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Isaac Hecker: The Man BORN IN NEW YORK CITY on December 18, 1819, Isaac Hecker spent his youth working in the family bakery business. His formal education was limited, but this experience in the working world gave him an insight into the social and economic pressures faced by ordinary people in those times. His empathy for the working masses became the cornerstone of his quest to improve the quality of life for his contemporaries. Recognizing the potential of politics, he joined a reform branch of the Tammany Society and devoted all his time and energy to campaigning for the ticket. But he quickly discovered the realities of political life and was dismayed by the power-hungry lack of concern that fueled the political machine. As he would later write, "Not much was to be hoped for from political actions as politicians were governed more by selfishness and a thirst for power than by patriotism and the desire of doing good to their fellow citizens." So, frustrated by politics yet still driven by a desire to benefit society, Hecker began his search anew. It was while he was in this receptive state that Isaac Hecker began to feel his calling. His interest in the material values of business and politics faded and was replaced by a desire to answer this spiritual tide that was drawing him into communion with God. The feeling was so sharp and powerful that Hecker at first distrusted it. But despite his attempts to submerge the calling by renewing his efforts in his former occupations, he could not escape its pull. It became stronger, more constant, and more demanding. Seeking guidance, he consulted Orestes Brownson, a brilliant man who was closely in touch with the philosophical and intellectual traditions, as well as the current upheavals, in American society. Brownson recommended that Hecker break away from his normal routine and seek the time and freedom to evaluate his feelings. Following Brownson's advice, Hecker made his way to Massachusetts where a new social experiment known as Brook Farm was just beginning. Brook Farm was an exciting new intellectual atmosphere, and Hecker was exposed to a spectrum of ideas and people including Bronson Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. With all of this intellectual stimulation, plus the continuing influence of Orestes Brownson, Hecker's focus began to shift. As Brownson told him, politics and social experiments had their value in the progress of man, but they did not truly solve mankind's problems. Hecker became convinced that something beyond human power was necessary, and he began to seek the source of such power in religion. To find out more about the Paulist Fathers who were founded by Isaac Hecker and who serve at the Catholic Information Center please go to the Paulist home page. If you would like information on how to become a Paulist Father, please go here. |
Hecker Quotes
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"The supreme want of person’s heart is God: God not in an ideal or abstract manner, but God in such a manner as adequately to meet a human being, constituted as humans are. A human being has a heart, a sensitive heart, a heart of flesh and blood. This heart, to be met, requires that God should come to it sensibly, come to it as flesh and blood.
To me my life has been continued growth and hence I have never had and desire to return to any part or period of it. This applies as well to my life before I was received into the Church, as after. My best life is always in the present. The highest aim of humanity is to live for God, and to labor for the universal welfare of humankind. Nothing less than this can satisfy a person’s noblest instinct and fill that person’s large heart. The human mind demands to know universal truth; the universal love; the will demands to act for universal ends. If Christ is to be for us a savior, we must find him here, now, and where we are, in this age of ours also; otherwise he is not Christ, no Savior, no Immanuel, no, “God with us.” Most of our troubles arise from unreal causes. They are the effects of exaggerations, or inordinate desires, or mistaken views of honor or duty. Would we only be willing to see things as they are, and be willing to be just what we are, we should find more good in this world, and in creation, than some religious writers would be willing to acknowledge. The Love of God and the love of humans are one. God promises His reward not to the ignorant or to the indolent, or to the indifferent, but to those who visit the prisoner, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked-to the doing of good works as the evidence of true faith. The actual and habitual guidance of the soul by the Holy Spirit is the essential principle of all divine life. The individuality of person cannot be too strong, or one’s liberty too great, when one is guided by the Spirit of God." |
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