right crowd, being liked by
others, your typical teenager concerns. Due to these more immediate
concerns,I did not always make the right decisions and fell away
from a genuine practice of the faith. Sure, I continued to go to
Mass on Sunday but I didn’t really care too much about it.
I wasn’t a bad kid, just trying to do what every other teenager
does, fit in and be liked. At this point in my life, if God was
going to lead me down the road to ordination, He was going to have
to do something big. He did!
In the spring semester of my
freshman year of college I was struck a blow that has changed my
life. A friend of mine, a young man with whom I served Mass on Sunday,
was hit by a car and died. His name was Charles Untz, he was only
18 years old when he died and he wanted to be a priest with all
his heart. He was probably the holiest individual I had ever met.
When I heard the news something stirred inside me. I felt very uneasy
because I knew that at the time I was still on the fence with God
and needed to jump to one side. Through God’s grace, and most
likely Charles’ prayers, I chose the side of God. I transferred
to Franciscan University of Steubenville where the thoughts of priesthood
arose within me and began to be fostered by the encouragement of
my family, friends and priests around me at the university.
After 3 years of study, I obtained
a BA in Philosophy but had put off the road to priesthood after
graduation. I thought to myself, “I have too many bills to
pay; I’ll wait until I am debt free and then go on to seminary.”
I took a job in Southeastern Connecticut working as a Director of
Religious Education for a small parish. I was there for one year.
Why so short a time? Well, God had other plans. The job gave me
the opportunity to see the ins and outs of the diocesan priesthood.
I worked closely with the pastor, his associate, and the secretary.
We formed a good working relationship and I was able to experience
what parish life was all about. I loved it!
It didn’t take long for
the call to arise within the depths of my heart once again but this
time it was stronger then ever! I decided to visit a few seminaries
in the country and apply to the diocese. I knew at this point that
God indeed was calling meto the priesthood.
In the spring of 2004, just one year after I graduated from college,
I applied to the diocese and was accepted by Bishop McDonnell. He
decided to send me to the Pontifical North American College for
my studies and formation. I am currently in my third year of studies
and the call to the priesthood only gets stronger as the date for
ordination approaches! Thank you for reading my story and God bless
you!