Rev. Paul Huber, SJ

Two Jesuit priests stand out in my mind as being important factors in my call to religious life and priesthood. One was Fr. Warren Lilly (deceased). The second was a Jesuit (also now deceased) whose name I will not give. He was a teacher. My relationship with him was bad. I will explain later on.

Fr. Lilly was my religion teacher (junior year) at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, OH. I started to think about becoming a priest in a religious order when we were studying the topic of vocations, in the text we used in his class.

What I remember most clearly today was my liking for Fr. Lilly. I came to him with my teenage problems. He was always so kind, so wise, so understanding of my problems. At this time, I was thinking about the priesthood. I looked into the nature of several religious orders, although I do not remember discussing this problem with him.

At the same time, I was also bringing my problems to another Jesuit teacher whom I liked, Fr. Richard Brown. I don't remember discussing the vocation problem with him either. I had some personal problems that were the topic of our conversations. He, like Fr. Lilly, was kind, understanding and respectful.

At this same time, there was a scholastic I liked. One day in the Chapel Service, he told us about his appointment to go to India and I was impressed that he was going to India. (I do not want to imply that I disliked any of the other priests or scholastics at St. Xavier High School, but I had no personal contact with them.) The scholastic was Richard Welfle.

Later, I went to St. Xavier College. I did not like my Greek teacher, nor Greek. One event I still remember vividly. In class, not privately, he made a negative remark about a character trait of mine. It was like this (I don't remember the exact words): "I never met anyone who could mix things up as you do." It was about a small weakness, but it cut deeply!

Now comes the strange part of my story. Still thinking about the priesthood and religious life, I went to him, of all people, for guidance! He was kind, firm and clear. All my fears and doubts vanished. I was to become a Jesuit and start right away to ask for admission. I followed his advice and joined the Jesuits at Milford, OH the following August.

In the way he guided me in the spiritual life and in my emotional problems he showed that he understood my temperament perfectly. In all my dealings with him, he did not say a single unkind word. This is the story of my Jesuit vocation. I am 90 years old and still a Jesuit!

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