An estimated 130 young adults, ages 18-35, from throughout the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland gathered for the first ?Claimed by Love? event at St. Basil the Great Parish in Brecksville.
Coordinated by the vocation office and the young adult ministry of the diocese, the event began with registration at 8 a.m., followed by Mass at 8:30 celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Roger Gries; breakfast and keynote speaker Ron Nowak, youth and young adult minister at St. Mary Parish in Hudson; breakout sessions; lunch with Bishop Nelson Perez; questions and answers with the bishop; adoration and confession.
?We?d like to make this an annual event,? said Sister Rochelle Guertal, OST director of the diocesan Office for Religious. She said a core group that included Father Mike McCandless, director of the diocesan Vocations Office, worked for several months to plan the event.
?Claimed by Love? encompasses a variety of options for young adults who are discerning their life?s direction, Sister said. ?We wanted something for young people so they could think about what their relationship is with God and what vocation they are being called to.?
Sister Rochelle said a vocation can be more than religious life. A panel discussion featuring presenters who were a married couple, a religious brother, a religious sister, a deacon, a priest and a consecrated virgin shared information on vocation options. ?We wanted it to be about more than just religious life,? she added. Representatives from some religious congregations also were on hand to answer questions and to provide information.
One of the day?s highlights was lunch and a session with Bishop Perez.
?This wasn?t originally on my calendar,? the bishop said. ?I heard about it from Father McCandless and thought I?d like to be there, so I invited myself.?
He shared some of his interaction with Pope Francis while he was in Rome, reflecting the Holy Father?s personal, human side.
?Once when I was in Rome I was staying where the Holy Father lives. I saw an elderly priest giving him some home remedies and it reminded me of some of my uncles,? Bishop Perez said.
The bishop said he was inspired to be a Salesian, the order begun by St. John Bosco, so he spent time in Puerto Rico, living with an uncle, teaching and discerning his vocation, thinking that he might be able to serve in Cuba someday. His parents emigrated from Cuba in the early 1960s, shortly before his birth.
I?m in the seminary and I?m letting myself be led. I knew God was putting something in my head,? he said.
Soon after he started his studies, he was told the cardinal wanted him to study theology. Since there was no program in Puerto Rico, they looked at a map and selected the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Not long after arriving in Philadelphia, he was called to the rector?s office where some priests shared the need for Spanish-speaking priests in the archdiocese. Bishop Perez said he was willing to stay, but felt he needed to speak with the cardinal in Puerto Rico.
?I was told there was no need because Cardinal Kroll had already done that. I was traded like a ballplayer,? he said, laughing.
Then, after serving as a priest in the archdiocese for 23 years, he got another call telling him the pope wanted him to be a bishop. ?I wasn?t supposed to say anything, but I told my mom and she said, ?You know you can?t refuse.? And then I found myself in New York.? He served as an auxiliary for the Diocese of Rockville Centre for five years until last summer, when he got another call telling him the Holy Father wanted him to be bishop of Cleveland.
?God writes straight with crooked lines,? he said. ?And God will do what God will do.?
Bishop Perez said his assignments were chosen for him. ?I didn?t end up doing everything I wanted to do,? he said, adding there is ?something very freeing about that.?
One person asked his favorite part about being a bishop, to which Bishop Perez said, ?The scope.? As a priest, his scope was a parish with its people, school, sports, activities, etc. ?But as a bishop, you get an incredible scope. The Church is amazing. It has given me national and international experience.?
Another questioner wanted to know how his family reacted to his vocation. He said his mother was very supportive, as were about half of his cousins. ?My father was a banker and I think he had a harder time with it. Shortly before ordination, he wanted to give me a gift of a real estate license course,? the bishop recalled. He said there have been joys and struggles in his vocation, just like in anyone?s life.
?But I wouldn?t change it and if I had to live my life over, I would do it again,? he said adding that he goes to bed ?knowing I?m where God wants me to be.?
The bishop shared that he is a Type A personality who sometimes found it difficult to sit, concentrate and pray. ?I was thinking about putting gas in the car, where I had to be next, etc.,? he said. ?But, as St. Francis said, if you go to pray and you can?t, stay awhile. Let yourself be seen and what better place to be seen than in front of the Lord, the King of Kings.? He said he enjoys praying early in the morning when it?s quiet.
Another person asked about his hopes for the diocese. The bishop said he is getting to know the diocese, comparing it to a box. ?You open one box and there another inside, and other inside that. There are a lot of boxes to open.? But he said he ?found a vibrant, joyful Church.?
He also reaffirmed the pope?s message that we are called to be missionary disciples. ?We used to talk about those two things separately, but the pope said we?re all missionaries; you can?t be a disciple without being a missionary.?
Sister Rochelle said the bishop's message dovetailed with the purpose of Claimed by Love.
?The event was something for people of this age group who are searching,? she said.
For more information on vocations, visit clevelandclergyandreligious.com and click on the vocations tab on the left side of the page.
