March 20, 2022

Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever ~

There is something special here at Holy Redeemer, and its’ not just a feeling. It can be seen in the number of people who have returned to Mass, and the number of people who never left (for covid), or in the number of kids we have at the 11am Mass, or in the 50 altar boys that we have, or the hundreds of people who join small faith sharing groups or go on retreat with us, or the 100–200 people who show up for weekday Masses at 7am, or the number of people who stand in line for Confession every week, or the percentage of parishioners who have made a commitment to be a steward of the Church here, or the number of people who pray the rosary before Mass, or the incredible fundraising we’ve done from the start to build this campus and pay it off – the list goes on and on. Holy Redeemer is a lighthouse among parishes, beckoning others to our safe shores for truth, communion, and grace. It is also a catalyst for the ultimate act of trust in God – religious vocations.

Holy Redeemer Parish has been blessed with religious vocations – that is not normal. Sadly, over the past 55 years most parishes in this country have seen precious few young men and women leaving for seminaries, monasteries, or convents. Many parishes haven’t had a religious vocation in decades. That is not the case here. God has blessed Holy Redeemer with seven religious vocations in the past 15 years. One of them, Andrew Brands, is set to leave for Mt. Angel Monastery this Sunday (you’ll hear from him below). Another of those seven, John Paul Tomassi, will be ordained here to the transitional diaconate on May 21st (save the date). We are hopeful that another will be leaving for a Carmel (convent) later this year, we’ll keep you posted.

Pray daily for the sanctification of the Church, beginning with Pope Francis and the clergy. Mention Holy Redeemer in your daily prayers, and pray daily for vocations to religious life. Like it or not, Jesus founded the Church on the priesthood; without priests there is no Mass, Confessions, Parishes, or Church. Without holy priests, there’s little hope for the rest of us. So please pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will continue to send laborers into His vineyard.

Below, I have attached a brief vocation story from Andrew Brands who leaves this Sunday, March 20th for Mt. Angel Monastery. Please pray for him.

In Christ, I Love You,

Dear Parishioners,

This is a brief account of my vocational journey.

During my Elementary School years, I was an Altar Server for Sunday Masses and Saturday Vigil Masses at Holy Redeemer, where I began to develop my deep love of the liturgy. This experience of altar serving, as well as volunteering at the church with my dad, helped cultivate a desire to serve the Church, which began my vocation journey. This desire grew over many years after having been able to talk with many priests and religious from around the archdiocese (and the country!). During these talks, I discovered how God worked in their lives, regardless of their past.

In 2013, I began discerning the diocesan priesthood by attending Quo Vadis Days, learning about the life of a priest while spending time in adoration. Soon, however, I returned back to the world and in some ways left my time at Quo Vadis Days behind. Continuing my education, I began to see how the world is changing and started being harassed in college because of my faith by students and teachers! This led to a period of lukewarmness, which left me feeling lost and alone. Despite having friends and family encouraging me, I was still lost. It is during this period of spiritual dryness that I believe God began planting the seeds in my soul to truly find him.

These seeds came to fruition in, of all years, 2020 when the world shut down and it felt like all the things I had previously relied on were not as stable as I had previously thought. But first let me explain how this final chapter of my discernment started: Exhausted, I entered the church late at night on November 26th, 2020 during adoration, telling God that I was exhausted, filled with so much uncertainty and fear at what the world was coming to. In short, I asked God to guide me to what He wanted for my life. And He responded, not in a physical voice, nor vision, but in that silence during adoration, He inspired me to begin seeking Him and to follow Him. Initially I didn’t know where to look, but I was introduced to Exodus 90 just before Christmas and having talked with Father Nathe, I joined the upcoming program. Around the same time, I also saw an ad for discernment retreats at Mount Angel, just before I was going to shut off my social media for Exodus. The first retreat in February 2021 was good, though I only attended virtually, and it was cut short due to the massive ice storm that came through the Northwest. I took what I learned from this retreat and having continued Exodus 90, began to learn more about not only the Bible, but also what the early desert fathers taught and about monasticism in the west.

After Easter, I was invited to stay for a week at Mount Angel in June, working alongside the brothers and learning more about the life they live. This had a huge effect on me, and I distinctly remember the night where it felt like I had finally found where God was calling me to be. The next few months consisted of beginning the application process, writing up the summary of my life and attending additional retreats not only at Mount Angel, but also at St Martin's Abbey and the Brigittine Monastery in Amity. These retreats helped solidify my decision to continue pursuing my application at Mount Angel, interviewing with the Monastic Formation Council and spending more time in prayer and meditation. The process took several months, which helped me learn to be patient and surrender things out of my control to God, trusting Him to always lead me on the right path. On February 9th, 2022 I received word that I was accepted to enter Mount Angel Abbey as a postulant on March 20, 2022, and having spent a month in uncertainty praying that God’s will be done, this left me with such an overwhelming sense of peace and joy.

All of this is only the beginning of my journey. With years of formation ahead of me (and a whole lifetime for that matter), I realize that there is much to learn but so much more to pray for as well. Please know that you all will be in my prayers, and I would ask you to please pray for me to persevere in my calling.

Andrew Brands

Entered religious life on March 20, 2022