From the Brook
Deacon Keith James Chylinski
Age: 35
Where Born: Schenectady, N.Y., Diocese of Albany
Where Baptized: St. Helen’s Church, Schenectady,
N.Y.
Home Parish: Corpus Christi, Lansdale
Current Diaconate Assignment: St. Denis Parish, Havertown
Parents/Siblings: Edmund Chylinski and the late Kelly
Donovan; younger sister, Erin Tumlinson, and younger brother, Adam Chylinski.
Grade School/Year Graduated: West Woods Elementary
and Middle Schools, Hamden, Conn., 1985.
High School/Year Graduated: Conestoga High School,
Berwyn, 1989.
College/Year Graduated/Major/Degree: Temple University,
Philadelphia, bachelor’s degree in music (piano pedagogy major),
2000.
Employment before entering St. Charles: Music director
at Corpus Christi Parish in Lansdale for six years.
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary entrance date: Fall 2001.
At what age and how were you first called to the priesthood,
and what was the deciding moment that led you to enter the Seminary?
I first felt called when I was in college. It occurred through the simple
question and invitation of a priest then — Father [now Msgr.]
Gregory Parlante — asking me if I ever considered the priesthood.
Who inspired or influenced you most in your decision to enter
the Seminary, and how?
Many good priests and transitional deacons with whom I worked while
a parish music director.
Were there any particular moving or grace-filled events in those
beginning days or years at the Seminary? This last year?
The events of 9/11 occurred during my first two weeks at the Seminary.
On that day, we were attending the funeral of a seminarian, Ed Shea.
It was a very moving time.
What has been your favorite apostolate assignment, and why?
They have all been good — and very diverse: parish work, teaching,
college ministry, hospital, special needs school.
What has been your biggest challenge at St. Charles Seminary,
and how have you met that challenge?
The greatest challenge has been to balance the many different demands
which are placed on you. A daily Holy Hour is the best way to deal with
this. It’s sort of like a “glue,” which helps everything
come together.
What will you miss most about St. Charles Borromeo Seminary?
The friends that I have made — not being able to see them as regularly
as I do in the Seminary.
What advice do you have for the current underclassmen about
their remaining year(s) at St. Charles?
Persevere — it’s all worth it. The Lord has a very special
and powerful plan for each one of us.
What advice would you give to seminarians who will enter St.
Charles for the first time this fall?
The best advice I received upon entering the Seminary was: “Take
one day at a time, and be yourself.”
What do you do for recreation?
Sports, go out with friends, travel.
People would be surprised to know what about you?
That at one point in life, I was afraid to sing in public.
What are your favorite devotions and why?
The rosary, Eucharistic Adoration and St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre
Pio).
What passage from Scripture is most meaningful to you, and why?
Psalm 62: Trusting in God alone. He alone is our rock — as soon
as we lose sight of Him, the foundations of our lives begin to weaken.
What does the priesthood mean to you?
It is bringing Christ to others, particularly through the sacraments.
What do you think is the greatest challenge facing the Church
today?
The negative secular culture, which imposes itself so powerfully through
the media, all over the world.
What is your greatest hope for the Church?
Jesus Christ. For more than 2,000 years, the Church has faced so many
challenges and crises. Despite all of these, she has endured —
because she bears Christ’s abiding presence.
What will you, as a priest, do to combat negative secular influences
that attempt to divert people’s attention away from Christ?
Try to direct their attention to the Eucharist, and encourage a more
intelligent and discriminatory use of the media in their lives.
Besides prayer and your example, what is the first thing you,
as a priest, plan to do to bring others closer to Christ?
Tell them the truth about who they are — a beloved child of God
— and how real that relationship is.
— Compiled by Christie L. Chicoine, CS&T Staff Writer