An Interview with Friar Ruben Martello FSF, PhD

by Gordon Nary

Gordon: When did you attend University of Sydney, what degree did you earn, and what is one of your favorite memories when you were there?

Friar Ruben: I attended the University of Sydney as a young student friar and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2007. When I began I hadn't planned to major in Classical Hebrew, and I started with Latin and ancient history. One of my favourite memories was the small, friendly classes and lecturers, with the mix of both Protestant and Jewish students, which made for many interesting discussions. I was the only friar in my classes; in fact I think I was quite often the only Catholic.

Gordon: When and why did you decide to be a Franciscan?

Friar Ruben: I decided to be a Franciscan at the age of 16 or 17, so I had to wait until I was at least 18. I knew earlier on that I wanted to be a priest, but in a religious community, rather than join a seminary to be a parish priest or pastor. As it happens, our Community now runs a parish in Sydney, Australia. We have done since 2004. I was attracted to the 'semi-contemplative' religious life, though I prefer to think of the Franciscan life as contemplative, with an active apostolate. The Friars of St Francis, the community I joined in 2001, seemed to fit that ideal perfectly. I was also inspired by the powerful preaching of Fr Christopher Sharah, FSF, who founded our Community in 1993. He had been a Capuchin friar for many years, but with the permission of the Minster General at the time, was encouraged to set out on an adventure of reform. The Franciscans have over the centuries been formed by offshoots seeking to keep the spirit of St Francis of Assisi alive at different times in its 800 years' history. At the time I joined, the Friars lived on a property in Toongabbie in the Western suburbs of Sydney, which had once been a Marist Fathers' seminary. It was an idyllic setting on ten acres, with lots of lawn to cut, and bathrooms to clean, keeping a novice very busy!  

Gordon: When did you attend Sydney College of Divinity, what degree did you earn, who was your favorite teacher, and why was   that teacher you favorite?

Friar Ruben: I started my combined Bachelor of Theology and BA major in Philosophy at the Catholic Institute of Sydney (CIS) in 2007, which at the time was a member institute of the Sydney College of Divinity. As I understand it, CIS is now affiliated with the University of Notre Dame in Australia. As CIS is a Pontifical institute I was able to graduate with the STB or Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology. My favourite teacher was Dr Robert Tilley, who taught Scripture. He was a convert to Catholicism, and who had once, as a Calvinist, been involved in a protest against the visit of Pope John Paul II to Australia. He came later on in my student years, and was a breath of fresh air, because he introduced us to postmodern ways of reading Biblical texts that departed from the boring and worn out form critical methods that so often negate the supernatural element of the Bible. Interestingly, he argued that modern biblical critical methods derive from anti-Catholic and anti-semitic roots in centuries-old Protestantism, which was entirely new to me.  

Gordon: What degrees did you earn at University of Nottingham, what was you favorite course, and why was that course your favorite?

Friar Ruben: I earned two degrees from the University of Nottingham: a Master of Arts in Systematic and Philosophical Theology, and a doctorate in Theology. The PhD would have to be my favourite course as I was able to study in great depth the Franciscan theologian, St Bonaventure (1221-1274). This study delves into how creation, in particular, the account of creation in Genesis 1, forms a perspective for much of Bonaventure's theology in general. Though the Master's degree also gave me my first formal introduction to his teachings. Franciscan theology offers another perspective. I was used to learning a theology and philosophy broadly based on St Thomas Aquinas, a great friend of St Bonaventure. At Nottingham I able to access the world of Franciscan scientific theology, which is no less demanding, but ever so rewarding. You could say that with St Thomas, the mind is fed, but with St Bonaventure, mind and heart are nourished.

Gordon: Please tell us about your volunteer work.

Friar Ruben: All my work is voluntary, but to be specific, our community is involved in assisting the poor though our parish Manning Foundation of St Francis. In this way the poor and needy are provided with food and clothing, as well as assisted to complete courses or programs to get them back on their two feet, so to speak. I have also been involved in University chaplaincy and regular visitations to nursing homes. 

Gordon: You are currently a Chaplain at BAC Systems. What has been one of your most rewarding experiences there?

Friar Ruben: It is a rare privilege to serve as a chaplain in a factory, where both Catholics and non-Catholics are afforded the opportunity to attend Mass in the work place. At BAC Systems, employees pray the divine office daily and adore the Blessed Sacrament in a dedicated chapel of the main factory building. BAC Systems builds high quality, heavy duty storage systems, for the mining industry, for museums and even the defence forces. Bringing Christ into the workplace, where He is welcomed with joy by tough, tattoo-laden workers, is for me reward enough to experience. 

Gordon: You are currently an Assistant Priest at St Bernadette's Catholic Church, Dundas Valley. Please tell us something about the parish.

Friar Ruben: St Bernadette's is a happy parish. It's also a vibrant and growing church, with many young people and families. We have a strong youth group, young adults group, and primary school set on the edge of bushland in the midst of the suburbia of Western Sydney, in the Parramatta diocese. People remark about how friendly parishioners are to one another, which is a great blessing for our community. So often, Catholics attending Mass are more interested in getting on with their busy lives after church, but here they hang back to spend time, chatting and drinking coffee after Mass. I was privileged to have been ordained in this church in 2012, by a visiting missionary bishop in Papua New Guinea, Archbishop Douglas Young SVD.    

Gordon: What is one of the most interesting facts about Saint Francis's life?

Friar Ruben: I think that many elements in the life of St Francis are interesting, he was an innovator in so many ways, and many of those innovations are antiquated for us now, like the Christmas creche, or the Franciscan presence in the Holy Land. But if I was to choose one interesting fact, that would have to his being the first person to receive the stigmata. While a number of ecclesiastics doubted the news of this unusual phenomenon only made public following his death in 1226, at least three popes in five papal bulls confirmed the authenticity of these sacred wounds. It was confirmation of his incredible devotion to the sacred humanity of Christ, and a sign of divine approbation of his self-sacrificial life and the Order he founded.

Gordon: Thank you for a great interview.