June 1, 2007

Parishioners' support helped awaken Baltrus' vocation

Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register

Ever since he served as an altar boy while growing up in New Jersey, Michael Baltrus felt called to the priesthood. But for decades he wrestled with his vocation.

Now 53, Baltrus is on the cusp of fulfilling his lifelong calling to become a priest.

“I used to think that being a priest would restrict my life … but God is so much bigger, and has so much more to offer than I first perceived,” Baltrus said.

After completing six years of study at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans this spring, Baltrus is filled with the nervous excitement that comes with preparing to take the leap of faith into the priesthood. Contemplating the “awesome prospect of doing the things a priest can do,” like say Mass, hear confessions, and serve as a trusted confidant to his parishioners, Baltrus feels he is ready, but is admittedly a little overwhelmed.

Having worked in various parishes in the Diocese of Nashville and New Orleans, Baltrus has experienced firsthand the rhythm of parish life and drawn from the wisdom of seasoned pastors. At each of the Middle Tennessee parishes where he spent time – Holy Rosary in Donelson, Immaculate Conception in Clarksville, St. Frances Cabrini in Lebanon, and Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville – Baltrus found the pastors “generous with their time and very good about answering my questions.”

All the priests he worked with “seem eager to support a fellow coming up into the brotherhood,” Baltrus said.

The support Baltrus received from pastors and parishioners was critical in nurturing his vocation. At Holy Rosary, the first parish in Nashville where he spent time, “I was struggling. I felt God was calling me, but I didn’t want to do it,” he said. The support he received there from the people of the parish, “awakened inside me what I was made to do,” Baltrus said. “It was a major turning point in my discernment.”

Before coming to Holy Rosary, and to Nashville, Baltrus had been living in Georgia, where his family moved when he was 18. He worked in a variety of retail jobs and in warehouse and shipping facilities, fell in love, and tried to ignore the persistent whisper in the back of this mind urging him to become a priest.

As a younger man, among other things, “the celibate life scared me away,” Baltrus said. But when he began to slow down and “allow God more access to my life,” contemplating his next move, he realized that maybe he could be happy and fulfilled as a priest. 

While living in Atlanta, Baltrus got a job at the local branch of the iconic Nashville Catholic bookstore, St. Mary’s. He got to know owner Jean Dortch and her family, who were very encouraging of his vocation.

When the Atlanta store closed, Dortch asked him to move up to Nashville and work at St. Mary’s here. “Jean’s faith meant a lot to me. The family was very encouraging,” Baltrus said.

After meeting with Father Pat Kibby, diocesan vocations director at the time, and then-Father David Choby, Baltrus decided to enter the seminary. But he still wasn’t entirely convinced that he would make it though the next six years of rigorous study to become a priest. 

Immersing himself in seminary life at Notre Dame in New Orleans and spending time in Middle Tennessee parishes during the summer, Baltrus gradually grew into his vocation, largely, he says, with the help of the people he was serving.

Whether visiting the sick in the hospital or just talking with people at a church potluck dinner, Baltrus said, “I really loved the parishioners I worked with and being a part of their lives.”

Reflecting on the prayers and support he received from parishioners during his studies for the priesthood, Baltrus said, “how awesome to be carried along by the prayers of others during the seminary. The people were the current, carrying me.”

One of the things he is most looking forward to as a priest is “forming relationships with the people,” he said. While it’s an exciting thought, “being responsible for people’s lives,” Baltrus said, is also “a sobering thought.”

While he does not yet know where he will be assigned upon his ordination, Baltrus is hopeful that he will continue to work in a parish with a thriving Hispanic community. He was involved with Hispanic ministry at Immaculate Conception and Holy Rosary, as well as at the nearby Sacred Heart Center in Nashville. For the last few months, he preached at a Spanish language Mass in Metairie, La.

“Priests who speak Spanish are spread thin,” Baltrus noted. “I have a natural affinity for these folks and hope to keep working with them.”

It’s been a long journey from Baltrus’ days as an altar boy in New Jersey to his upcoming ordination on June 15 in Nashville’s Cathedral of the Incarnation, but he is now undoubtedly convinced “of the incredible love God has for me,” and that he is following the right path.

He says simply, “My heart’s desire is to be a priest.”

Photo by Rick Musacchio

Michael Baltrus is preparing for ordination to the priesthood on June 15 at Cathedral of the Incarnation. Here, Allen Cragon, manager of St. Mary’s Bookstore, jokes with Baltrus on a recent visit to his old place of employment. Baltrus worked for St. Mary’s in Atlanta and Nashville for eight years, and said the experience, along with support from the St. Mary’s Bookstore owners, were instrumental in his formation and decision to pursue studies in the seminary.