Our Ben Weber to be Ordained in St. Catharines May 26th, 2012

Two members of Dunwoodie's Class of 2012 will be ordained as priests of the Diocese of St. Catharines, Saturday May 26th in St. Catharines -- Frs. Ben Weber and Chad Grennan.

Father Ben Weber grew up in a remote country town in Nova Scotia, Canada. He and his family rarely traveled into the nearest major town—that is, except to attend Sunday Mass.

GRADUATES—At St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, are Fathers Patrick D’Arcy, John Paul Ouellette, C.F.R., Chad Grennan and Ben Weber. Photo Chris Sheridan

Cardinal Dolan will ordain two men to the priesthood at a Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral Saturday, May 19 at 9 a.m.

They are Father Patric D’Arcy, who will be ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, and Father John Paul Ouellette, C.F.R., who will be ordained a priest of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

Both are graduates of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie.

The other two members of Dunwoodie’s Class of 2012 will be ordained as priests of the Diocese of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. They will be ordained there Saturday, May 26.

Fr. Ben Weber was a student at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy and parishoner of St. HedwigsFather Ben Weber grew up in a remote country town in Nova Scotia, Canada. He and his family rarely traveled into the nearest major town—that is, except to attend Sunday Mass.

“Where I grew up, you couldn’t see your neighbors—there’s trees, woods. You were lucky if you saw a person in a day,” said Father Weber of his hometown of Scotsburn. “It was very secluded,” he said.

Their parish church, Stella Maris, was in the town of Pictou, a 25-minute drive away.

“Winter time was really bad,” he said, remarking that the commute into town was not often made for things other than Mass.

“My parents never missed Mass. If we could, we’d go a couple times a week,” said Father Weber, who credited his parents, James and Lori, for the support they gave him as he pursued his vocation. His mother, he said, converted to Catholicism after his parents married.

Although the Catholic population was small where he grew up, his vocation did not waver. “I started serving when I was about 7. I liked being up in the sanctuary,” he said.

He joyfully reported that and his twin brother Luke—who is now a Carmelite brother in Wyoming—often served at Mass together. As they pursued their vocations, they found the separate paths difficult at first, but said, “We came to the conclusion we have to accept what God wants,” Father Weber said. “I just always knew I wanted to be working in a parish.”

At St. Joseph’s Seminary, he found another type of brotherhood with his fellow seminarians. “They’re like my brothers. It never fills the gap but it’s definitely important to have someone you can lean on. They help you and you help them,” he said.

He will be ordained a priest of the Diocese of St. Catherines, Ontario.

As for being a priest, he said, “I can’t wait to administer the sacraments, and with God’s help, to be another Christ to the people.”

Father Ben Weber will celebrate his first Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Dunnville, Ontario, Sunday, May 27, at 10:30 a.m. Father Michael Andrysiak, pastor, will be the homilist.

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Once Denied Lector Post, He’ll Have Own Pulpit

Maybe it was because he was a Montreal Canadiens fan. But when Father Chad Grennan offered himself as a lector at his parish in Toronto, home of the Maple Leafs, he was turned down.

“I got turned down a couple of times,” he recalled. “They actually hadn’t heard me read, but they said we have a lot of people right now. We’ll call you if we need someone. They never called. Then I filled out a card to register (for the parish) and I thought okay, I’ll check this stuff off. I put choir, lector and a few other things, and I never got a call or anything.”

Father Grennan, 38, will soon get his chance to speak in front of a congregation. He’s only a few weeks away from being ordained to the priesthood. Raised in a loving Catholic family in the Canadian Maritimes, he attended Catholic schools and recalled Sunday Mass as an important and cherished part of his childhood.

Father Grennan, the son of Frank and Geraldine Grennan of Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada, hadn’t given the priesthood more than a passing thought growing up. In fact, he’d already embarked on a fine career in finance working for Citi Group in Toronto in his 20s. Part of him, however, retained a fascination with the idea of the priesthood.

“I may be in the minority when it comes to a vocation story,” he acknowledged. “But there was no person, no event that inspired it.” There was just a slow, steady urging by the Holy Spirit. “It was a gradual process. Thoughts of the priesthood had come to me off and on throughout the years, but they were very mild and I brushed them off,” he explained. “But then when I hit my 30s, that’s when things started to become a little bit clearer. It began to seem like a really attractive thing to go after. I looked into it and here I am in 2012!”

Father Grennan’s first Mass will be on Sunday, May 27, at Sacré Coeur Church, Welland, Ontario, Canada. The homilist will be Father Paul McDonald, pastor of Sacré Coeur.

http://cny.org/stories/Cardinal-to-Ordain-Two-in-Cathedral-May-19,7495