Precious Blood Companion spotlight: Br. Brian Boyle
Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S., is a hospital chaplain in northwest Indiana. He is also the associate director of Companions (lay associates) of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
How do you live Precious Blood Spirituality in your daily life?
I have a daily prayer life that includes the Seven Offerings. In my professional ministry, I try to visit those on the margins daily. This could be the patients that staff have found difficult to work with.
Talk about a time when you leaned on Precious Blood spirituality.
I remember going through a difficult time in my life, and maybe I thought I was just going to maintain a life at the periphery. Jesus brought me back (reconciled me) from that.
How does St. Gaspar inspire you?
Two stories: 1) Defying Napoleon and 2) Encountering the bandits.
Before joining the community, I was inspired by these two stories. Before community life, I was living a little closer to these stories than I am now. I am still inspired by them. There are still plenty of little Caesars and Napoleons to defy, and like Gaspar did, there will always be a price to pay. In my past life, I remember getting hounded by opponents, and my supervisor told me that was an indicator that I was doing a good job, doing what I was meant to be doing. In the latter story, I sometimes encounter bandits, but a hospital is a much more controlled environment than the 19th century Italian countryside.
How does the Precious Blood community support your spiritual growth?
The larger community supported my growth in formation. When I felt the calling to be a brother, they supported that. I recall a friend in another community at Catholic Theological Union shared with me that he wanted to be a brother, but his community would not let him do that because the community claimed that they needed priests. I am thankful that Precious Blood does not solely look at the needs of the community like a human resources department.
How does Precious Blood spirituality come through in your relationships with other people?
Precious Blood spirituality comes through in my relationships in how I make a conscious effort to check my baggage at the door, each day. Precious Blood spirituality asks me to work on myself daily, not just for its own sake, but so I can be a better person to other people. Everyone has issues, and I am no exception. Most of those issues are going to be with me for the rest of my life. However, that doesn’t make me powerless over them.
Give an example of a time in your life when you observed or facilitated unity through the Blood of Christ.
I recall an incident in a hospital I previously worked at where we had a case of sudden infant death syndrome. I was with both the family and the staff for hours. The emergency department staff was very angry with the family, the mother in particular. The angry energy was noticeable not just by me, but the family as well. I remember saying something to one of the staff, and it sort of caught lightning in a bottle in all the best ways. The unity happened because the staff pulled themselves together to show compassion to the family who had lost a loved one. If the staff did not pull themselves together, I am not sure what I would have done because I did not want them close to the family. Walking away from that, I reflected on the saying, “If you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas.” I realized I needed to get out of there, or I was going to become that.
What does the Companion vision statement mean to you?
“Gather, Send” is a very all-encompassing statement that encourages us into ministry with priests and brothers of the community. I look for creative ways for the incorporated and covenanted members to collaborate. I can look for ways, and I don’t necessarily need to be in any leadership position. We can all do this. I have had practical experience with another community’s lay associates. Our vision statement is clearly one of the more forward-thinking.