19. At the Foot of the Cross: A Scientist's Catholic Conversion with Father Peter Turrone

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In honour of the month of the Most Holy Rosary, and the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7, we present a series of episodes dedicated to Our Blessed Mother and the Holy Rosary.

The first in our special series is the powerful vocation story of Father Peter Turrone, the pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Father Turrone is a former missionary with the Consolata MIssionaries in Mongolia. He was the pastor at the Newman Centre Student Catholic Chaplaincy at the University of Toronto for five years. He holds a Masters Degree and a Ph.D. in Medical Science and Neuroscience from the University of Toronto.

A former atheist, he shares his story of conversion after reading St. Augustine's "Confessions." Father Turrone also shares his experience as the Catechist for popular Canadian podcaster and cancer survivor, Mrs. Tammy Peterson.

Father Peter Turrone’s incredible journey from atheism to faith is a testament to the profound ways in which science and spirituality can intersect. With a rich background in neuroscience, Fr. Peter shares how his analytical mind found harmony with his spiritual calling, all sparked by a vivid dream of the Virgin Mary and his future mission work in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. As we unravel his story, we explore how personal tragedies can rock the foundation of our beliefs, yet also become the catalyst for rediscovering the grace and hope that faith offers. Through deep reflections and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, Fater Turrone reveals the intricate balance between the hard questions of faith and the beauty of embracing divine mysteries.

Listeners will gain insight into the communal nature of faith, learning how relationships and mentorship can light the path towards a fulfilling spiritual life. From the stirring words of St. Augustine to the moving symbolism of the Easter vigil, Fr. Peter illustrates how ancient texts and traditions remain relevant in today's world. Through personal anecdotes and stories of others on their spiritual path, like Tammy's preparation to become a Catholic, the episode underscores the harmony between faith and reason. Witness how living in accordance with Christian values can be a beacon of hope in times of existential crisis, helping younger generations navigate the tumultuous waters of modern life.

To reach Holy Rosary Parish in Toronto, Ontario, please visit:
https://holyrosary.ca/
https://www.x.com/@HolyRosary_TO

Daily Mass TV, October 7, 2024, Fr. Peter Turrone: Presider and Homilist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPUE_sYSOlI

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Episode Transcript

Father Peter Turrone (00:18):
All of alvation history is presented to
us in the liturgy, we are ableto remember actively what God
has done for us In this greatliturgical experience, which
Augustine called the mother ofall vigils, that spans from the

(00:39):
creation all the way to ourredemption, pointing towards the
future in the church over twoor three hours.
Each individual person isunique.
We all have differentexperiences that bring us to the
Lord, but the Holy Spirit isoperated in each one in a
different way.
To be able to journey withthese people and to see where

(01:01):
they came from from, and then tobe able to not just look
outside, from the outside of thechurch, but have the courage to
kind of cross the threshold andenter into the church and that
is itself the action of god'sgrace.
And once you enter into thechurch again, you see her in her

(01:23):
beauty.
I'm giving a talk in a coupleof days and it's on science,
philosophy and faith, and one ofthe things I talk about is

(01:43):
belief in God.
So what are the obstacles tobelief in God?
And I think that one of the bigobstacles to belief in God is
really the problem of suffering.
One of the big obstacles tobelief in God is really the
problem of suffering.
My name is Fr Peter Turone and Iam a priest of the Archdiocese
of Toronto, a diocesan priest,and I am the current pastor of

(02:05):
Holy Rosary Catholic Church.
I was on a Marian pilgrimagewhen I was a seminarian, and so
one night I'd gone to bed and Ihad this unusual dream and the
Virgin Mary said to me.
She said, "f you receive a biggrace, don't be surprised if
it's covered with sand.
So I woke up and I thought howcan a grace be covered with sand

(02:28):
?
I go, how is the desert a grace?
So I grabbed my phone and thenI ended up typing it in and sent
it to myself as a message,because I go, I can't forget
this.
And then, on August, the 15th2010, my plane lands in the Gobi
Desert, and then it all cametogether at that point and I

(02:48):
thought so this is the gracethat Our Lady was speaking of.
I think sometimes you have tobe very dramatic in terms of my
call, because I was particularlystubborn.
I started off my earlier life asa graduate student, so I did my
Master's and PhD inNeuroscience and Medical Science

(03:10):
at the University of Torontoand at CAMH (Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health),and Medical Science at the
University of Toronto and atCAMH, and I worked in the area
of schizophrenia and discoveringthe and trying to understand at
least the causes for why peopledevelop certain side effects
around these medications.
While I was in university, Ihad to serve my vocation.
I'd come back to the churchfrom atheism.
Even as a scientist, Istruggled with certain things

(03:31):
scandals in the church, therewere a lot of things personal
sin, right.
It's much easier to not believein God and then just do what
you want to do rather than knowthat God exists and then
afterwards have that kind ofsense of guilt.
One of the big obstacles tobelief in God is really the
problem of suffering.
So I think that and that was myexperience as well this is one

(03:54):
of the main reasons why I was Ikind of.
I lost my faith, my childhoodfaith.
My aunt was dying of cancer, mybest friend died in a car
accident and I thought of theywere such good people, you know,
why would God allow this tohappen?
So I just stopped praying andthen, when I, when you stop
praying, I stopped askingquestions, which is a big
mistake, and it took yearsbefore I started asking

(04:19):
questions again.
When I started university, oneof the first classes I had to
take was on ancient Westerncivilization, and the professor
made the mistake of putting theConfessions of St Augustine on
the required reading list.
So when I read St.
Augustine's Confessions I wentinto a major existential crisis.

(04:40):
Everything I thought aboutChristians was wrong, and then I
recognized that here was a manwho had a living relationship
with God, a personalrelationship with God, and that
was something that I found to bevery interesting and very
different than what I hadexperienced and what I had heard
other people experience as well.

(05:01):
So I started to see the churchin a very different light and I
started to meet other Christians.
So the Lord put all thesedifferent people on my path.
I ended up getting invited to aprayer group one night.
I hadn't been to church inyears.
I went to the church and then adeacon came to me and he said
can we pray for you?
So I said sure, go ahead.
I didn't realize he was goingto put his hands on my head and

(05:24):
the whole bunch of people aroundme were praying and he said to
me what do you want from Jesus?
And then I said I want to startover again, and I had no idea
that those words were going tocome out of my mouth until that
moment, and it was at thatmoment that I received what I
would say today, the gift offaith.
And that was the evidence wasoverwhelming for his existence.

(05:54):
The answer to the problem ofsuffering, and innocent
suffering, is really found inChrist crucified.
We recognize that Jesus Christhimself is God and he is the
only light of the world, andit's through our baptism that we
receive this light directlyfrom him.
I'm not sure if you've everbeen to an Easter vigil, so the

(06:16):
church is quite dark, and thenwe begin with the blessing of
the fire outside of the church.
We take some light from thefire and we light the Easter
candle.
Then we walk into the church,we have people light their small
candle from the Easter candle,the Paschal candle, and all of

(06:37):
this is incredibly symbolic.
One person will receive andthen pass the light on to
another.
So we receive also the communalnature of our faith.
It's through the spreading ofthe word of mouth right that we
come to know the faith.
So I receive the light from God.
This light I pass on to another, and we can see that through
parents bringing their childrento church to have them baptized,
friends and family.

(06:58):
An example of the manybeautiful people that I'll be
baptizing and receiving in thechurch that night.
We have approximately two tothree people that will be
baptized, and one of them willbe baptized outside of the
Easter Vigil later on.
And then we have about four orfive who will be received in the

(07:19):
church and will also bereceiving confirmation and Holy
Communion as well, and HolyCommunion as well.
I know Tammy (Peterson) throughQueenie Yu, so I was introduced
to her just over a year ago andthen we met here at the parish
in my office, and then sincethen, I've been her catechist,

(07:42):
so I'm preparing her to become aCatholic at the Easter Vigil.
She's been the recipient ofthis miracle.
We know that miracles don'tproduce faith, but they point to
faith, they invite one intofaith, and so, with Tammy, her
journey is unique in that we'retrying to unpack and help her
understand all the things thatshe herself is experiencing.

(08:03):
She's baptized.
However, she didn't alwayspractice her faith.
It was through the influence ofother people and through the
illness that she developed thatshe had this remarkable
experience, this gift that hasbeen given to her by God.
I was thinking about Tammy andJordan (Peterson).
Right, they're different people, but there's,

(08:26):
providentidentially, you can seethe hand of God at work in both
of them.
Jordan is to reason, what Tammyis to faith, and I think that
my experience and Tammy'sexperience again, with her
husband and kind of goingthrough understanding the
reasonableness of the faith andmyself, as a scientist and a

(08:47):
former atheist, I had hadsuspicions about the church.
Unfortunately, some of thethings that I had learned when I
was at university were justpatently false and that you had
to choose between faith andscience.
They were in conflict.
Faith was about feelings andscience was about reason, and
that, in fact, is incorrect.
We use reason to understand ourfaith.

(09:09):
It's inherently reasonable.
My experience of knowing whatit's like to live in existential
despair when I was younger andthen having gone through the
different kind of ideologies,the different schools of thought
, the things that I was exposedto when I was younger and then

(09:30):
having had direct experiences ofthe presence of God, has been
incredibly helpful in my ownlife, and seeing a similar sort
of a pattern in the life ofTammy I believe is helpful in
helping to form her along theway.
I encourage her to continue topray as she's doing and to share

(09:55):
her testimony.
We've known that the church isnot convinced by arguments like
people converting to the church,but it really comes down to
word of mouth.
So it's like mouth to mouth,sharing the news.
Living a life that is worthy ofthe name Christian is really
what's going to convince otherpeople, because many people,
especially our youngergenerations whether they would

(10:17):
articulate it as such are goingthrough an existential crisis.
We see that the rates ofdepression and anxiety and
suicides are skyrocketing, so isthat not an indication that
there's something wrong?
If you're experiencing thisanxiety, depression, you're just
kind of going along the way andmaybe it's not clinical, but
there's this kind of emptinessand you don't have hope in the

(10:38):
future, well, there's an answerto the questions that you have
in life.
Those answers are answered by aperson and Jesus Christ, and I
think that it's really importantthat they make an effort to try
to reach out right To reach outand I promise you that if you
do, you'll be surprised.
What you see on the outside isvery different once you enter

(11:02):
into the church and the churchis beautiful.
She's our mother, she loves us,and it's really there that you
can discover and experience whatit means to be a human being,
what it means to be fully alivein God and to have hope for the
future um Thank you.