S
Seminarian_Matt_1
Guest
“When a vocation goes unanswered it is not only a sadness for the one who declines God’s call, but also a sadness for the entire Catholic community which has just lost another priest. When I hear this Gospel about the rich young man, I wish I could have been there to say to him, “Not so fast, give God a chance, trust Him, don’t go away sad - embrace your vocation and find true happiness.” Unable to reach the rich young man of the Gospel, I want to try to reach out to today’s “rich young man” whom Christ is calling to be a priest; and I want to appeal to my fellow Catholics to join me in this campaign to identify the young people God is calling.” Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley in his Pastoral Letter Vocations are everybody’s buisness.
Blessings, in Christ.
I write today because I feel inspired by the holy spirit to do so. I am a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Boston and I feel that I have been blessed very much in my life. The main thing I want to stress in this posting is the beautiful fact that vocations are not only everybody’s buisness, but they are coming back. The church is going through a beautiful transition right now and I see that many, many men are starting to hear God’s calling. It makes me feel great when I hear of yet another man entering into the application process to the seminary. The church needs not only young men but men, to choose the cross over the crowd in living out what I feel can only be the best, most rewarding calling and that is that of the Catholic priesthood.
Now, one thing some of my friends who were thinking about seminary told me is that they are afraid to enter the seminary because they feel that if they do, they are obligated to “force” the vocation upon themselves. In other terms, many men feel that if they are going to enter the seminary, they have to become priests or they will be “weird” or shunned for leaving. This is not true. I honestly believe that it takes more courage for a man to discern his call in seminary and then decide it’s not his true calling and leave than I think it is to actually enter the seminary. Both require one of the most extremely important things in the life of a Catholic, prayer. One who prayerfully discerns his calling and vocation in life will surely be lead to where they need to be.
So, my prayer today is for you men who may be thinking about entering the seminary, but are afraid to discern out. Don’t be. It takes courage to come in, but it takes more to discern out because if one prayerfully listens to God, one will be lead to where he needs to be. I have many friends, family, former bosses, and co workers, aquaintances, and priests back home who know that I am here at the seminary, discerning my call to the priesthood. Most of them know that I have felt a strong calling my whole life, from the early age of 6 onward, the priest was what I wanted to be. I am not afraid to discern out. I prayerfully give my life to God and ask Him always to strengthen my mind, and guide my lips. The fact is, that not all the men in seminary formation are called to the priesthood. God calls us all in different ways for different reasons. God may be calling you to seminary because he wants you to become better at prayer, or he wants you to experience a community of love of Him. God may be calling you to seminary to stregthen your faith and to guide you so that you can have a family that will have a strong faith guided always by the Holy spirit. And, God may indeed be calling you to the priesthood. Your journey can begin, and what a glorious journey it can be.
Vocations are everybody’s buisness.
Including yours.
In Christ,
Sem. Matthew
Blessings, in Christ.
I write today because I feel inspired by the holy spirit to do so. I am a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Boston and I feel that I have been blessed very much in my life. The main thing I want to stress in this posting is the beautiful fact that vocations are not only everybody’s buisness, but they are coming back. The church is going through a beautiful transition right now and I see that many, many men are starting to hear God’s calling. It makes me feel great when I hear of yet another man entering into the application process to the seminary. The church needs not only young men but men, to choose the cross over the crowd in living out what I feel can only be the best, most rewarding calling and that is that of the Catholic priesthood.
Now, one thing some of my friends who were thinking about seminary told me is that they are afraid to enter the seminary because they feel that if they do, they are obligated to “force” the vocation upon themselves. In other terms, many men feel that if they are going to enter the seminary, they have to become priests or they will be “weird” or shunned for leaving. This is not true. I honestly believe that it takes more courage for a man to discern his call in seminary and then decide it’s not his true calling and leave than I think it is to actually enter the seminary. Both require one of the most extremely important things in the life of a Catholic, prayer. One who prayerfully discerns his calling and vocation in life will surely be lead to where they need to be.
So, my prayer today is for you men who may be thinking about entering the seminary, but are afraid to discern out. Don’t be. It takes courage to come in, but it takes more to discern out because if one prayerfully listens to God, one will be lead to where he needs to be. I have many friends, family, former bosses, and co workers, aquaintances, and priests back home who know that I am here at the seminary, discerning my call to the priesthood. Most of them know that I have felt a strong calling my whole life, from the early age of 6 onward, the priest was what I wanted to be. I am not afraid to discern out. I prayerfully give my life to God and ask Him always to strengthen my mind, and guide my lips. The fact is, that not all the men in seminary formation are called to the priesthood. God calls us all in different ways for different reasons. God may be calling you to seminary because he wants you to become better at prayer, or he wants you to experience a community of love of Him. God may be calling you to seminary to stregthen your faith and to guide you so that you can have a family that will have a strong faith guided always by the Holy spirit. And, God may indeed be calling you to the priesthood. Your journey can begin, and what a glorious journey it can be.
Vocations are everybody’s buisness.
Including yours.
In Christ,
Sem. Matthew