ACKNOWLEDGING TERRY HERBERT MSC, 80.
Terry Herbert turns 80 on December 4th. Here is an article he wrote earlier this year for the OLSH Randwick Parish Bulletin, his perspective on his life, call to the MSC and his ministry
A Blessed Life Lived Fully
Terry Herbert MSC
Bowral, on the Southern Highlands, was a small country town when I was born in December 1939. It was quiet; we lived near a large bush block; motor vehicles were few, and we walked to Mass before our first vehicle in 1947. Dad gently got us moving on Sunday mornings. If at the Church after 7:20 (for 7:30) we were ‘late’!
Mum, youngest of five, grew-up on a farm on the outskirts of Bowral; Dad was from Sydney. We were brought-up on dairy products - full cream milk, farm fresh eggs, vegetables, etc. My parents married at St Patrick’s Church Hill in 1936. Only five people attended - Mum, Dad, Dad’s brother, Mum’s sister, and the priest! Mum was Catholic, Dad converted from C of E. I wonder…! Dad spent a short time as a Carpenter in the Air Force during Darwin’s bombing. My parents’ influence on me was profound. Their presence, respect, patience, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, generosity, hard work, and especially consideration - all ‘faces’ of love honed by suffering, living through the Depression, and Dad’s traumatic experience in Darwin.
I enjoyed country living; open space, free creative quiet time, cycling, tennis, inventions in Dad’s backyard workshop, altar serving for seven years, primary school with OLSH Sisters, secondary with MSC brothers and priests, and an all pervading interest in ‘weather’ and prompted by Bro Ross msc (my best teacher) to write a weekly weather article in Bowral’s local paper for six years from age 13.
My active yet quiet and sheltered background enhanced that gentle ‘inner voice’, idea, interest, heart-motivator, desire - the gentle inspiration of God’s Spirit towards a religious vocation; all under the secure umbrella of loving yet gently demanding parents. I once casually said to Mum, about some issue, ‘I can’t be bothered’. She turned and fronted me (all her 149cm) with a firm, ‘be bothered’. I’d been a priest for about six years.
Teenage - and the occasional ‘voice’ persists - amongst my incredibly full life, which included building and racing model yachts, inventing sensitive wind vanes. I almost lived on tennis courts. Boredom was a non-event even without TV and other technology. I probably caught a healthy work ethic from my parents, studied hard at school, yet struggled to pass exams. My attitude was, ‘I don’t have the brains; wouldn’t be good enough’. After 60+ years, nothing much has changed!
I later learnt that one doesn’t need to be perfect. ‘It’s God’s work. Best to listen to one’s heart, follow it, trust it with goodwill and generosity. The rest, they say, is history. In 2018, I’m 56 years an MSC, and 47 years a priest. It’s been a wonderful, full life - not without difficulties. But God never lets us down. As Dad said, teaching me to swim when I was seven: ‘Daddy won’t let you drown’.
Chevalier
Though awarded the diligence prize, I still failed the Leaving Exam at my second attempt. That was devastating. Dad offered me a job in his Building Firm Office, doing the accounts, wages, writing the cheques, all good prep for later running a Woodwork Budget when teaching the subject.
I was 18 when I first went out with a young lady. Dad (again quietly and calmly) over ten minutes, asked me. ’Who is she? Where does she live? What religion is she? What’s her father do? Where are you going? What time will you be home? - in that order! Then, simple instructions about respect and courtesy included ‘escort her to the front door (not front gate)’. Can’t recall the Film nor Cafe we visited!
After a year, a position became vacant at Sydney Weather Bureau…two years to ‘test’ my life-long passion. So good was it, that I arrived at work up to an hour early (no extra pay) to get in touch with the latest, the better to inform the public. Budgeting was tight - board, meals, train fare to Bowral, each weekend. My vocation ‘call’ persisted, and almost daily I spent time at St Patrick’s Church Hill, discerning my vocation.
If one is agitated, forget it; if peaceful, as I was, as is God’s Spirit, listen and follow. Thankfully I’ve never looked back. A fellow employee (a New Zealander) asked me to help him show-around a couple of his visiting NZ friends. Judy and I resonated, but so did my vocation-call! After another Film/Coffee, I revealed. Her response, ‘Terry (Turree), I don’t really understand what you’re doing; I can only wish you the best - but don’t forget, I love you’. That was mutual.
And so to Priesthood
At a National Council of Priests Conference
I was Ordained (with about 25 others) by Cardinal Gilroy at the Cathedral in August 1971 during a massive thunderstorm which I couldn’t go out to observe! My three years post school were invaluable as were my final four years at St Paul’s Late Vocation Seminary at Kensington. I can now better appreciate, how God was gently inviting and preparing me for future life as an MSC priest. In St Paul’s first year in 1968, Fr Jim Cuskelly msc offered us ‘a completely new start to Priest-Formation’, move away from a clerical, enclosed Seminary-model, and in the spirit of Vatican II, offer a more-open, pastoral formation befitting our Australian Church.
In my first year I coached a local 8yr old rugby league team, did some part-time teaching on our weekly day off, visited families, and much tennis for exercise. It proved a good transition-experience to visit Judy, her husband and sons in NZ a couple of times during 1970’s.
Monivae
Study at St Paul’s was a ‘breeze’ by earlier comparisons. From 1966, I’ve been mostly with our education apostolate - Chevalier College 38 years, Monivae College Hamilton for 7 years, and part time teaching between, including three years parish based - one at OLSH Randwick in 1986, and two at Henley Beach, Adelaide. These latter two venues involved regular local school liturgies and a little classroom time at schools.
At Randwick 1986, I attended the Ministry Leadership Course at the Centre in Frances Street. That was an experience! Apart from the much-appreciated forward-looking theology, it involved no written assignments; rather, reflect on a topic and share in groups. Except, with 16 women and three men, it was for me initially daunting, but formative, tapping-into my ‘feminine’. In hindsight, all of the above (and much more) has been formative for my ministry of teaching in Co-ed schools, looking after Boarders, sport-coaching, extensive Parish Mass Supply on the Southern Highlands and over Victoria’s Western Districts, while at Monivae College, helping prepare and preside at nearly 400 Weddings and many Baptisms, Funerals, as well as Hospital and Family visiting.
Cyclist - actually not Terry!
During my years as an MSC Priest, I’ve been able to combine full-time Ministry with many leisure activities and interests - woodwork (my preferred subject to teach); teaching science; weather recording/predicting; sport. I played comp tennis for several years, and raced with a couple of pro cycling clubs for 15 years; extensive bushwalking and camping in four States, with groups and alone.
My two five-day solo treks from Mittagong to Katoomba navigating across the Blue Mountains (and getting ‘lost’ for a time), were deep-digging character formers, among other benefits. I’ve been able to live totally dedicated as a priest and religious, yet combine the normality of my life interests.
The gentle ‘hand of God’ has been clearly in it all. Living as a priest/religious is about a deep, personal relationship with Jesus whose Spirit we all share in serving, loving people into fuller life in Him. There’s a ‘normality’ about that in our many diverse life-enhancing interests. Celibacy, freely chosen by me as a Religious, is a distinct way of loving; a freedom to form deep, loving, personal relationships with all people. Obedience has nothing to do with ‘under the thumb’. That’s tyranny! It’s about deep, reflective, compassionate heart-listening in prayer, towards offering the best, most-loving responses to the people one serves. As Pope Francis says, it’s about going-out to people from one’s Office.
The influence of my parents has been paramount as well as the essential place of deep prayer. I now find I’m almost constantly living in God’s presence, more easily ‘seeing’ that presence in others. One gradually becomes a close companion/ disciple of Jesus, whose beautiful Spirit we all share, but can so easily miss if other pursuits crowd one’s heart.
I’ve learnt to frequently reflect on my life experiences, in light of the Gospels and Paul’s letters; to heart-listen to God’s gentle inspirations, hasten slowly with decisions, be gentle with myself (and hopefully with others, as God is with me), be much more a ‘listener’ than a ‘teller’, honed by one’s Cross. To be a true disciple of Jesus, entails accepting life’s crosses and suffering. That touches one’s vulnerability, strips away self-reliance, self-righteousness, pride, etc. and helps to empty one of self-importance, to make ‘room’ for a childlike heart which trusts God and allows God’s free ‘movement’ and inspiration towards enriching others’ lives.
Yes, indeed, life is good, to be lived well, in the certain hope of Life beyond our imagining in the New Creation. It was (over)time for me to step-aside from schools and over-active Ministry, at the end of 2016. I’m enjoying and appreciating a more-prayerful life in our large Kensington Community, with many “outside” ministry-enrichments, and re-joining Marriage Encounter. I hasten to add my ‘L Plate’ just gets bigger.
