Paulist Archives

Fr. Frank Diskin, CSP
"Thanks for the Memory"

Paulist Father, Frank Diskin ordained a priest on May 11, 1946, just turned eighty-five years old. Our vocation coordinator, Leslie Firth, asked him what he would like to share with us when looking back over his years as a priest. Indicative of Father Frank's style, he began humming Bob Hope’s theme song, "Thanks for the Memory." "Over the years," he says,"I have had a very happy life and I thank God for inviting me to be a Paulist."

"I remember the time when I was working as an Associate Pastor in Portland, Oregon, thirty-eight years ago or so, and a young child in the school yard admonished me "not to be a crab." Thus began my "apostolate of the smile" which has remained with me over the years and has brought much joy to my ministry wherever God has called me."

Father Frank Diskin was the first priest to start a Hispanic Ministry at Saint Paul’s church in New York City in 1952, for which he received a profound thank you from Archbishop of New York, John Cardinal O’Connor.

The ministry began in what was then called the Hells Kitchen neighborhood.

Saint Paul’s Church on 59th Street in New York, where it all began, remains blessed today with many wonderful Hispanic parishioners. Lucky for Father, he has retired to senior ministry status there and he continues to join these wonderful families in many special moments of their life.
Father Diskin also served in the past in Boston at the Catholic Information Center where he remembers welcoming many people to the Catholic Church through his interaction there. "If you joyfully live out the gospel day by day, you will make somebody happy and you will be happy too." reflects Father.

"I have served as a Priest in New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, California, Oregon, and Utah and have enjoyed the richness of my life in the service of God. I am very grateful to have touched the lives of others on this journey."

"For those discerning their call to service, I see the Christian vocation summed up in these words from Saint Francis of Asissi, "Preach the Gospel everywhere. If necessary use words."

Fr. Marcos Zamora, CSP
Joining with others to build a better community

Fr. Marcos Zamora, the pastor of Good Shepherd Church in northern Manhattan, was ordained 13 years ago at the age of 40. "I have not regretted even one day," says the former naval officer and teacher. "There was something that was within me, leading me to the priesthood. I had opportunities to marry and build a career, but it didn’t seem right. Joining the priesthood did."

It’s not because life as a priest has been easy that Fr. Zamora has strong positive feelings about his path. In fact, some of the community efforts he is currently involved in were born out of the most extreme difficulty. "With 9/11, we’ve gone through a lot in this neighborhood. Right after the attacks, we began identifying missing parishioners. Thirty-six people from our parish died. We rallied together and marched to our local fire department to show our support and met people from other churches and synagogues."

rom that meeting came the Inwood Interfaith Council, a group made up of members of Good Shepherd and area Episcopal, Methodist, and Jewish congregations. "Our original plan was to hold a prayer service on the anniversary of 9/11, but we’re doing more than that now. We’re working to better the community and bring people together with concerts and shows, efforts to improve local soup kitchens, help the homeless, and give aid to people coping with the high cost of living in New York. Contact with other faiths has strengthened my own faith," he says.

The diverse neighborhood around Good Shepherd is home to people from Eastern Europe, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, South America, and Ireland. As a young man, Fr. Zamora felt unsure where his place in the world was. "As a Mexican American, I felt too Mexican for some groups, too American for others. That’s no longer true. Being here really put me in touch with the melting pot. I fit in at the Piper’s Kilt (a local Irish pub) as well as at a meeting of the Spanish Charismatics."

"If you are considering a vocation, you should remember, it’s not about what you can offer to God, but what He gives to us to do His work. Ask yourself if you are going to be happy and if this will be a life-giving experience. Becoming a priest is not a form of penance, it’s a way to help others by doing God’s work," he advises.

 Fr. Ed Nowak, CSP
Still Dancing

When I first thought of becoming a priest, I was a freshman at Penn State University, heading towards an engineering degree and contemplating marriage to a lovely woman named Lucille.

One day, while at the university, I attended a discussion sponsored by the Newman center on the topic of married priests. I remember telling our campus minister at the time that I would consider being a priest if I could be married. I told God that I would be open to the idea if things didn’t work out with Lucille. Time passed and Lucille and I did break up and I kept my promise to be open to the possibility of being a priest. I then began to look for some definite sign from God.

Although I didn’t receive any big signs, I did get lots of little indications that helped me to discern my call. For one, when seeing how active I was within the church, my dorm mates became convinced that I was likely to become a priest. I, too, began to realize that at vocation talks I felt as if the priest was talking directly to me. I asked some priest friends how I could be sure I had a vocation. They assured me that when the time was right I would be at peace with the decision.

It all came together for me the fall of my senior year at a friend’s wedding. I realized that I was identifying more with the priest at the ceremony then I was with the groom. Later, I saw the priest dancing, having fun, and receiving many hugs. Well this worked for me since I really enjoyed dancing and didn’t want to give it up to become a priest. I went back to Penn State that evening and things seemed to be coming together. I awoke the next morning feeling very happy about becoming a priest. I waited till the next weekend to tell my family and when I told them they were very supportive. They remained supportive and helpful throughout my discernment process.

Now that I knew I was to be a priest, the next part of the discernment was —what kind of priest? As I looked at all the options, I began to explore religious communities and was drawn to the Paulists. The relatively small size of the community and the Paulist mission of evangelization, ecumenism, and reconciliation to North America really fit in to how I wanted to serve the Church as a priest.
Since May of 1989, I have enjoyed many years as a Paulist priest. It has been a challenging and wonderful journey thus far, and I am still dancing, hopefully for many years to come!

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