By A. Joseph Dorairaj
Peter and Paul were twins. Paul was two inches taller than Peter who was older than him by a few minutes. He was bright in studies and was good-looking as well. Their parents were pious and were proud of them. Nancy, their mother, was a school teacher with a meager salary of Rs.10, 000 per month. Her husband was a car driver cum mechanic in the Middle East. It was a lower middle-class family struggling to make both ends meet. But the parents were determined to provide the best possible education to their twins.
They admitted Paul in the convent-run matriculation school which was quite expensive. His twin brother studied in a government school but his parents had promised to shift him to the convent-run school if his grades improved. Year after year they promised to shift him to the matriculation school but somehow that never materialized. Finance was the deciding factor.
But Peter was least bothered about joining his brother in the matriculation school. He was happy in the Government school where he had a lot of friends. Most importantly, that gave him enough time to play football.
Nancy approached the parish priest one Sunday after Mass and told him, “Father, we have two sons. We want to offer one of them to God. May one of them become a priest.”
“Thank you, Nancy, for your generosity. When we organize the vocation camp, we’ll inform you and both the boys can participate in the camp. We will leave the rest to the province vocation promoter. Ultimately, it is God who decides.”
“Ok Father, thank you. May I know when the next camp is being organized?”
She realized that Peter was not very keen on joining the seminary. Paul was interested but for the wrong reasons.
“I don’t have the details with me right now. But I’ll collect them from the vocation promoter and WhatsApp the details in a week.”
“Thank you very much, Fr.”
That afternoon during lunch, Nancy asked her two sons, “Who wants to become a priest?” The two boys looked at each other. Neither of them responded.
“If one of you becomes a priest, that’ll be nice.”
A few weeks later there was a call from the parish priest. The next vocation camp will be organized during the first week of May and fortunately it will be held in the parish church itself.
Nancy was very happy. “Jesus, bless both my sons. I’m offering one of them to you. It’s up to you to decide which one. But I prefer Paul.” She uttered this prayer every night.
Meanwhile, her desperate attempts to wean Peter away from football and get him to concentrate on his studies and prepare for the upcoming Board Exams didn’t produce any tangible result. In fact, he was now spending more time in the football ground than before. Probably to escape his mother’s nagging.
“But how did they choose him and not me? This is unacceptable.”
The dates for the vocation camp were announced. It was for two days: 3-4 May. Nancy requested both the boys to attend the camp. Peter was not interested but he thought that it would be fun to spend some time with guys from other parishes and maybe play football with them.
The vocation camp was good. There were lots of activities and four talks – two on the first day and two on the second day. The talks clarified the meaning of vocation and what God’s call entailed. The talks also shed light on the special charism of that particular congregation and their apostolate. Interestingly, there was an IQ test as well.
Peter made friends with guys interested in football. They exchanged mobile numbers and promised to meet regularly. Paul was quiet throughout the camp and behaved as if he were already a priest. The other guys teased him but he shrugged it off. He was hell-bent on becoming a priest. During lunch time on both the days, he was seen chatting with the vocation promoter. He had a long chat with the Provincial who came for the valedictory session.
Nancy met the vocation promoter the following day and enquired about the boys. He told her that it was too early to decide. He clarified that their congregation’s policy was to admit students only after their Plus Two. He told her to wait for two more years.
“That’s no issue, Father,” replied Nancy. “But I wanted to find out which of the two boys is being called by God.”
“We’ll wait and see. It’s too early to decide.”
“My husband and I want at least one of them to become a priest. Preferably, Paul.”
“Did you check with the boys if they wanted to become priests?”
“Yes, Father.”
“What was their reply?”
“Paul is interested. But Peter is non-committal.”
“But the story is different, Nancy.”
“Different? What do you mean?”
“Paul is hard-working and is talented. He is good at his studies. In fact, his IQ is very high. But he is career-oriented. He wants to become an IT engineer, go to the US, make money, build a big house for you and buy a luxurious car.”
“But Father, these days all kids have such dreams. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have the vocation.”
“The Holy Spirit will help us to discern and choose the right candidate.”
“Ok, Father. What about Peter?”
“Peter is playful. But personally, I’m interested more in Peter than Paul. Because he doesn’t have any inordinate attachments.”
“Oh, is that so?”
That evening after dinner Nancy summoned the boys. She asked them: “What are your dreams? Where will you be ten years from now? I want to talk to you both separately. First, Paul.”
“Ok Mummy. I’ll discuss my plans and dreams after dinner.”
That night Nancy had long private discussions with her sons. She realized that Peter was not very keen on joining the seminary. Paul was interested but for the wrong reasons. He wanted a name for himself and thought that the seminary would provide the roadmap. But she couldn’t really identify which son was being called to serve God. She decided to leave it to the Holy Spirit and the vocation promoter.
After completing Standard XII, Paul wanted to do engineering. His aim was to become a software engineer, go to the US and make plenty of money. He wanted his parents to be comfortably settled. Once it is done, he would enter the seminary. But as far as Peter was concerned, he wanted to do an arts course so that he could devote more time to football.
There was another vocation camp for candidates who had completed Standard XII. It was to shortlist candidates to the pre-novitiate. Nancy forced both the boys to sign up for the camp. The camp was rigorous and lasted three days. At the end of the camp, the vocation promoter asked Peter if he was interested in joining their pre-novitiate. But he clarified that the pre-novitiate was a probationary period and added that there would be one more round of selection at the end of the pre-novitiate. He told Paul to attend another camp after completing his B.Tech.
Paul was furious. He burst out: “Mom, I’m much better than Peter. I’m better-looking. I’ve scored very high marks in Class X and Class XII. I can sing well and can play the key-board. I’ve a high score in JEE and can get into an NIT. Look at Peter’s marks. 67.4% compared to mine of 97.9%. But how did they choose him and not me? This is unacceptable. I’m going to talk to the vocation promoter.”
Nancy didn’t have any answer.
That evening Paul and Nancy met the parish priest. He listened to Paul patiently. He appreciated him for his high IQ. He said that in both the camps, his score was the highest. But he clarified: “Paul, many are called but few are chosen.”
“But Father?” The parish priest interrupted him and said to him, “Who are we to decide? He decides.”
Prof. A. Joseph Dorairaj, an Emeritus Professor at Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, has assisted several Jesuit colleges in many ways. He can be reached at josephdorairaj@gmail.com.