The Interview

A very happy Dr. Lyons, photographed during his first year in the order.

As mentioned before, I sent my teacher, Dr. Lyons, questions to answer so I could better understand his experience in the order, which would help me fully develop my trailers. I'm so excited with his response because he is so passionate when he talks about his past, which has become one of my favorite things about him.

Q: At what age did you enter the order? How many other men were in the order with you?

A: I entered the Franciscan Order of Ireland (OFM) September 9^th, 1979 just after graduating from High School at the age of almost 18. I joined the Order of St. Francis of Assisi with twelve other Novices (beginners) to start our Novitiate in Killarney, Co. Kerry for one year. By the end of the year, eight of us survived the lifestyle. It was one of the happiest years of my life since I had always wanted to be a Franciscan priest all through my childhood. We had attended a Franciscan church when we lived in Dublin until I was almost 15 and we loved the Franciscans for their spirituality and gentleness of spirit following the example of St. Francis, the founder of the order in 1215 C.E.

 

Q: What were the other men like? Is there someone in particular that you remember the most/had an impact on you?

A: My closest friends in the order are still there, Fr. Caoimhin O’Laoide, Fr. Hugh McKenna and Br. Niall O’Connell. Fr. Caoimhin (Kevin) is now one of the leaders of the world-wide order of Franciscans OFM at the Curia in Rome having been elected by their General Election to that high office a few years ago. Hugh is in charge of the Irish Province of Franciscans since a few years ago.  Both these men are exceptionally intelligent and very talented in many ways, Physics graduates, musically gifted as well as brilliant in conversation. I can say honestly that I have rarely met people more intelligent or informed about the world. 

Q: What made you want to join the order?

A: I did so because that is all I ever wanted to do from a very early age. I don’t know why but that is how I was.  It was my nature, my vocation!

 

Q:What is your favorite memory from that time in your life?

A:In terms of memories of those years, I could write a book. So many wonderful people, so many great scholars, so many books, so much exposure to people of the highest education that I have ever met. People who studied all their lives in deep scholarship of Sacred Scripture, or Philosophy, or Classical Studies or Irish Literature. I felt very banal and mediocre in comparison to many of these great scholars. They inspired me to want to pursue an academic life of scholarship.  

My favorite memory of the order is multifarious. Where to start? They are beyond count. Could it be the Christmas day I spent with my brother in front of a burning fire in a darkened room enjoying the joy of the peace of Yuletide and a nice cocktail. Could it be the time I cycled around the Ring of Kerry with my Brother David Hayden, a sincere Franciscan, who like me, only lasted six years in the order. He finished a degree in Italian and Philosophy before he left. Both his uncles were priests of the order. He was just too sensitive to survive in a small community, maybe too spiritual. He went on to be married and have a family.

Q: Did you ever feel uncomfortable or out of place? 

A: As time passed I felt more alienated and left out especially in my last year there in Rome. While studying Theology for a degree at the Pontificia Universita’ Gregoriana (the Jesuit university in Italy), I found myself more alone and abandoned for no obvious reason. On a number of occasions, I found that I was excluded from group activities that were extracurricular, so to speak. For example, on Christmas day, after dinner in the early afternoon, most of my peers disappeared with their visiting friends from Ireland and I found myself alone and abandoned and I have rarely felt so alone in my life that day in 1984. I remember walking around the cloister of St. Isidoro in Rome wondering why I was so unwelcome to my peers, why they would intentionally exclude me from their festivities. I can never forget that feeling of abandonment, but it was not the last. It was repeated the following year during my month of preparation for my Solemn Vows to become a Franciscan for life. These vows were like a marriage to the life of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience accordance with the Rule of St. Francis. Before taking these vows one would spend a month in a spiritual retreat preparing to make vows. Hugh and Niall were participating in this retreat with me and they happened to exclude me on many occasions from their afternoon walks or outings.

Q: Was there a specific moment when you realized you wanted to leave? If so, what was it?

A: It can to my last day of Retreat, while analyzing our solemn vows to live the life of St. Francis, Hugh, to his credit, clarified, that we cannot live this life without the support of our brothers. As he spoke, I realized that I was not called to the life after that. God was calling me elsewhere. So that evening I told our Director of Formation that I could not continue and I left the order the next morning. My lifelong friend, Ann Lalor picked me up at 9AM. It was one of the best days in my life because I was following God’s mysterious call to leave. That following year, I worked with street children of Dublin at St. Vincent De Paul’s Center for Children. Most of these teenagers were homeless and illiterate. It was a pleasure to be able to help them learn to read despite their personal hardships. I remember Ma Brown, the mother-figure who helped Sister Vincent manage the day center in central Dublin.  
 

Q: Looking back, do you regret leaving the order? How did you benefit from your time there?

A: In retrospect, the order was an incredible experience that few people would ever have in life. So many people of quality, so many people of deep faith who lived the life of God’s call all while desiring to do His will in the world. I cannot explain in a few pages how profound and simply good these people were. I just didn’t fit in for whatever reason. Maybe I was too naïve, underexposed, not yet ready for the long haul of religious life. Since I felt so lonely and suffered from a level of depression that was just beneath the surface. Since I left, I have not felt that level of loneliness since. I was fortunate to be called to a better calling ultimately, to work with young folk at the Franciscan University at Steubenville as a Professor of Classics before my future husband and I decided to move to South Florida where I am now happily ensconced in Cypress Bay High School family of wonderful teachers, administrators and students. A dream come true, after a long road of discovery!