Join us for the fourth and final installment of our Summer Faith & Culture series with our newest priest, Fr. David Dufresne! He will share his life-changing story about how he overcame a difficult upbringing to see the truth and beauty of the Catholic Church. The talk will begin a little after 7pm on Thursday, August 2 in the Lyceum Auditorium (313 Duke Street). Please note location change is to the Lyceum Auditorium. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome!
Speaker Bio
I love Jesus Christ. I love being His priest and beginning my new priestly assignment at the Basilica of St. Mary. But if you were to talk to me 20 years ago, it would have been quite a different story. I am living proof that the Lord can transform the hardest of hearts and bring any prodigal to Himself. Often, the best way to see His Providence at work is to look back.
I grew between two worlds in Denver. My dad left mom and me when I was four years old. My mom unexpectedly found herself having to scramble to find work and put food on the table. While my dad, whom I saw once a month or so, lived a very different life. For example, Thanksgivings with Mom would include the two of us playing cards and eating potato chips (as a treat), while with Dad I would wear a suit and tie to go his parents’ house where there would be a marble dining room table seated for 20 and five forks at each setting- even at the kid table. His parents were the only grandparents I had. My beloved Papa Dave gave me much more than my namesake; a love for the outdoors, hunting, and fly-fishing. In many ways, Papa Dave was the best father figure in my life. While I took a brake to be a dirt bag for several years, many of his lessons and passions stick with me today.
As I approached adolescence, I ached for a dad and a sense of family. To make a long story short, by the time I was 15 years old I had been expelled from High School, joined a gang, and ceased to go home to my Mom. Twenty years ago, you would have been talking to this street punk who did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. The search for belonging and acceptance wasn’t found in a group of people that was fundamentally selfish and angry. At the age of 19, I was desperate and I started to turn around toward God. That small opening was all He needed to transform me. I was baptized in the Catholic Church at the age of 20. In the abundant grace of baptism, I am convinced, I received the grace of my vocation.
So now I can look back on the “dark ages,” as my Mother calls them, and see God’s hand. God was able to use that time in my life to help me understand those who have wounds from their fathers and who are looking for happiness in all the wrong places.
While I don’t wish those dark times upon anyone, I am grateful because they have made me who I am. I mention all of that about my past mostly because I am looking forward to my future at the Basilica. Sometimes it can be hard to see how God is acting in our lives in the present moment. It can be consolation to reflect on our lives and to see how active He has always been.