STORY - "Prayerfully Proceed ... One woman’s calling to a ‘priestly’ vocation"

For many years, Teresa Pirola, currently of the Diocese of Broken Bay, was engaged in the ministry of story telling. She was spreading the good news of ‘ordinary’ people through The Story Source. This was a publishing ministry born of the conviction that ordinary people can and do proclaim the gospel in extraordinary ways.

Some years ago now, Teresa wrote “The act of storytelling implicitly says, your own story is praiseworthy, your life reflections sacred. Those moments of insight – often arising from simple and mundane events – are prophetic gifts. They illuminate a deeper wisdom, the footprints of grace in our lives.”

The footprints of grace in Teresa’s life led her to our diocese in June when she was guest speaker at the 12th annual dinner of the Tenison Woods Education Centre. Her topic Making sense of a ‘priestly’ calling: one woman’s story was stimulating, to say the least, and unusually personal.

The crux of her narrative was an event that, as she freely admitted, was difficult to describe but very real. As she tells it, “About 11 pm on the night of 5 August 2000, I experienced a call from God to a new vocational phase in my life. I can only describe this turning point as a movement of grace. Suddenly I knew what God wanted of me.”

Teresa went on to describe a call that was both a fulfillment and a development of a life that was already being lived in the service of the church. She had been engaged in an apostolate of religious writing for many years which had borne much fruit. Currently she is a pastoral associate in the parish of Chatswood.

In fact, Teresa’s call came in two parts. First on that August night, in an experience which cannot be captured in words, she realised without doubt that she was called to celibacy, for the sake of the kingdom. “One week later I received ‘part two’ of my calling….an intense conviction that I was meant to take my place within the presbyterate.”

Teresa is well aware that this conviction invites challenge, given the clear statement of Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone (1994). However, the strength of her conviction is such that she accepts that she may never experience the fulfillment of her calling. However, she says, ‘I understood this vocation to be a mission to live the question posed by this ‘calling’ in a spirit of faithfulness to the church….to embody the question, ‘If not ordination, then what?’ ”    

When she sought counsel from a variety of faithful people, “Repeatedly the response was one of openness: ‘What you are describing rings true. Prayerfully proceed.’”

Postscript
After some years of praying and living, not unhappily, with this tension, Teresa decided to approach her bishop, David Walker. After a couple of meetings with him, there was movement at the diocese, and by the time Teresa spoke in Maitland, a new vocational opportunity for women had emerged. As Teresa explained, “This is Bishop David’s initiative. Whilst my approach would seem to have helped its crystallisation, it is his initiative.”

The working title “ecclesial women”, highlights the explicitly ‘church’ orientation of the initiative. As Teresa explains, “It’s an invitation to undertake a celibate life for the sake of the diocese. It involves a promise of obedience to the bishop and a sharing in his ministry of pastoral care and leadership. It is a life of service, and a way of expressing and extending the gift of pastoral charity which is at the heart of the bishop’s mission.” 

Sometimes clarifying what something is not is helpful. This is not ordination, or even a step towards same. It is not religious life as we know it, since there is no commitment to a community other than the diocese, and no vow of poverty. It is not a sacrament, although it may well be sacramental.   

One diner after listening intently to Teresa, remarked that while she was not the highest profile person to speak at the dinner, she was easily the one with the most heart. We await with interest the next chapter in this story.

Tracey Edstein

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