Speaker 1: [inaudible] Fr. Craig Giera: Welcome to men of the hearts, a monthly podcast from the archdiocese of Detroit office of priestly vocations. Join me, your host father Craig Giera Fr. David Pellican: And me father David Pellican. Fr. Craig Giera: As we explore the priesthood, hear vocation stories from priests all over the archdiocese and answer questions about discerning a priestly vocation tune in every month to wherever you get your podcasts and learn more@detroitpriestlyvocations.com. Well welcome everyone to another edition of men of the hearts podcast. Last episode we had father David really get down and deep, not down and dirty down and deep with what discernment is all about with the help of the giant in all things discernment Saint Ignatius, this episode, we're going back to our familiar structure by having a special guest, and a special guest he is, as we have Bishop Battersby in the studio with us today. Welcome Bishop Battersby. It's wonderful to have you on how are you doing? Bp. Gerard Battersby: I'm doing great. It's great to be with you today. Fr. Craig Giera: It's great to have you and father David, the trusted co-host our resident smart person. Always wonderful to have you here in the studio. How are you my brother Fr. David Pellican: Doing well doing well, father Craig, it's good to be here with you and with Bishop today, uh, really excited for this podcast. Fr. Craig Giera: Amen to that. All right, Bishop Battersby, before we get into your vocation story, has there been a blessing that has been in your life in the past month or so? Bp. Gerard Battersby: Well as some, some of you may know we're, uh, in the midst of, uh, rolling out family of parishes, which is a, is a way of preparing our archdiocese, um, to go on mission. And one of the, one of the blessings that I had last night at a commissioning ceremony was I was with a group of people who were reticent about the whole notion of family of parishes. And after the commissioning ceremony, the excitement in the air was electric and it was nothing short of a miracle. Um, I got a text from, from, uh, one of the people there today and said that the priests were unanimously excited. And if you know priests, that's no small miracle. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah, I think we can, we can gossip like the rest of them complain, like if not better than anybody else, I can be the resident complainer here as father David knows as well. Cause we live together. That's right. That's right. Uh, father David, anything new for you since the last month? Fr. David Pellican: Well, you know, a few things I have been, I received a new appointment as the note taker for the Presbyteral council. Fr. Craig Giera: I did. I saw you on them, on that council as well. Fr. David Pellican: I took notes on your, your wonderful comments. There was great. Fr. Craig Giera: That's great. Well, they only asked really smart people to do that. So as of course, as you got all A's in seminary, of course, that's why you would, were asked to, uh, do that wonderful job. How was it for you? Was it as enthralling as you thought it would be? Fr. David Pellican: You know, it was, uh, it was very interesting. It was a, it was a unique opportunity, I think, to see, uh, the whole cast of characters that make up our Presbytery. So yeah, it was, it was, it was nice. It was nice to see, um, so many of the priests, even though we were just, uh, virtual, uh, to see so many faces that I hadn't seen in awhile and just see their interaction right. As brothers. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. It's always good. Yeah. Uh, did you go to Costco this month or? No, Fr. David Pellican: You know, since our last recording, I have not been to Costco, that's how you know it's been busy. Fr. Craig Giera: There's no snacks in the house and that's all your fault. Fr. David Pellican: We're running low on granola bars Fr. Craig Giera: And we need beef jerky and make sure you get beef jerky next time. Fr. David Pellican: All right. Hey, it's it's hunting season. Beef jerky is, uh, is appropriate. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. And that's sort of, what's new for me actually is, uh, I'm going on vacation in a little bit. We're doing our annual hunting trip, the Giera family. We have three generations that will all be in the same cottage. We rent a cottage and uh, we go hunting for deer. We use used to use bow and arrow. Everybody has switched cross bow, I'm the last holdout, but my dad's not hunting this year. So he's going to let me use his crossbow. So I might, uh, transition over to that. Um, my nephew actually got a deer a couple of years ago, and he's the only one I think, in the group within the last 20 years or so. That's how great of a hunter we are. So I know that's a controversial issue, you know, whether or not we should be hunters and stuff. Uh, but they're very safe when the Giera family is out in the forest because we barely get anything. Fr. Craig Giera: Um, but it's always a good time and it's, it's really a special time to be alone with God. Actually, if you're in the tree stand or if you find a blind and you just pull out your rosary and you sit there and it's just so incredibly quiet and the Lord can talk to you in those moments. It's so beautiful. I love it too, when it starts to snow and you're in the middle of the forest and how quiet it is. It's just like, you can, you can just almost feel like the world is turning it's it's, it's so amazing to be still and to be in that moment. Um, you know, and I think St Francis, might've been a hunter as well. I mean, I know that's controversial as well. I know he loved animals, but I think he loved eating animals too. You know, I know we just had, you know, we had the pet blessing. Fr. David Pellican: We did, we just had the pet blessing. There were all sorts of animals, mostly dogs and cats as is usual. Uh, someone brought their parakeets though. So I was a little nervous with how they were going to interact with the cats, but they stayed in the cage and we didn't have any incidents. So, Fr. Craig Giera: Bishop Battersby, you've been a pastor for a very long time. Like in any of those times, have you had anything besides cats and dogs for pet blessings? Bp. Gerard Battersby: You know, one of my favorite things to bless are goldfish And it's not easy bringing goldfish to church, but I want you to know how creative some people can be to get their goldfish blessed. And so, um, I always thought it was just dogs and cats, but, uh, it's, it's a lot broader than that. And the people of God are not only faithful, but they're creative as well. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. Yeah. And I know you're a lover of dogs cause he used to have a dog yourself. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Yeah, I did. I had, uh, I had a Kerry blue terrier, um, and she is, matter of fact, she, she, uh, she, um, went home to the Lord on the feast of St. Francis October fourth. Yes. Fr. Craig Giera: You know what I tell father David, my favorite animal blessing is, oh boy, I know what this is. Bless us O Lord in these thy gifts Fr. David Pellican: Oh, dear Bishop Battersby. Do you hunt at all? Have you ever, uh, Bp. Gerard Battersby: My father was not a hunter and had never, never became part of our family. I'm a, I'm a fishermen, but uh, I have the success that the Giera family has in fishing as well. I go on hunt for the elusive walleye, but the elusive walleye usually has to be purchased at a local supermarket. Fr. Craig Giera: Now father David, you're not a hunter yourself. Fr. David Pellican: I have never actually been hunting. Interestingly enough, I have Fr. Craig Giera: Raised animals? Fr. David Pellican: I have raised animals and I've helped, uh, because of kind of a background on the farm. I've helped to process. I've helped to process those animals. Fr. Craig Giera: Oh, okay. And that's why you, when you raise pigs, you never named them. Fr. David Pellican: Well, the slight correction there, father Craig, uh, we learned after the first batch of chickens that you shouldn't get too attached to farming animals. Um, and so, um, we always name our pigs, but usually the names are something like ham and bacon or Christmas and Easter. Fr. Craig Giera: I love it. I love it. And I was just at your house recently. I got to see the whole, uh, father David farm, which was the Relic and family farm. Yeah. And, uh, you were promising me eggs from your chickens, but a Fr. David Pellican: Local Fox. We had a little incident. Yeah. Fr. Craig Giera: Uh, cause your dog, uh, passed away, went onto the Lord and is not protecting the chickens anymore. Fr. David Pellican: A yellow lab, uh, uh, lived for 13 years. So it was a dog dog I grew up with recently passed and uh, there's no one to keep the foxes out of the chicken coop anymore. So we're not getting quite as many eggs as we had hoped for. Fr. Craig Giera: Well, before we get into your vocation story, just one more thought of father David was really interested in your Episcopacy model. So if you want to bring that up, father David. Fr. David Pellican: Yes, I was actually, interestingly enough, uh, I think we'll talk about this more later, but I was in seminary when then father Battersby was, uh, got the call, uh, as a request to become a Bishop. And uh, so I was, it was, I had the, kind of got to see him in that, in both of those roles, see him transitioning and uh, he has a beautiful motto, uh, that he chose for his episcopacy Bishop. Do you want to share that motto with us? Bp. Gerard Battersby: Yeah. The, the, uh, the motto comes from St. John's gospel and, uh, how I came across in particular, the motto is I had the opportunity to study the writings of blessed and Columba Marmion. And, um, one of his, his, um, I don't know, his, his themes was in sinu patris which is that we live in the bosom of the father and the father's embrace. And so I took that as my episcopacy motto that it is, uh, that it is in the father's embrace that we abide. And it's, it's a motto for me of hope and, and a recognition, um, of the truth that God is love. And that God is our father. And he embraces all of us in all creation. Fr. Craig Giera: And that's really beautiful Fr. David Pellican: For, for my, uh, priestly ordination. Sometimes you give out these little cards, right? For priestly ordination. The, uh, the image that I chose for mine was it's El Greco's depiction of the Trinity. And, and, uh, I chose it because it, similar theme to that, uh, in the bosom of the father, you see Jesus, he looks completely exhausted. Um, and he's just like, he's resting in the arms of his father. I was like, uh, it's a beautiful image for, uh, for how to live our life, how to live our priesthood. Fr. Craig Giera: Did you have a Bible quote on your, cause a lot of priestly cards put a Bible quote, what was yours? Fr. David Pellican: You know, I did, I can't remember exactly what it is. It was from the letter to the Hebrews. I remember that. Fr. Craig Giera: I just remember that we had the head, um, spiritual director here at the seminary. It was walking around the cafeteria one day and we were kind of talking about what we were going to put on our holy cards. And he comes up to me and goes, you know, I got a great one for you. And I'm like, well, what is that? He was like, you should put on surely Lord there'll be a stench. You walked away. I'm like, it was so uncharacteristic of him. It was hilarious. But, uh, yeah, mine is, uh, I quoted Psalm 31 because there was something very special that happened to me. So I have some 31, a rejoicing in the Lord, always that the Lord saves sinners and that we can rejoice then that we needed to be saved, amen. Alright, well, Bishop Battersby, it would really be great to, however you want to tell your vocation story of, of what the Lord did with you. When you first thought about the priesthood, how God called you and all the wonderful things in between. Bp. Gerard Battersby: You know, I, I grew up like a typical Catholic, a young man, um, that not only admired, but, uh, but cherished the priesthood and our priests, uh, my uncle was a priest for the archdiocese of Detroit and, uh, and he was one of the heroes my life. And I really thought about it as any Catholic boy might think about it. Um, I was attracted to it, but then of course life comes in and, and, uh, and you get diverted by various squirrels that come along your way and, and that, and the next thing, you know, it's no longer, uh, uh, front and center for you. Um, when I was 17, my uncle died and it had a big impression on me, um, and, uh, began to think about, you know, what I was going to do with my life. And although I admired my uncle very much, um, the idea of priesthood just wasn't attractive to me, um, really it really at all. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Um, but I thought about it because I thought so much about him. Um, when I was about 19, I was studying in Ireland, um, on a, uh, uh, junior year in Ireland and, um, had the chance to study at the university college cork. And over the Easter season, I was able to travel to Scotland and spent the night in a hostel in Scotland. And I woke up the next morning for some reason at about five o'clock in the morning and for a 19 year old, that's a stunningly early time of the day. Um, and I was very reflective about what, when I returned to the United States, I was gonna pursue and in, in my life and I'd always wanted to be a doctor. Um, and I just had a strong impression that, that wasn't going to be my future. And so as I was lying in bed, kind of musing on this. Um, I had what I know now to be a, an illumination. Um, I had immediate knowledge that I was going to be a priest really, and it's not something I looked for. It was not something that I desired. Um, but it was a fact that I knew with certainty. Fr. Craig Giera: How did it come to you? Was it in your mind? Was it in your heart? Bp. Gerard Battersby: It was, it was an illumination in my mind and I knew it as I knew it as a fact, no longer as simply a possibility or anything like that. No doubt whatsoever doubt whatsoever. It was just, that was it. It was stunning to me. And it was not something that was welcome, uh, particularly to me and really for the next 14 years, I struggled with that. Um, as I drew closer to the Lord, it was very clear to me that the Lord wanted me to, uh, to serve him as a priest. Um, and it became increasingly prayer that this wasn't just something, this illumination that happened in a youth hostel in Scotland was not simply, um, a product of my imagination, but the Lord over the years had completed repeatedly asked and, and called me closer. Bp. Gerard Battersby: And as they drew closer, as I spent more time in prayer, I spent more time, um, praying, particularly in the mass, um, and, and getting to know him. I, I, I began to fall more deeply in love with him. And, uh, and in following him became much more important to me. Um, I pursued, uh, I pursued other things, but this idea of being a priest kept returning and in as much as I tried and I did so heroically, um, to cast it away from my, from my heart, um, it kept returning. And I realize I really started to bargain with God. And I said, you know, Lord, I'll, I'll, I'll give up my, my business. And I will, I'll, be a missionary, you know, if I'll go wherever you want. And I had checked out the Jesuit, uh, um, core, um, uh, missionary program. Bp. Gerard Battersby: And I thought, well, I'll be happy to do that. Uh, I even went so far as to register at the seminary and I told the Lord I'd be willing to be a deacon. Um, but I had one caveat I wanted to, uh, I wanted to get married and so, and have a family. And so, um, that's, as far as I'd go, that's, that's, as much as I negotiate with the Lord on. Um, but the Lord is persistent. He keeps calling. And one day before a class I was taking, which really set me on fire as they begin to, to understand theologically, um, the mission of Christ and the call of God, to each of our hearts. I could feel that call come alive in my heart. And one day before class, I went into the chapel here at the seminary. Bp. Gerard Battersby: And, um, and I have to say that, that I was in anguish. I was in anguish because I knew two things. I knew that the Lord wanted me to be a priest. And the second thing is I knew that I did not want to be a priest. Well, and it was that anguish that just so troubled me because I loved the Lord. I wanted to follow the Lord, but being a priest was not my way. It was not what I wanted. And, and so one day I was in the chapel and I was praying. And, uh, and I just told the Lord, I said, you know, I love you Lord, but I can't be a priest. And something amazing happened. The Lord said to me, literally, you don't have to. I was shocked. And delighted, first off, the Lord had never spoken to me before. Bp. Gerard Battersby: So it wasn't something I was used to, or had any, audibly heard this. And, uh, but it wasn't the audible. What I was hearing, it was the change that occurred in me. Hmm. And, um, I've never heard first off, anything more beautiful than the Lord's voice. There's nothing in my life that has ever even come close to the, the love that is in the Lord. Um, every word he speaks is full of grace, and that's not just a scripture passage. That's the truth. Um, God is love. And his words are ladened with such love that that none of us can fully grasp that, what that actually means. Um, but what happened? The change in me that occurred, even though I heard in Lord's voice, a certain sorrow, certain sorrow that I think, and I'm projecting on the Lord in this, but a certain sorrow that, that I would question his love for me, that I would question his desire for me, but he wanted me to be free and he made me to be free. And he was willing to let me follow a desire that was not his own in order for me to be free. And I knew and felt in that moment that I was completely free. I was completely free to choose to not be a priest, or I was free to choose to be a priest. And I was first off elated and walked on air for the next week. Um, it was an experience that I've never had. It was Fr. Craig Giera: Amazing experiences. First, you getting the illumination? And now you hear the Lord speak. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Well, some people are more rock headed than others, and some people need more of a knock on the, um, on their head than other people. So Fr. Craig Giera: You ignored the illumination for 14 years, right? Bp. Gerard Battersby: I actually came to the seminary to check it out and, and, um, and I was able to overcome any attraction and, uh, and run from the seminary. I have to tell you, I would have rather had my friends know that I was a bank robber than going to the seminary to think about the priesthood. So it tells you not only the environment I grew up in, but it, it, it, you know, but, but it also tells you my own reticence. And so, um, um, Fr. Craig Giera: So simply the Lord's love and his voice that melted any fear. Bp. Gerard Battersby: It was the Lord's love in his voice. And it was the fact that I was free, that he made me to be free, not to be coerced, not to be, um, shamed into doing something he, that he wanted me to do. He made me free to choose him. And I felt that freedom. And the only thing I wanted to do from that moment on was to follow him, was to be with him, was to allow myself to be caught up in his will for me. And that's that, I know that sounds like an anti vocation story, but it's, it's the one I have. It's, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's the truth. It's the Lord's initiative to invite us. And he wants us to be free. He wants us to be free to say yes to him. He wants us to be free, to love him. And he wants us to allow him to love us. Bp. Gerard Battersby: You know, he has a plan for our lives, you know, St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians tells us that it's God's plan to reestablish all creation in Christ. And that means you and me, that means he wants and desires from all time to establish me in him. And that was what I wasn't free to. I wasn't free to let him establish himself in me to be my Lord and God to be my savior. I, you know, I wanted to run the show. And it wasn't until that moment, that, that healing that came with the love laden words of freedom, the healing that came to my heart to let him be the Lord of my life, to let him be the one I follow and to allow his plan to unfold in my life, because frankly, I didn't have the vision and still don't have the vision only. Bp. Gerard Battersby: He has that vision. And I need to press into that vision with my heart, with my future, with my life. And that's true. That was true. I don't know, 25 years ago, it's true today. And it'll be true for the rest of my life. And it's the invitation God has for all of us to allow each of us and all of us to be reestablished in his son, Jesus, to allow ourselves to share in the identity that Christ presents to us, his identity, and to share in his mission, to reconcile all creation to the father, allowing ourselves to be the ones who are reconciled to the father through him. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. And inviting the Lord to do that. You know, your story is not, I mean, I hate to tell you this, this is not all that unique and in a sense that, uh, I think when, when guys do discover the love of God for their lives, they, they have that freedom to say yes or no. And I remember my classmate that, uh, you know, I, I thought this man was going to go on to the priesthood and we were on the 30 day silent retreat. You don't really talk to people on a silent retreat. There's one day that you do get to talk. And he had a large family. And, um, you know, he was on the phone all day long. He didn't come out with us on that free day. Um, and then afterwards, after the 30 day, we kind of share this, you know, what were the graces, what happened? Fr. Craig Giera: And the happiness that was in his voice and the happiness that you could see on his face. And he had a smile on his face and he looked at us and said, I don't have to be a priest for God to love me. And he left, he left the seminary. And, but he, he thought that if he didn't become a priest, that God would stop loving him. And I think sometimes there's this fear that drives people in the wrong direction as well. And when God calls us, God, doesn't call us in fear. But God calls us out of this love. And you just know it when it's God, because it is love, you know? And that's the difference between the father of lies and the father of love you, you know, the difference. Bp. Gerard Battersby: And I think the source of my anguish was exactly what you're pointing out. It was that fear that God wouldn't love me. If I didn't become a priest and that's not, God, no, that's not of God. Fear is never of God. God is love. And that's not just a slogan Fr. Craig Giera: For God so loved the world. It's not for sporting events, it's for living, Bp. Gerard Battersby: Not just for sporting events. Fr. Craig Giera: So just back up a little bit, because I do find your story fascinating, um, in that, you know, having this illumination that is so strong and I had something similar, but it wasn't an illumination where I was 100% sure that God was calling me to the priesthood. I mean, so how did you ignore the Lord for this, this long? I know you said you wanted a, a wife, you wanted all these things and you were making all these different bargains, but you, you went on with your life. You said you had a business in a sense, were you dating at the time? Like what was going on? Bp. Gerard Battersby: Absolutely, I was Fr. Craig Giera: Feeling fulfilled. Did you have enjoyment? Were you happy? What was going on? Bp. Gerard Battersby: It's a great question. Because when I came home from Ireland that year, the first call I made was to the seminary. And I called the seminary, made an appointment with father Don Archambault, who was the pre formation director at the time here at here at the seminary. I made an appointment with him and met with him on a number of occasions, um, Bp. Gerard Battersby: To explore the idea of becoming a priest. Now, the idea completely unnerved me, but that, that was beside the point. Um, I felt like I had to answer what seemed very evident to me. And, um, one day he sent me to meet with a parish priest, um, to get an idea of what the priesthood was like. And, uh, and I made an appointment with that priest strangely enough. It was at the three o'clock hour, which I look back now on now differently than I did at that time, um, that hour of mercy, but I, uh, came to the rectory that day. And it was a sad moment. And it was sad because the priest that I met with was, was obviously very unhappy. He was not happy. And it became very clear to me that the priest also had a substance problem. And, uh, I left that meeting that day. Bp. Gerard Battersby: So relieved because I had no intention of living an unhappy life and I left. And so I say, I said to myself, well, I don't have to worry about that anymore. And that was the, that was the end of that. So I began to pursue, uh, you know, my own ideas of what would make me happy, my, uh, um, my own, um, plans to be a doctor, to be, to, to, uh, to have a family. And of course that included dating. Of course it included, uh, um, all the things that we think are going to make us happy. Um, but as much as I love them all, they never answered that hunger in my heart and that hunger in my heart persisted. And, um, in as much as I tried and I did, and I, I ended up having all the things that are supposed to make you happy. Bp. Gerard Battersby: I had a beautiful house in Beverly Hills. I had, you know, nice cars, nice vacations. I had, I had the things that are supposed to make you happy. And, um, and they were all nice, but nice is doesn't make a life nice, makes a pleasant cookie. You know, we want love, we want, we want, um, we want to be fulfilled in love and that's what we're made for. And it's only that we'll answer that need in our heart. And, um, and the Lord continued to love me, even through all my wandering and continued to invite. And he was just, I mean, when you're in, when you're infinite, you have time to be patient. And the Lord's very patient. And, um, and he was very patient with me. He was very patient with me and he continued to call, but gently, no, not, uh, um, not corrosively, continued to call, but he knew the one thing I needed and I didn't know he needed, but he knew, I knew I wasn't free. I wasn't free to say no. And I wasn't free to say yes. And that's the big healing that happened for me that day. He set me free and when he sets you free. And you behold the beauty of the Lord. Well, nothing can keep you from falling. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. So what happened after that? So now you you've, you heard God, you felt this, you were changed. You were free to make this choice now. And you said you were happy for a week because you knew you didn't have to be a priest, but something happened and we know you are a priest. So what happened? Did you talk to a priest? Did you have someone that you really looked up to, did you talk to your family and did you just keep it to yourself again until you applied to the seminary? Bp. Gerard Battersby: Well, you know, it was, um, probably may, um, if I'm, if I'm remembering correctly, it was a spring semester at the seminary. And, um, and I was, I was walking on air for that next week. Um, and the only thing I wanted was to be with him was to be with him, I wanted to spend my life with that voice with, with the one who had that voice. Um, and so I would say probably within six weeks, I applied to the seminary. So it was, uh, uh, it was, it was an arresting and wonderful experience, um, Fr. Craig Giera: Which is a great confirmation as well. I think sometimes, and I've certainly talked to young men who think just because you're willing and able to apply to the seminary that somehow you're going to be led into the seminary. I mean, right. You know, not only are our men discerning, of course, that's a very big thing. You have to make that choice, but the church is also discerning as well. And what if you apply to the seminary? And they said, well, thank you. But no, thank you. We don't think you have a vocation, but they did. And that's a great confirmation. I think we miss some of those things sometimes is that these, these what seem like small things are actually really large things because not everybody gets accepted to the seminary. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Oh, that's, that's absolutely right. And it, it really was. I realized that I was coming to the seminary, um, to discern the priesthood. I realized that, you know, uh, a remarkable experience wasn't enough to sustain a vocation. And, um, and what I learned in my time in the seminary is, um, Bp. Gerard Battersby: Is, is that I was growing in the yes that I had made when I applied to the seminary. And that, that was my experience in seminary. It was, uh, it was, it was a growth day by day and year by year confirmation. Um, that was offered by the formation team here at the seminary and offered in my own heart. Um, um, that God had indeed called me. And, uh, and the church had ratified that, and that was key because, you know, most of the time the Lord doesn't speak to us audibly. Um, most of the time he speaks to us through his representatives formation team here at the seminary, that director who met with me. Um, and, and so as you get, keep, get, you keep getting these affirmations from those who are, um, given by the church to make those evaluations, uh, then you gain confidence that, that, that you're not, um, um, living in illusion. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah, so much in my discernment, in, it took me five years, I think, in the seminary to know that I was called to move on. And I remember on my diaconate retreat, I was like, you know, God, there's nothing stopping this right now. I don't have anything else in my life. I've been working for this with you, thinking that this is the way to go make something happen. If you don't want me to be ordained, but at this particular moment in my life, I give everything now over to you. And if this is it, this is it. And it took me five years. But after that prayer, and after that moment in that retreat, which is, which was a wonderful retreat, um, I knew like, this is, this is my life now. And I let go of some of those things that I think sometimes we secretly hold on to whether we're in the seminary for a couple of years, or we're just starting out or whatever you're, or if you're thinking about applying, right. You're like, well, I'll apply to the seminary, but if you know that right woman walks around and, you know, they asked me out something like that, then that's a sign for me, you know? And we try to tell guys, you know, usually what will happen if you ask for an application, your old girlfriend will call you up or something like that will happen. Um, yeah. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Yeah. I confused my desire with God's will and, um, it was, the seminary helped me separate those two and begin to listen to God and, uh, and to be less, um, in thrawled with my own desires and allow myself to be caught up in God's desire for me. Fr. David Pellican: Well, it's so true that, um, you know, it's not like almost game over once you get to seminary, right. That a lot, a lot happens in seminary, both of discernment. And just, like you said, coming to clarity about how the Lord works, letting him work in your life. Um, yeah. I know for me, like, just looking from the time I entered seminary to the time I exited, I wasn't ready to be a priest when I entered seminary, you know, a lot happens there. Um, confirmations of that call for many, or, you know, for others, like you, like your friend, father, Craig, um, you know, those confirmations don't happen and, you know, praise God, they they're able to discern that. That is not where God's calling them. And that's, that's really a win right too, if you, if you come to that clarity. So it's a, it's a, it's a beautiful time. It could be a difficult time in seminary. Uh, did you, uh, what was your experience of seminary like? Bp. Gerard Battersby: You know, um, the first year of seminary for me was, was the year of discovery of whether I was called to be a, a priest or not, whether I was operating under an kind of an illusion or not. And, uh, I would say after that first year was very clear to me that I was where exactly where God wanted me to be. And so seminary ended up being, um, a joy because it was, it was a continuing deepening of my relationship with the Lord. And, um, and so my experience was very good. I know I came back to the seminary years later as a formator. And, uh, we always said in formation that, uh, that we had two success stories, always at the seminary. And that is a young man who came in discerned well and became a priest. And that was, uh, uh, that was a success story. And the other success story was the young man who came and discerned well and left and pursued another vocation, another call, uh, in life, another way to allow the Lord to express his love and in their heart. And so, um, those were the two, two success as there were no failures, except the failure to discern, you know, to listen to the Lord and, and, uh, cause the learn once is free and he made us for a purpose. That's right. You know, all of us to be part of his plan. Fr. Craig Giera: Hmm. In some guys. And unfortunately, you know, I mean it does happen cause I've seen it happen is, is a guy will think that maybe he's called to the priesthood and never do anything with his life because he's always thinking in the back of his mind that he's called to the priesthood and he never acts upon it. So he never pursues another vocation. He doesn't, he kind of gets to the stand still. And then all of a sudden, you know, a man is 55 years old or something like that. And they're like, wow, I never knew what to do with my life. And that's a scary, scary place to be. Guy can still work in that. Of course. I mean, I had a 63 year old seminarian and that was my first seminarian and to come to the seminary last year. So I mean, God can work in so many different ways. Fr. Craig Giera: Um, but there has to be a moment in which you act on discernment. If all you do is think about it, you're never going to go nowhere. You're just going to keep on spinning your wheels. And one day you're going to wake up and be like, well, what happened? You know? So if, if you feel called, do something about, uh, come to a discernment group, come to a discernment weekend, you know, go talk to your pastor, give me a call. I'd love to talk to you about discernment. You know, this is, this is the time to do those types of things. Because again, like you were saying two things that the formatters, you know, we're happy about if you discerned well and you became a priest, or if you discerned well and left and did ha you know, became a married man or generous single life or religious life or whatever it is, you know, we want what God wants for you. So that's where you find your happiness. Now, father David, we've been talking about formation as resident smart person. You want to explain a little bit what formation is. Fr. David Pellican: I would be happy to, although I feel like, uh, Bishop Battersby as a former formator might be able to, uh, give a more complete picture. So you can, you can jump in and correct me if I'm Bp. Gerard Battersby: Well, you were the object of formation. So from the inside, right. Fr. David Pellican: And actually I had Bishop Battersby as my formator for part of a semester. Fr. Craig Giera: Mine too! Bp. Gerard Battersby: And you, you both have turned out rather. So I don't think it had anything to do with me, but the scarring doesn't show Fr. Craig Giera: Was it, was it St Christopher's that you were at when I used to come in and do formation meetings Bp. Gerard Battersby: St. Christopher's on the west side of Detroit. Fr. David Pellican: Well, as, as one wise formatter told me, uh, Hmm. Looking at mission matters, uh, the principle formator is, is not the priest assigned to you, but the holy spirit. Amen. And, uh, I, I guess, I guess a formator in seminary is someone who's assigned to really, um, kind of help you along the journey of, of discernment, of, of growing in that relationship with the Lord of growing in just a virtue as a young man, um, to really be kind of that guide and a mentor really in that, um, they're, they're different than a spiritual director, a spiritual director. You talk a lot more intensely about your prayer and that's what we call the internal forum. So they're just there to, um, to direct you spiritually, uh, the formator, uh, they get to evaluate you a little to see how you're growing. Exactly. Exactly. Well, they're part of that discernment process on the part of the church, right. To see, uh, from the church's perspective, if, if, uh, they think you have a call in that vocation, does that sound about right Bishop Bp. Gerard Battersby: That's exactly right. And, and, and one of the things that we we can do as formaters is that we can be, uh, a sounding board because one of the ways we bring objectivity to our own subjectivity is to share it with others and to, to do. And that's what the church asks us to do. Cause we're, we're both the churches discerning and the individual is discerning. And one of the greatest joys for me as a, I was 33, when I came into the seminary, one of the greatest joys for me was discovering that there were other guys. Who God was speaking to, like he was speaking to me that he was, and it was, it was a gift to be among other brothers who were, uh, who were trying to listen to the Lord. Yes. Trying to follow him. And, uh, I thought guys that went to seminary would be kind of odd. And I found out that was just, I definitely, that Fr. Craig Giera: Praying all the time. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Praying all the time, boring, um, and I would say it was just my own prejudice. It just was a, I was wrong. Um, you know, they, God calls a variety of people and that same variety exists in the seminary. And it's, uh, it's a wonderful variety. Yeah. Fr. Craig Giera: That is. And what's great about it too, is that you just don't have to do it alone. You don't have to discern alone whether you're in seminary or outside of seminary, you don't have to do this alone, speak to someone about it. Right. So Bishop Battersby, you know, what a beautiful story, you know, and especially with those illuminations that you got, so now you get ordained, right. You're a priest. So what were some of your assignments you were probably a prorichal vicar or associate pastor for a couple of years. And then were you, pastor we know of St. Christopher, where, where were you pastor at? And then what did you do after that? Bp. Gerard Battersby: I had a number of, uh, uh, parochial assignments. Uh, I was in, when I was newly ordained, I was the associate pastor at St. Thekla in Clinton township and later on St. Claude, which was an adjoining parish clustered with St. Thekla. So I was at St. Thekla and St. Claude, uh, for two years. And then the next two years I had, uh, been in, been assigned to a cluster in Detroit that included St. Gerard parish, immaculate heart of Mary and presentation, our lady of victory. And I was, uh, in that three parish cluster for, for two years. Uh, I lived at immaculate heart of Mary, uh, in Pembroke and Detroit, um, for my time there. And that was, uh, that was really a blessed period of time. Both of those, both of those assignments. Um, after that, I was assigned as pastor at St. Christopher's, which I was part of for five years. And that was, uh, it's still remains part of the joys of my life. You know, Fr. Craig Giera: I just loved your secretary when I would call up to make an appointment. Bp. Gerard Battersby: My secretary was, was a sister of the holy family of Nazareth, and she was a wonderful frank old sister. And, uh, when people would call, she would say things like when they would ask, may I speak with father Battersby and she'd say, um, no, he's not in. And they'd say, do you know where he is? She said, of course, but I can't say, she was, she was a wonderful frank sister. I loved her God rest her soul. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. I remember talking to her many times waiting for a meeting to begin and stuff. So, Bp. Gerard Battersby: And after, after St Christopher's, I actually got a call from the Cardinal to come here to sacred heart seminary as the director of pastoral formation. Fr. Craig Giera: Um, and we just had father Pulis us on and that's the job that he told us. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Exactly, exactly. And so, um, did that for several years and then was named director of the graduate, a theology, a theology here at the seminary, and, um, then was sent to Rome for, for further studies where I had the privilege of, um, studying. Blessed, Columba, Marmion. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. It's got a great book on the priesthood, by the way, too. I'm sure you've read it. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Uh, it really is. Uh, it, it, it deepened my love for Christ and the priesthood, uh, that I would recommend that, uh, um, recommend that book to anybody who's, uh, who loves Christ and the church. Fr. Craig Giera: Um, it's not an easy read. But it's, it's a challenging reading and in a good way. Bp. Gerard Battersby: Yeah, indeed. Um, I also, I was a administrator at St. Leo's in Detroit and, uh, and I was pastor at St. Mary's of Redford Detroit, while I was here at the seminar. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Fr. Craig Giera: And then you were vice rector. What is, what is a vice rector Bp. Gerard Battersby: Do? A vice rector is in charge of formation for the, uh, for the seminarians. So in a, in addition to which, as we were speaking earlier, not only is the, is the man himself discerning the priesthood, but the church is discerning the priesthood. And the, the vice rector is, is, um, the leader of a team of priests who, uh, who discern alongside with, uh, the individual seminarian. So the, the vice rector ends up being the gatekeeper, if you will. Um, in, in, uh, in the seminary process, uh, where the rector would is in charge of the whole seminary, both, uh, um, the Institute for ministry, as well as, uh, the formation program, um, the, uh, the vice rector is focused principally on the seminarians. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah, I know. So now you're vice rector and you're living life happily, just, you know, being a happy vice rector, doing wonderful things. And then all of a sudden you get a phone call. You want to explain that process and what happened and how did you react and what was it all about? Bp. Gerard Battersby: Well, one morning I was coming, uh, we had had mass in the seminary and I was coming upstairs to my office after breakfast, and I got a phone call. And, um, there was another person on the line who, um, introduced himself is the papal nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre. And at first I thought it was a candid camera sort of routine. And, um, he, he had called me the night before, but as a matter of fact, I was having a, um, a pop with Monsignor Trap and, uh, didn't pick up the phone call. So it was his actually his second call. And, uh, and he, um, he started to laugh. He said, the holy father has, uh, has appointed you is an auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, Fr. Craig Giera: He was laughing when he told you? Bp. Gerard Battersby: Yeah. He was very much filled with joy. And, uh, and I thought to myself who could have put him up to this, I didn't think it was real. Um, and he wanted to know if I would accept the holy father's appointment. And, um, I said, yes, but I was frankly, in a state of shock, I really didn't know what to make of it. And, uh, how not from, from speaking to the, um, to the nuncio and a little while later, the Archbishop Archbishop Vigneron called me. And he said, um, did you answer your phone? Bp. Gerard Battersby: I said, I did. And I said, is this for real? He said, I assure you, this is for real. So yeah, it was, uh, it was, um, it was unexpected, but I'm very grateful that that, that God is in charge. Fr. Craig Giera: Well bring this around full circle. I mean, like you say yes, and you're like, okay, now you have to pick out a motto. You have to pick out a Bible passage, you have to make a coat of arms, get this all done before you get ordained a Bishop. How does that work out? Bp. Gerard Battersby: You know, there's, there's a lot of things that you have to do, and frankly you're unprepared for, and you, you, uh, you really don't have any context in which to, uh, um, um, draw wisdom from. Fr. Craig Giera: Not too many people to ask. Bp. Gerard Battersby: And the, and probably one of the worst things is you can't say anything to anybody. Well, I got a phone call on November 15th opening day for father Giera. Fr. Craig Giera: Bow is opening day, October 1st, Bp. Gerard Battersby: October 1st. Yes. Right. That's right. Yeah. That's right. Firearm is, is the 15, definitely November 15th. And, um, it wasn't announced publicly until the 23rd of November. So I had, uh, eight days in which to keep this, um, papal secret. And, uh, I want you to know it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Wow. Yeah. So, um, yeah, I, it was, uh, it w it was a new experience and continues to be, and, and, and really the same thing that happened in the seminary is what is happening today. And the one thing necessary is to press in to the truth that Jesus is Lord in this, in this moment as in every moment. And so he continues to reign, he continues, he continues to be Lord, and he continues to call us. And here's the beautiful thing. We don't have to be competent. We have to be faithful. And the Lord will equip us with the graces we need for the task he calls us to. And so the fact that I wasn't prepared the fact that I certainly don't have the skills that a Bishop needs to lead the church isn't troublesome to me because Jesus is Lord, and he will provide, Fr. Craig Giera: I'm fine with weakness. Because when I am weak, he is strong Bp. Gerard Battersby: I, and I'm like, exactly. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. So before we end, I'd like to spend a little bit of time on what an auxiliary Bishop does, because we kind of see the Archbishop a little bit more with all the special masses that go on, especially, you know, with the Easter vigil and, and anything that's like being streamed or stuff like that. So what is the task of an auxiliary Bishop? What does that look like? What is your day like? Bp. Gerard Battersby: So the Archbishop is, um, is what is known as the ordinary of this diocese. In other words, he is the chief, uh, Bishop of this diocese, uh, the archdiocese of Detroit. And, uh, and that means he presides over the church in Detroit. An auxiliary Bishop is not an ordinary an auxiliary Bishop is a Bishop just as the Archbishop is, but is not an ordinary. An auxiliary Bishop is a Bishop who assists the ordinary Archbishop Vigneron in the pastoral care of the archdiocese. So, um, I think you could, you could with, without, uh, um, without erring too far, I think you could compare an auxiliary Bishop to a parochial vicar. Um, a parochial vicar is a priest, and he assists the pastor of the parish in the pastoral care of the parish. And so an auxiliary Bishop is, is very much like a parochial vicar in that, that we're, we're priests, we're bishops, but we assist, um, a particular Bishop in the pastoral care of a geographical areas such as the archdiocese of Detroit. Bp. Gerard Battersby: So we do all the things, you know, um, the Archbishop sends us out to assist him with confirmations. So I'm the, I'm the regional moderator of the south region. So all the parishes in the south region, um, I, you know, I, I helped with confirmations at these parishes. I helped with, um, any school masses, any school, uh, opportunities, um, help with the, all the pastoral needs that, you know, if, if a particular pastor has a, has a question or a concern that I can help that particular pastor in that, in that particular, in that geographical area, Fr. Craig Giera: Do you always smell a Chrisholm because you're anointing 19 people, Bp. Gerard Battersby: Thank God smells so good. You know, Fr. Craig Giera: It's not like Bp. Gerard Battersby: It's a very pleasant, a pleasant odor. So, you know, I mean, what does St Paul's say, we're, we're, we're, we're the odor of Christ. And so, uh, Fr. Craig Giera: Um, I'm a sweet smelling, Bp. Gerard Battersby: Exactly. But it's, uh, yeah, so, uh, I, I occasionally smell like [inaudible], I wish my, uh, I wish I wish that sweet sweetness would always surround me. Fr. Craig Giera: Yeah. So just a conference on confirmation, you get to see a unique aspect of the church of young people, you know, becoming confirmed. And this is the hope of the future. Like when you do a confirmation, like, what are you thinking about? What are you praying about? Like, you're looking at these young men and women saying, this is the future of the church, you know, so like what's going on in your prayer at that time? Bp. Gerard Battersby: You know, one of the things that I do is I, I do spend, uh, quite a bit of time in prayer before the confirmation lifting up the young people that I will confirm, uh, to the Lord asking the Lord and begging the Lord for graces, that these young people are going to need in this time, um, to share in Christ's ministry. Cause that's what they're being asked to do their, you know, in their baptism, they're being conformed to Christ and in their confirmation, they're being equipped with the graces necessary to share in Christ's mission. Um, and that's, that's an awesome thing. I mean, in its proper proper sense, I mean, St Peter tells us that God's plan is incredible for these young people. What does Saint Peter say in his second letter, first chapter, he says that we are being given a share of the divine nature. Bp. Gerard Battersby: And so that's what's happening with these young people. And so I pray that they might be receptive and open for this confirmations are my favorite thing to do as a Bishop. Uh, they're just, they're very exciting to me. And one of the things that I try to do is I try to try to draw, um, a parallel between what God is doing in this moment, individually for this for this individual confirmandi and what God is doing cosmically. In other words, his plan for the whole cosmos to re-establish, all creation in Christ is happening right here in this parish church, right here in the heart of these. Fr. Craig Giera: That's beautiful when you put it that way and we don't think about it sometimes that way, right? Right. The sacrament that is a cosmic event, it changes Bp. Gerard Battersby: Everything. It changes everything. Fr. Craig Giera: That's very, really beautiful. Now you've been in so many different roles and especially as formator, so to any of the young men who are listening right now, who think they might have a call to the priesthood, what, what is some advice you want to give them, but what should they do? What should they not do? What should they avoid? What should they not pay attention to? Whatever it is, what, what kind of advice would you give them right now? Bp. Gerard Battersby: There's one thing that every heart desires and I don't care how you are called or what you're called to every heart desires to fall in love, to be loved and to love that's what we're made for. And so what I would say is allow yourself to be loved by Christ. There is nothing greater that can happen to any human being than to be loved by Christ to allow themselves to be caught up in the mystery of Christ. So the first thing I would tell any young person is have a conversation with Jesus. Tell him that you would love to get to know him, that you would love to allow him to love you in the way he desires to, and then allow that to happen. Talk to Jesus every day. Don't be afraid to ask Jesus's friends for help in following him and who, who knows him before all else. Our blessed lady. Yeah. She's known him from the moment. Gabriel announced his presence in the womb. She's known him and contemplated his face in the crib. And on the cross, she knows Jesus completely ask her mother Mary, help me to love Jesus as I aught. And the one thing I would say is, however, God is calling to you, calling you however he is inviting you to consider in following him, falling in love with Jesus is the greatest thing that can happen to any human being. Fr. Craig Giera: And it's about freedom to like take a full circle. Again, it's a freedom that you were given. And so many of our youth want the freedom to do whatever, but it's once we're loved by Christ and accept that love then true freedom is there Bp. Gerard Battersby: Freedom to be who you are loved by God Fr. Craig Giera: Amen to that. That's awesome. Well, Bishop Battersby, it's been wonderful talking to some really wise words and some wonderful stories that you had. So we would really love, you could lead us out in a prayer. Bp. Gerard Battersby: It's been great to be with you father Craig and father David. Thank you Bp. Gerard Battersby: Let us take a moment and just ask our mother Mary to wrap her mantle around us and on, around all those who will hear this podcast that she might help each of us and all of us to love Christ as we aught to hear his voice and to follow him. And so together we pray hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, holy Mary mother of God. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. The name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. Fr. Craig Giera: Amen. Thank you so much, Bishop Battersby. We thank you, father David. All right. You have been listening to men of the hearts, a monthly podcast from the archdiocese of Detroit office of priestly vocations. Join me every month. Father Craig, Giera your host and also father David Pelican. As we explore the priesthood hear, vocation stories from priests all over the archdiocese and answer questions about discerning a priestly vocation tune in every month to wherever you get your podcasts, learn more@detroitpriestlyvocations.com.