b'College Preparatory School in St. Louis which, at that ling deep questions about life and patient care, time, started with the fourth grade. He endearingly he says. Some of them are now my doctors.remembers the Marianist brothers and priests, who The second high-water mark was returning home towere his teachers, as joyous, simple, humble men of his childhood parish, Our Lady of the Pillar, a Marianistdeep faith, he says. parish in St. Louis, where he served as pastor from 1997Upon graduating from Chaminade, Father Jim was to 2012. Going back to the place where Id grown upundecided. I toyed with the idea of priesthood, he was such a joy, he says.says, but uncertainty lingered. After enrolling at Other life-changing moments were his trips to IndiaUniversity of Notre Dame, a conversation abouton seven different occasions. During the first trip, discernment with Marianist Father Bernard Kramer I was going through some personal difficulties, was a game-changer. He told me to check it out or recalls Father Jim. But being with young Indianforget about it, Father Jim says. I figured Id check Marianist brothers, walking through some of theit out. poorest slums Id ever seen and avoiding stepping He entered Marynook, the Marianist novitiate inALL PHOTOS: ROBIN JERSTADGalesville, Wisconsin, the first step to becoming aMarianist at that time. I remember the initial shockWe grow stronger and more beautiful ifwe grow through the darkness. Father Jim Tobin, SMand homesickness, he recalls. But his desire to becomea priest in the Society of Mary remained strong, andon Sept. 8, 1955, Feast of the Nativity of Mary, heprofessed first vows.Soon he was off to St. Marys Universitywhere hewouldnt return again until 2013to earn a degreein English. In 1958, Father Jim left St. Marys to teachfourth-graders at St. Josephs School in Victoria, Texas.His other teaching stops included El Paso, Texas, andSt. Louis.Father Jim was an educator until 1964 when he was in cow dung or on people lying on the roadsthe Father Jim Tobin, SM, celebratesassigned to complete a masters degree in Latin and whole experience was a godsend. It regrounded me. Mass at St. Marys University. study philosophy. In 1965, he took another leap of For Father Jim, the Indian lotus, which grows in muck Opposite page: Father Jimfaith, arriving at the Marianist International Seminary and muddy waters into the most beautiful flower, has takes a stroll with studentsin Fribourg, Switzerland, and was ordained in 1969. come to represent his understanding of lifeand his from St. Marys GreeheyI had a growing desire to deepen my union with vocation. We grow stronger and more beautiful if we School of Business where he serves as chaplain.Christ through the Eucharist, he says. Im eternally grow through the darkness, he says. To have beengrateful for the gift of Marianist priesthood. with people in their darkest hours, always guidingthem toward the light, theres been no greater bless-The lotus flower: a metaphor for life ing, he says, his voice glowing with gratitude. In his five decades as a priest, Father Jim describes Pointing to a wooden statue of Mary on his desk,three distinct highlights. The first was a chaplaincy he adds, And its all because of her.at Saint Louis Universitys School of Medicine from1979 to 1993. I loved that ministry. The medicalAlex Salinas is communications coordinator for the students were just good people, and they were tack- University Communications Office at St. Marys University.Please help the Marianists in caring for their senior priests and brothers by joining theSt. Joseph Legacy Club. To donate, use the enclosed envelope or go to marianist.com/donate. For moreinformation, contact Brother Alex Tuss, SM, at 1.800.348.4732, ext. 3003, or [email protected]/donate 21'