With All My Heart
Fr. Jeffrey Scheeler, OFM, leads the applause for Br. Roger while Br. William Gibson looks on
by Toni Cashnelli
Br. Roger Lopez, OFM, with his mother, Carlotta, before the ceremony
Comments you seldom hear at a Solemn Profession:
“He’s really cool.”
“He’s been a great coach.”
“He does cartwheels.”
That pretty much sums up friar Br. Roger Lopez, OFM, and his exuberant approach to life. Whether he’s teaching religion at Roger Bacon High, coaching an underwater hockey team or cutting a rug on the dance floor, one thing is certain: Roger is not afraid to take risks.
On this day, Aug. 25, he is taking the biggest risk of all, surrendering himself to God and the Friars Minor during his Solemn Profession at St. Clement Church. The nerves that usually accompany one of life’s big moments are conspicuously absent. When guests arrive Roger greets them with a bear hug and an ear-to-ear smile, directing friends to move to the front near his family. If he were any happier, he would be turning cartwheels.
Students and faculty from Roger Bacon High School showed their support for Br. Roger.
Senior Liz Fromhold is one of the many students from Roger Bacon who came to say goodbye. After a year of teaching, Roger – who also answers to “BroRo” at RB – is heading back to Chicago. “We’re going to miss him so much,” Liz says. “We wish we could keep him.”
There is no greater love than that exhibited by friends Ken and Jennifer Santos, who drove cross-country from Idaho with their energetic 1-year-old son, Cale, Roger’s godchild. “We wanted to support Roger,” says Ken. “It’s a big event for him.” Plopping the wriggling Cale on her lap, Jennifer mouths the words, “Never again.”
Roger answers the call.
‘The whole world is here’
“Welcome!” says celebrant Fr. Jeff Scheeler, OFM, sizing up the crowd still trickling in. “It’s a great day for the friars, a great day for Roger’s family, a great day for the Church.” When Jeff reads his “thank you for coming” list, it takes so long that people start checking their watches. Apparently Roger has friends and relatives in every state of the Union. “Seems like the whole world is here,” says Jeff. “It’s great!” The most important people in Roger’s life are indeed here for him, doing the readings, leading the singing, delivering the homily. As with most professions, some images are indelible. All are touched when Roger guides his diminutive mother, Carlotta, down the aisle and, after the vows, leaves her side and takes a seat across the way.
Fr. Mark Soehner, OFM, delivers his homily
Fr. Mark Soehner, OFM, captures the spirit of the day with a homily that draws smiles and knowing nods. It begins with a fairy tale about a poor child who gives a king and queen the most precious thing she owns – two beautiful rocks from a bagful she has collected. In return the royals give her a diamond and a jade necklace. That night the little girl wonders, “What if I had given the entire bag?”
“I imagine that we all wonder,” Mark says. “Today we wonder at the riches of being called by God, the Creator of our fine island, the planet earth. And what our response might be.” That segues into Roger – his call and his quest. “You do seem to fit some of the biblical qualifications” for following this path, Mark admits. “God chose those whom the world considers absurd.”
The Franciscan Contingent
The ensuing laughter leads him into the “absurd” adventure he and Roger shared with four other friars when they walked across Virginia in 2009 and discovered “the treasure of having brothers.
In the arms of Jesus
Setting out with no food or money, “I discovered the meaning of having another treasure, the wealth of poverty, as the Poor Clares say.” Throughout their journey, “We were provided for in the most amazing ways,” like the day a Catholic named Mary, a Jewish man named George and a Hindu named Linda gave them sustenance and a place to stay. “These extraordinary events tell us that when we actually let go and fall into the arms of Jesus there is treasure that begins on earth. All we needed to do was take the first step in that pilgrimage.” And that first step is letting go. Without the ego and “other stones” that weigh us down, “then all we can do is open our bag of treasures to God who loves us.”
"As I would listen to each invocation I just said, 'Amen'"
Mark looks to Roger: “In just a few minutes, you will lie on this floor as a symbol of the total gift of yourself. You let go of all that is precious, and receive a kingdom. It’s a little like dying, but on that floor you will be held in the arms of God who gave you this life, who gave you a family and gives you more brothers, God who made you funny, witty, a person who cares for others like a Mama, a pleasure to live with. And then he’ll let go into the hands of our provincial, trusting himself to this brotherhood.”
When that moment comes and a chair is moved for the Interrogation, as shutters snap and video cameras whir, Roger pledges to “give myself to this fraternity with all my heart.” The gesture of submission during the Litany of the Saints is as moving for those watching as it is for the man lying prostrate. As friars come forward to welcome their newest solemnly professed brother, Roger greets them by name with an encircling hug. Fr. Frank Geers, OFM, later admits, “Just going up there and putting my arms around him choked me up. All I could say was, ‘Thanks.’
Fr. Paul Desch, OFM, welcomes Roger with a hug.
Parting Words
At the reception at St. Clement School, Roger says goodbye to his student athletes. “You have to stay on the straight and narrow” are his parting words. It’s another emotional milestone in a day he is still processing. “For me,” he says, “one of the most powerful things was prostration with the Litany of the Saints, just knowing all those people were praying for me. One of the best things was turning around and seeing everyone and knowing they came to share this journey with me.” But what really got to him was “Placing my hands in the Provincial’s hands, saying, ‘Therefore I give myself to this fraternity with all my heart.’ My hope is that I can say this in 10 years, 25 years.”
Prayers and blessings for Roger
Roger’s mother talks about his journey. In high school he told her, “There are three things I want: to be either a preventive medicine doctor, an engineer, or join a religious order.” So “it didn’t surprise me” when he chose the friars, she says. “It was a joyful moment when he gave himself to God.”
Carlotta is joined by Judy Goodin, mother of friar Br. Richard Goodin, OFM, whose solemn profession was last August. “Did she tell you Roger’s a great dancer?” Judy asks, nodding to Carlotta. “He does cartwheels.” This is not surprising, since Roger is head over heels in love with life as a friar.
Toni Cashnelli is the Communications Director for the Province of Saint John the Baptist.
More photos at the SJB Province Gallery
Posted in: Vocations
