Priest's mother visits with other mothers in diocese over a cup of tea

In this article, Mary Corel, mother of Father Joe Corel, the diocesan vocation director, writes about the "Mother's Teas" she and her son attended in October.

By Mary Corel

Being the mother of a priest is a joy that cannot be explained, it can only be experienced, and I pray many others will one day experience this joy. Last summer, my son, Fr. Joe, invited me to "tour the diocese" with him in presenting the Mother's Teas in October. It was a great honor and privilege to participate in these events. We traveled to Monroe City, Kirksville, Moberly and Columbia the first week, and to St. Joseph Cathedral in Jefferson City, to Linn, Frankenstein and Rolla the second week.

What a wonderful experience to be able to share with others what a blessing it is to be the mother of a priest! It also gave me the opportunity to see many of your churches, meet some of my son's brother priests, and to spend some blessed time with my son. (Not only in this phase of his ministry as Vocation Director for the diocese, but in other aspects of his priesthood, including attending a Cursillo Closura, Mass for the Chancery staff followed by a luncheon, weekend Mass coverage at a parish, a fall dinner/bazaar/bake sale at another parish, accompanying him as he visited the school children at several locations and a couple of evenings just visiting some of his friends.)

At each of these Teas, Fr. Joe showed a PowerPoint presentation on the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, followed by Mass. His homily centered on the strength and courage of Mary and brought out many points for me (and hopefully all of us) to ponder in my heart. I was grateful to be able to hear this several times, as each time something new struck me. After Mass, we watched the video on vocations entitled "Fishers of Men." I enjoyed seeing both of these videos as much at the last Tea as at the first. They are both very powerful.

After Mass, the ladies of the parishes served refreshments, and we shared some fellowship. I was able to meet several other mothers of priests, which left me wanting to get to know them all better. It was fun for me to visit with people who have been, are, and will be part of my son's life. And I am grateful he asks me along to share part of this awesome life he is living.

After refreshments, I shared with the group what it is like to be the mother of a priest and why parents should encourage their children to do this. As the mother of a priest, I find God blessing me in so many ways. Doing this "tour" was one of them. Hopefully, God will allow me to do it again.

These Teas were open to all women in the diocese to help promote vocations and share with them what a blessing it is to have their son, relative or friend answer "yes" to God's call to the priesthood. We also emphasized the importance of everyone, especially mothers, to encourage their children to be open to God's call, to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to them, to pray and discern just where and how God is calling them to follow Him.

My prayer is that through hearing some of my experiences, more parents will be open to the idea of their children pursuing the possibility of the Priesthood, entering the seminary and discerning whether this is what God is calling them to do.