By Johnny Ryan ‘19

As a Christian, I have always been curious about those who went before us, from the saints and the martyrs to the great multitude of unknown faithful people. Because of them—because of their witness and faith—we have an unbroken line of faith and Tradition from the apostles and Christ himself. We wouldn’t be Christians if those who went before us weren’t Christians, if they didn’t live and die as Christians.

And now, as a seminarian in the Congregation of Holy Cross, I find the same to be true. If it weren’t for those Holy Cross religious before me—if it weren’t for the “great band of men” and the footsteps they left—I wouldn’t be part of Holy Cross. It is because of the men who went before me—from those who have long been buried in the Holy Cross cemetery across the lakes to those who are a part of my daily life—that I am now blessed to be in this congregation.

About a year ago, I was discerning the priesthood, unsure of whether God was calling me to join Holy Cross or to serve as a diocesan priest. An encounter with Holy Cross men from long ago helped me realize God was calling me home to Holy Cross.

At an evening candlelight prayer service at Moreau Seminary early in the year, a current seminarian spoke of a tradition in Holy Cross: those about to be ordained to the priesthood choose a chalice of a deceased Holy Cross priest to be their very own chalice.

When I heard of that tradition, I realized that God was calling me to discern with Holy Cross. The fact that Holy Cross urged its members to keep so tangible a link to those who have gone before us—those whose footsteps we follow, those who blazed the trail of discipleship we now walk—moved me powerfully. These deceased Holy Cross priests are “the great band of men” I believe God has called me to follow.

But so too are the Holy Cross religious I interact with every day, both priests and seminarians—they are part of that same “great band of men” I wish to fall in step with. They are leading a life of hope and joy, a life of holiness, a life of faith, that I too wish to live. They too are blazing a path that I wish to walk, and how blessed am I to be called to fall in step!

“The footsteps of those men who called us to walk in their company left deep prints, as of men carrying heavy burdens. But they did not trudge; they strode. For they had the hope” (Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 8.122).

Johnny Ryan lives in Old College, where he is exploring a vocation to the priesthood with the Congregation of Holy Cross.