NICK MERSCH
SPORTS EDITOR
Curious students hoping to discern their vocations gave their attention to the wide variety of speakers at Sunday night’s Theology on Tap in the Gentile Gallery.
Brother Daniel Maria Klimek, TOR, opened with a prayer, which was followed by the sounds of beers and soda cans cracking open. Klimek, two religious sisters and a married couple took to the stage for “real talk” on how God led them to their vocations.
First, Sister Teresa Reyes, TOR, gave her testimony of how she felt called to the religious life. Reyes opened up to her calling after her dating experiences did not go quite as she planned. Her stories inspired the students because Reyes was still thinking of the family life in college but remained open to God’s call through her college years.
With their daughter in the crowd, Ben and Mariely Gessler then shared their story of how they ended up together. It was a long tale full of laughs and heart-warming moments.
Opening his story, Ben Gessler said, “I don’t mean to take away from anyone with a religious vocation, but marriage is awesome.” The couple told the story as a tag team and were careful to point out moments when they felt God truly intervening in their lives.
The radiant Sister Mary Immaculata Glofcheskie shared that her call to the religious life began in elementary school when her principal told her she might want to consider it. She first voiced her desire to join the religious life at 15 years old but was told by her spiritual director to wait until she graduated.
Glofcheskie’s story clearly communicated her love for the church and her zeal for her vocation. She even snuck in a shot at the Gesslers as she motioned toward the couple onstage and said, “I’m sorry, but my husband is perfect.”
Last to share was Klimek, who dove straight into his story by talking about a time during which he fell away from the faith and found himself in an unhealthy relationship. In a St. Augustine-like fashion, Klimek’s mother was the one who guided him back to the faith with a book recommendation about Medjugorje and the Blessed Mother. After some time, he began to think that he would be OK without having a wife or family and arrived at the realization that religious life was for him.
Senior Anne Sweeney, who orchestrated the event, said, “It was a great night of testimonies in which the Holy Spirit interweaves thoroughly each talk with the divine providence of God in every vocation.”