Fr John Perdue – The Flying Fathers
Episode 39
28 OCT 2019
The Flying Fathers were a hockey team of Catholic priests originally started back in the early 1960s. There is optimism of-late for the team’s resurrection, according to Father John Perdue, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Peterborough in Ontario, Canada. He not only is playing for the team but leading their return. He talks about it during this conversation that was recorded while he was in Rome for the canonization of the five newest saints.
Notable guest quotes:
“So he sits down and explains with him that he’s been sensing this call and that he’s gonna go and become a priest.”
“Part of why I’ve been willing to invest time and energy in being a part of (bringing back the Flying Fathers) because I see the great value it has to sort of humanize the priest.”
“If young men can see guys like priests kind of having fun, engaging in sport, it makes them kind of think, ‘Hey, I could see myself doing that. I see a similarity between them and myself.’ And certainly will open hearts and minds to vocations, I think.”
“For those of us who live in the faith… we have the most fun, when you’re living in the fullness of the joy of the gospel.”
“I see the need for generous young men to lay down their lives in service of the gospel and if sport can be a bridge to have young men see priests as humans who do good for society through these games and laugh and are normal guys, by all means the vocational aspect is sort of a third, ya’ know there’s the charity, there’s the joy, and there’s the vocational aspect.”
“So, spiritually speaking, I’m offering Mass with the Pope, the successor of St. Peter, I’m making Christ present on the altar alongside Peter. It was very moving to do that, just to stop and just think about what I’ve just done, where I am. And it’s kind of a little overwhelming.”
“The Flying Fathers were granted an audience with (Pope) Paul VI. They had risen to enough acclaim and had done, I guess, enough for charity that they met Paul VI.”
“The only directive that our Lord ever gave about vocations, was, ‘Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that He might send laborers into His harvest’.”
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