The gift you have received, give as a gift.” – Fundamental Principles, Xaverian Brothers
Brother John McDonald generously used his many gifts for the benefit of his Brothers in community and for those he served as teacher, formator, and friend. He did so in a quiet and unassuming way. Brother John was a superb Spanish teacher, a gifted host of hospitality, an outstanding chef, and a knowledgeable gardener. He was a welcoming listener whose help and advice were regularly sought by neighbors and church friends. He was also a skillful handyman whose work reflected professional mastery. Above all, he was a caring and faith-filled member of the Xaverian community.
Brother John was born on October 29, 1942, to John Joseph and Marie Clarkson McDonald. He grew up in Larchmont, in Westchester County, New York, where he attended St. Augustine School for his elementary education and later Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains. It was there that he first met the Xaverian Brothers who staffed and administered the school for the Archdiocese of New York. Brother John is survived by two sisters, Mary Jo Patucco and Patricia Wargochi. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother Thomas, and his sister Kathleen Weber.
Upon graduating from Archbishop Stepinac, John responded to the call “to live a life of love and trust as a follower of Christ in the Congregation of Xaverian Brothers” (Fundamental Principles). He entered Sacred Heart Novitiate in Leonardtown, Maryland, where on September 8, 1960, he received the religious habit of the Xaverian Brothers and the religious name Brother Peter. In 1961 the novices from the Northeast transferred to newly established Saint Joseph’s Novitiate in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts. When John professed his vows as a Xaverian Brother, he committed himself to follow Christ’s example of self-giving love by sharing his many gifts with all whom he would encounter throughout his life.
Brother John continued his religious and professional formation at Xaverian College in Silver Spring, Maryland, and at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Spanish in 1966. He later earned a Master’s degree in Spanish from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey in 1968 and a Master’s degree in Religious Studies from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1975.
John served the Church as a teacher at St. Joseph’s Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey; St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut; and Malden Catholic High School in Malden, Massachusetts. He also spent seven years as a missionary in Kenya and later served Saint Joseph Province on its administrative team. For the past fifteen years, John served as Director and Hospitality Host at the Brothers’ residence in Venice, Florida.
As we celebrate John’s life among us, Jesus’ words about the faithful and wise steward come to mind: “Who then is the faithful and wise steward?” (Luke 12:42). A steward is trustworthy, wise, and service-oriented—someone who cares for and protects the people and gifts entrusted to him for the good of the community. John embodied this spirit of stewardship throughout his life.. His life of service was marked especially by hospitality—the desire to welcome others warmly and to help them feel that they matter and that they are loved by God. That spirit of hospitality lies at the heart of the vocation of the Xaverian Brother.
One Brother reflected that “John’s faithfulness to daily Mass was the foundation of his devotion to the Lord.” It is easy to imagine John each day quietly reflecting on Christ’s example of self-giving love, celebrated in the Eucharist and his own relationship with Christ. He surely took to heart the exhortation from the Fundamental Principles: “In this life of following Christ, allow yourself, therefore, to be given away together with your Brothers as nourishment for others, as bread that is broken.” During his sixty-six years as a Xaverian Brother, John lived those words faithfully.
Whether teaching Spanish in the classroom, or organizing large gatherings to celebrate jubilees, professions of vows, or graduations, or serving as a missionary in Kenya for seven years helping congregations of Kenyan Sisters to develop programs in spirituality and Scripture for their young sisters, John used the gifts God gave him for the good of the Church. As a member of administrative team at the Provincialate of the Saint Joseph’s Province in Milton, Massachusetts, John’s gifts as a steward – his reliability, organizational skill, and quiet attentiveness– proved invaluable to the life of the community.
Brothers who lived with John often spoke of his honesty, responsibility, quiet attentiveness and generosity. One Brother recalled how John would drive the streets of Venice looking for him if he had gone out walking and rain began to fall. Another said simply, “John was always ready to help with any responsibility that came up. You could always rely on him.” Helping others enjoy themselves brought John great delight. It was this warm spirit of hospitality that distinguished John’s service—not mechanical or routine, but genuinely attentive and welcoming.
And, as many know, John also had a wonderful sense of humor—and was reputed to be a formidable Jeopardy enthusiast, perhaps one of the few contestants against whom Ken Jennings might have hesitated to compete!
As John is now born into eternal life, our prayer is that he may know fully the gratitude and love of his family, his fellow Xaverian Brothers, and all those whose lives he touched along his journey. May the heavenly banquet he now enjoys be the first one at which he is not responsible for preparing the meal. And Jesus will greet John saying, “Well done, John! You have been a good steward of my Father’s Kingdom. Welcome to the banquet.”
Prepared by Brother Edward Driscoll, CFX