Serra Club Vocations Essay:
A heavenly vision of priests and religious

By Olivia Bruns

As I walked through the shiny gates, a view of fruit and light was before me. Someone of unspeakable beauty and warmth called me over.

I was frightened, but I suddenly realized who this man was. It was the heavenly Father, the creator of all. It was God! I was now with Him in his eternal kingdom.

The first question that came to my mind was, “Why is all this fruit lying around?”

He replied in a calm and collected voice. The fruit represented his modern disciples on Earth. They were the nuns, priests and brothers I had seen on my way to school. All of the good they perform makes the fruit grow as if it is magical.

He told me to look down. I did and my mouth fell, and a sight of amazement came over me. I was looking down on Earth.

I saw an average sight. It was a nun in a hospital. She was working late into the night. Then a colleague walked in with a stack of books and reports. She was a teacher and the other was a nurse. They both worked with compassion and determination.

They were not thinking of themselves, only their patients and students. The women’s strength of mind made the scene extraordinary.

The sight suddenly changed. It showed a priest counseling a family. There was no father, and the mother and children were crying. Something terrible had happened.

The priest was comforting them and making them feel as if their father was with them.

All of a sudden, the family left and the priest started changing into his garments to say Mass. He looked as though he was overworked, but he showed no signs of stopping.

He walked out with a smile on his face. He knew what he was doing would help the human race, and that made him individually joyful.

The clouds started shifting and it became very dark. I was now looking down on a monk who was sitting with someone who was dying.

They were in a horrible place, maybe India or Thailand. I wasn’t sure, but the love that the monk was showing for this stranger had overcome me.

He was in a land he had never been in, all by himself, but God was still shining through him. The poor man died and the monk prayed for many hours. He did not pray for the suffering man only, also he prayed for all, of us whose hardships are nothing compared to his.

All of this was still racing through my mind! This had impressed me more than anything on Earth had ever done. I had never realized how many burdens that religious people have to carry.

Their works keep the world together. The results of their jobs do not waste away. Everything they do leaves an impact on the Earth.

Something else I had never realized was how their jobs vary. They can be anything from lawyers to missionaries to doctors to even just average citizens trying to help the community. Just like fruit, their works come in all shapes and sizes.

God called me over to sit down at the table where beautiful food was laid out. I first asked him how these people are so Christ-like and kind in their daily lives.

He told me that we all have Jesus in us, and he grows by the generous works we do. Their works are extraordinary, and that is why Jesus shines through them as if he lives in them.

I finally understood that they are the ones who deserve to be the angels in heaven. They possess all the qualities: holiness, kindness and, most of all, Jesus. They bring light into even the darkest situations.

They are the ones who deserve to come and sit with me and God at this eternal feast of fruit.

(Olivia and her parents, Jeff and Barbara Bruns, are members of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg. She just completed the eighth-grade at St. Malachy School and is the eighth-grade division winner in the 2005 Serra Club Vocations Essay Contest.) †