Page 24 - Priorities #45 2010-January

Monastery News
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It’s been many years since Fa-
ther Pius taught in the class-
room at Priory, but whenever
he crosses campus, it’s obvi-
ous that the special connection he
has with kids is still there. Maybe
it’s his quiet smile, or the play-
ful sparkle in his eye, a look that
says he might have a joke to share.
Whatever it is, children pick up on
it. Even the smallest Priory resi-
dents—the children of on-campus
faculty—light up when Father Pius comes around. Kate Molak, daughter of Head of School Tim Molak, remembers his happy greeting from when she was little: “Hello, neighbor!”
When asked about his way with young children, Father Pius smiles. “They’re great friends. They are like little dogs in that they’re sincere about their af- fection. They don’t calculate, they don’t analyze you. They like you or they don’t like you. They are very rewarding.” A little attention, he says, goes a long way.
Father Pius reflects, “How it is this develops
it’s hard to say. That we love children. It’s just something natural.” Perhaps those who don’t have their own children, he speculates, are more open to connecting with all kids. His early years in Hungary also had their effect. “I saw many young people suffering, deprived of certain necessities of daily life, or little luxuries that children like to have. They were discriminated against, not necessarily by other people but by their circumstances.”
When he was a boy, Father Pius remembers the difficulty of moving from his parents’ home to his grandparents’ house to attend a better school. It was
a lonely time for him. He says,
“I know from my own childhood that it can hurt when the grown- ups ignore you. Not to hurt you, but just as if children are not yet completely human, which is a great, great mistake. Because kids need a lot of attention and help to build up their egos, (to feel that they) count for something.” Helping kids to feel that they count has been a kind of mission
“There is Something Always to Give:”
Father Pius at
80
for Father Pius.
even little gestures can mean a lot. One shy seventh grader from years past stands out in his memory. “She wasn’t even my student, but somehow we always crossed paths and I greeted her. She’d say, ‘Good morning,’ very shyly. So I started offering her a high five. And the others watched, thinking what will happen now? She reciprocated.” He laughs with pleasure. “These things taught me a lot, gave me some confidence and satisfaction. Even if you wonder, what am I going to do now? There is something always to give.”
After more than fifty years of living in a monas- tic community, Father Pius has learned a few things. “To be patient with others,” he says. “And with myself too.” Living with others is not always easy. “You are not hand-picked by God so you fit together perfectly. You have to work on it. That’s your chal- lenge, because that’s the ideal and the idea you represent toward others. That’s what human society is. You can see today that we are unhappy because we cannot live together. At so, at least compassion, gratitude, that was my response. You try to do what little you can to help people.”
Over the years, he’s learned that