By Theresa Carson
On a sunny day in April, Father Adam MacDonald SVD, local superior of the Divine Word Theologate, carves out an hour to talk.
On this day, he has formation interviews scheduled at the Theologate in Chicago’s Hyde Park. By the end of the process, he will have interviewed 22 men in various states of formation. Their stories inspire him, he says.
Some of the men in formation professed first vows less than 12 months prior. Others have lived in temporary vows for years. Eight will profess perpetual vows the following September, and six are preparing for ordination to the priesthood in a few weeks.
In addition to serving as rector/local superior of the SVD Theologate, Father MacDonald is co-host of “Dare to Love,” a podcast of the Archdiocese of Chicago that focuses on vocations. His experience informs his conversations with podcast guests. This year, he celebrates his 25th anniversary as a priest.
“There’s something grace-filled about being 25 years in this life and to walk with men in active discernment,” he said. “After 25 years you do not have everything figured out, but you do know where some of the potholes and speed bumps are.”
For more than a decade, Father MacDonald traveled as a full-time vocation director. He cherishes the role and continues to keep his hand in it by occasionally going on the road to meet young men who feel God’s call to religious life.
To understand the beginning of Father MacDonald’s vocation, one must go to Flint, Mich., where he and his five siblings grew up. His parents, Laurence and Rose Ann MacDonald, raised their children in the Catholic faith with an example of loving commitment and an appreciation of culture.
Laurence worked as a music director, college instructor, film critic and radio show host. On Saturday mornings, every radio in the MacDonald household was tuned to Michigan Public Radio as the family listened to their father speak about a film, genre or director. Every weekend, they also attended Mass.
That faith-filled upbringing led to three of the six MacDonald children becoming priests. In fact, Father MacDonald and his younger brother Tim were ordained during the same ceremony in 2000.
Tim is a pastor in the Diocese of Lansing; Eben belongs to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; and as a Divine Word Missionary, Adam has served in Illinois, Iowa and the Philippines.
“It’s ironic that God called us to be in the priesthood together,” Father MacDonald mused. “We go to each other for advice, questions and pastoral concerns.”
In addition to pastoral ministries, one of the many responsibilities that the brothers have in common is overseeing building projects.
“After 25 years in formation, I feel like I’m beginning to feel at home in ministry, knowing that God is in control,” he said. “I still sleep at night because God is in control.”
Father MacDonald says he strives to be a mentor and is trying to live a generative life, one that calls forth life in others. He shares what he has learned.
“I spent a lot of my life apologizing for being an introvert, feeling I had to answer every question,” he said. “But there’s a quiet power in being the introvert, being someone who listens deeply, cares profoundly and attentive to what people say.”
And he embraces the doubts and questions that naturally arise in life. “As soon as we accept our unworthiness and see the worthiness that God gives to our lives, we can go forth in mission,” he said. “God will make up for our unworthiness.”
Father MacDonald said that he is fascinated by “this whole idea of accepting our unworthiness, not just wallowing but allowing God to unleash the gifts within us to be people God created us to be.”
He often reminds himself that God will equip him for what he will do, and he looks to the Acts of the Apostles and the example of St. Paul for inspiration.
“St. Paul overcame much to be a great missionary,” he said. “Along with God’s grace, something needed to change in him. He had to see that he was redeemable.”
He said that what he envisioned for his life before ordination does not resemble what has been. He expected to serve as a missionary in another country.
“The traditional notion of a missionary is connected to geography,” he said. “Mission is not totally geography. It starts where you are.”
To see the “Dare to Love” episode in which Father MacDonald talks with his brothers Eben and Tim and their father Laurence, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=759owGEjFsM&list=PL30oeUTJ9xG3wWoA7dy95RNbu_BAIfJbP&index=4