One of
a Jamaican Kind: Fr. Bertram Chin, C.P., page
three
An Ordinary
Mass?
Fr. Bertram
dates his Passionist vocation to his teenage years. He did not feel
particularly religious in his early years or, even, personally close
to the Passionist priests. However, some family circumstances brought
him to what was an ordinary Mass, albeit a Memorial Mass for his deceased
grandmother. It was a Saturday morning in the fall of 1979; he was seventeen.
To this day he's not sure what actually happened at that Mass. What
he does know is that somehow the Holy Spirit stirred profoundly and
powerfully in his heart. Immediately afterwards he found himself going
into the sacristy to speak to Fr. Charles Dougherty, C.P., the priest
who had celebrated the Mass. He told him very simply that he wanted
to become a Passionist.
 That
was probably the easy part of the journey. Many difficulties and challenges
have followed since then. Today he is the only vocation left from a
strong group of Jamaicans who prepared for the Passionists with him.
Fr. Bertram recalls that "those were the difficult years. I had to watch
so many of my friends leave. Now, as the only Jamaican, I find it a
challenge both to understand and to be understood in a religious community
where I am the only member of my culture."
There's
also a concern for the future. "I worry about the future of the Jamaican
Passionist Mission. Yes, I do see signs of vocations among our youth.
I keep speaking about it and encouraging the young, but it is indeed
for them a long leap."
Signs of Hope
"Signs
of hope" are what Fr. Bertram calls the people and events that give
him the strength and determination to go on. They appear from both near
and far away. From nearby, for instance, are the very people of St.
Elizabeth. So heart-warming for Fr. Bertram is how they identify themselves
always as "Passionist", a tribute to both their spirit and to the Passionists
who labored at "St. E.'s" since 1955.
From
far away also come signs of hope. New bonds of fraternity and collaboration
have emerged in recent years. Fr. Bertram spent the last two years in
Chicago, earning his Master of Divinity Degree while living with the
Passionist Community at the Catholic Theological Union. It was his first
integrated Passionist living experience. More recently, he was the guest
preacher at the renowned Solemn Novena of St. Ann in Scranton, Pa. The
sight of these thousands of pilgrims coming in devotion and prayer,
listening so attentively to the Word of God, especially moved him.
with
both feet!
A
Missionary Looks at Jamaica •
One
of a Jamaican Kind: Fr Bertram Chin, C.P.
- beginning
A
Retreat House Keeping Dreams Alive
• Sister Una Is Building a College
Editor's Note •
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