days. He was so excited to see us both and wanted so much to take the focus of the visit off him and place it on us. He remembered exactly where we both were in seminary and when we would both be ordained. The visit was brief, only 5 to 7 minutes, but Fr. Bob was still himself, wanting to serve others before himself.