Daily Mass, probing God’s plan led to his vocation

FATHER FERGAL Ó DÚILL, L.C., is chaplain of the Dallas Chapter of Legatus. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and joined the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He is superior of the Legionary community in Irving, TX, and director of the Regnum Christi Movement´s men’s ministry in Dallas.

How did you come to join the Legionaries?

I studied mechanical engineering in University College Dublin. While I was enjoying college a lot, I also felt somewhat empty until one day it just dawned on me that God had a plan for my life. Immediately I prayed, “Lord, I want to know your plan, so just show me and I will follow it.”

From that moment, my life changed. It was like going from black-and-white to color. Suddenly, everything had meaning; every encounter, every blessing, every difficulty, every person. And the meaning I found filled me with the zeal to share that news with my peers.

But that wasn’t easy given the falling away in the faith – what Pope John Paul II called a “silent apostasy” – that Ireland and Europe were going through at the time. Almost all my college friends had stopping going to Church. The one friend who regularly went to Mass stopped and became a “born-again” Christian. I found myself debating with him about it. I realized, “Wow. I really believe this Catholic stuff,” and that fired up my zeal even more.

In my last year of university, I had severe pneumonia that left me without energy for months and unable to study. I was worried about finals and my future. Then I got the idea in my head, “If I go to Mass every day, everything will be okay.” And that’s what happened. That Lent I began to go to daily Mass, and within 10 days I got better.

I really believe that Jesus in the Eucharist restored my health. And more importantly, I fell in love with the Mass – listening to God’s word in the liturgy and Holy Communion became my daily bread! That’s when I promised Jesus that I would go to Mass daily for the rest of my life.

After graduation I started work in a construction company. In my spare time I became involved with the Legion of Mary, where I learned to evangelize. A friend asked me one day, “Fergal, have you ever thought of being a priest?” I realized God was calling me through her.

I visited with the Legionaries of Christ in Cheshire, CT, and was impressed by a young congregation full of young men eager to give their lives for Christ and the Church. Initially I thought it was not for me, but one night in the chapel the Lord put in in my heart the conviction that “I made you for this.”

The founder of your community, the late Fr. Marcial Maciel, was involved in scandal. How did that affect you?

It was a very difficult time when the truth came out. He hurt and deceived a lot of people and concealed it for decades. When I was told the news, I thought, “The founder didn’t call me, Jesus did, so I am staying until Jesus tells me otherwise.”

Pope Benedict XVI ordered a visitation of our congregation. Realizing that most of our men were sincere and just wanted to share the gospel, he asked us to undertake a profound renewal, which has since been supported by Pope Francis.

I pray we are a wiser and humbler congregation now, and closer to what Christ wants us to be. We feel called to help heal the harm of the past and make our Church safer for the future.

How have your experiences been with Legatus?

I love being a part of Legatus and sharing the mission to form ambassadors for Christ in the workplace. I am very impressed by the generosity of our members and the professionalism of our events. Being a part of Legatus has helped me be a better priest and apostle.