a challenge, then a
a challenge, then a calling Fr. Bryan reflects on his path to priesthood BY VANESSA DENHA GARMO Single, dating and working as an accountant for nearly 10 years, Bryan Kassa believed he was a good Catholic until his girlfriend challenged him. “She didn’t think I took my faith seriously,” he said. “She made comments about how I didn’t confess my sins to a priest and how I picked out certain things in the Catholic Church that I wanted believed in. She really challenged me to step up my game.” Little did he know at the time that the challenge would eventually lead him to the seminary. At the time Kassa was working on his master’s degree in corporate training and development when he decided to dig deeper into his faith. “I always love a challenge,” he said. “I was doing it for her at the time but the joke was on me. God knew all along what He was doing. I started to establish a relationship with Jesus. I confessed my sins. I read the Bible. I took the message seriously that we should not miss Sunday mass. In the process, I fell in love with God and the teachings of the Church. Jesus is alive and I wanted a relationship with Him.” He experienced healing in his life. “Healings I didn’t realize I needed,” he said. “The healings came from different priests and I started to fall in love with the priesthood.” His relationship with Jesus began to grow. “I began to hear His voice and knew He was setting my life in a different direction.” Kassa eventually entered the seminary where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s in theology. He was ordained on July 2 at Mother of God to a standingroom-only crowd in a nearly fourhour ceremony. Today, Fr. Bryan, 34, is grateful to that former girlfriend who prodded him to go deeper into his faith. “I don’t think enough women and men challenge each other,” he said, “and we need to.” Thousands of people were able to Fr. Boji leads the new priest out of mass watch the ordination from around the globe thanks to a live stream produced by videographer Fadi Attisha from Mar Toma Productions. “In this celebration, God says, ‘I love you. I am here. I have not forgotten,’” said Bishop Francis Kalabat from the podium to the congregation. “That is the plan of salvation. That is the plan God prepared before He created us. On a lowly Saturday afternoon a young man received this gift to become a young instrument in the presence of God. That is why he is now called father – father like God the father. Now he shepherds, now he leads. Now he is the image of God Himself, who is alive and who loves. This is a crazy celebration of God’s love. It is not just Fr. Bryan. We are all called to witness. Fr. Bryan now has a sacramental way to proclaim this but we all of us are called to love and to proclaim that Jesus Christ is alive.” With loud applause, a standing ovation and the chanting of halholes, Fr. Bryan took to the podium. Choked by tears, he paused before being able to speak about his vocation and his parents. “This is overwhelming. God is good, isn’t He?” said Fr. Bryan. “Wow, I am a priest. There are so many people to thank but it is important to thank God first and foremost. God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit first and foremost. I am nothing but a piece of dust without God. That standing ovation is for Him.” Days later, Fr. Bryan was still reeling from the ordination. “I am feeling so much peace right now,” he said. “I have so many mixed feelings really – excitement, being overwhelmed, but mostly peace.” Although assigned to St. Joseph in Troy, Fr. Bryan celebrated his first mass at St. George Church in Shelby Township. “I didn’t fall or pass out and I got all the words out,” he joked. “Honestly, it was so beautiful. I kept thinking about how God is using me — this weak person — to be an instrument. As the bread and wine were transforming into His body and blood, I was taken back and so overwhelmed at that moment in mass.” He will take on certain responsibilities at St. Joseph working under pastor Fr. Rudy. However he, like many priests who have specific interests within the vocation, hopes to have influence on the family. Fr. Bryan wrote his master thesis on the role of the father in the family. “I feel drawn to this topic,” he said. “St. Paul in Ephesians said that the husband is the head of household and I don’t think husbands know what that means. If they did, then men wouldn’t foster a superior type of attitude when they hear this verse and women would not cringe at the thought because this means that the husband is called to do for his wife what Jesus did for His Bride, the Church – die for his spouse.” Fr. Bryan is often drawn to statistical data. He refers to one such stat that he came across during his studies. It was a 1994 non-religious study in Sweden that showed that if a husband is a true leader and teacher of PHOTOS BY RAZIK TOMINA 36 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2016
Catholic faith there is a 70 percent chance that he would pass the faith onto his children. However, if he is not, there is a less than 10 percent chance his children will practice the faith when they get older and pass it onto their children. “I was an accountant so numbers speak to me,” he said, “but more importantly the world has lost focus of the husband’s role in the family. It comes down to, women want to be led by their husband, equal in dignity. God created both in equal dignity; God created order and God is about order. A powerhouse husband and powerhouse wife grounded in the faith together can truly pass down the faith way beyond that 70 percent. Strong children, a strong identity and Christian roots come from our first school, which is the family.” Fr. Bryan came from such a family. The middle child of three born to Montaha and Najib, he credits his faith to his parents. With an older brother and younger sister, Fr. Bryan said, “my parents didn’t shove the faith down our throats, they worked to sacrifice for us. They taught us their work ethic. We supported each other as a family. They are Christian role models by how they live their life.” He grew up in Oak Park and Sterling Heights and later Shelby Township. He went to public schools before attending Oakland University. Prior to entering the seminary, Fr. Bryan was seeing a regular confessor. “He really showed me God’s love and mercy,” he said. “I thought God could not love someone like me. I didn’t have it together and I was a sinner. I thought that God hates sinners but my confessor showed me that Jesus died for sinners. No matter how frustrated I would become, he always brought me back to reality.” A spiritual advisor also guided Fr. Bryan during his journey. Along with wanting to focus on the father and family, there are a few other issues that he hopes to address within the community. “I hope I can be blunt,” he said. “Our community really struggles with materialism. I see it at all kinds of parties — weddings, baptisms, communions, birthdays – everything is over the top.” What suffers, Fr. Bryan believes, is the Catholic identity. “There are people who think if I have the huge house and a certain number of expensive cars, then I have made it. I am worth it. The treasures we gather on earth will never be the treasures 1 2 4 5 1. Fr. Bryan poses with family and friends 2 and 3. Fr. Bryan takes his vows … and addresses the congregation 4. Chaldean seminarians: James Sesi, Jonathan Azer, Junior Jwad, Danny Azzo, Mark Zakar and Mark Odish, who is from Canada 5. Frs. Andrew, Bryan and Matthew we seek in heaven. They will not get us there. Instead of allowing God to define us, we are being defined by money and things. Fathers are killing themselves to work so they can live a certain extravagant lifestyle but barely know where their kids are or who they are hanging out with. Well, that is negligence.” In our quest for wealth, Fr. Bryan said we are losing our roots. “I am known as someone who speaks the truth and sometimes people get upset, but it’s not my truth. It’s God’s truth. It is in the scriptures. He left us the Bible to show us how to live, so I am only conveying His words.” Money is not the only topic on this new priest’s mind. “I have so much I want to discuss with our community,” he said. “Society tells us that there is no such thing as an objective truth. Society tells us that we are the ones who get to determine what is right and what is wrong. Jesus knew that we would often question whether or not we are making the right decisions in life and 3 that is why He left us His Bride, the Holy Catholic Church. She is a perfect Mother, always seeking to get us to Heaven. I am not sure how we can claim to have a relationship with Jesus but don’t know a thing about His Bride or what She teaches.” Most of all, Fr. Bryan is a priest in constant prayer for all. “I am in need of prayer as well,” he said. “Don’t stop praying for me. All priests and religious leaders need prayer and we are grateful for them.” AUGUST 2016 CHALDEAN NEWS 37
