This weekend, the seminary community sponsored a Vocations Awareness Weekend. It was an opportunity for men throughout the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami (Dioceses in the State of Florida) to experience a little bit of seminary life and to recognize God’s love for them on a deeper level. Even though the weekend was geared towards the guests who think God is calling them to discern the priesthood of Jesus Christ, it was also an invaluable experience for the seminarians. For myself, this weekend allowed me to recall the events that led me to enter into a deeper conversation with the church about the priesthood of Christ and the possibility of entering the seminary.

I believe that it was the grace of God that allowed this Vocations Awareness Weekend to take place this particular weekend. Many of you may recall that March 16, 2008 was Palm Sunday. I can tell you that this date will never be forgotten by me because it was when I heard God’s call to re-open the book of vocations in my life. On that particular evening, I was just finishing my prayers and not looking forward to getting up the next morning and going to school. As I was “flipping through the channels” looking for something on television to put me to sleep, I had this tremendous feeling that God was in my presence and that He was communicating something to me. Our heavenly Father was answering a prayer that I raised to Him a few weeks prior.

At the beginning of the 2008 Lenten Season, my parish sponsored a Lenten Retreat, where all of the parishioners were invited to attend a series of evening meetings led by Fr. Michael Sullivan, O.S.A. The Sunday the talks were set to begin, Fr. Sullivan was the main celebrant at the 7:30 a.m. Mass. As he was going through his homily, Fr. Sullivan was calling upon different people within the congregation to stand up and answer some questions. Being the altar server at that Mass, I was prime for the picking because I was sitting right up front. Sure enough, he asked me to stand and began asking me all sorts of questions. In the course of the questions, Fr. Michael looked me in the eyes and asked, “Tom, have you ever thought about being a priest?” I was speechless!! I couldn’t believe that this was coming up…again!

When I was in the 8th grade, I began thinking about serving God through the ministry of the priesthood. But throughout high school and my first year and a half of college, the desire for a family and a career in law enforcement and politics consumed me. I thought I had my life planned out. Did I ever get that wrong?! The saying goes; if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Well, He clearly had a good laugh at my expense.

Through the course of the next few weeks, I spent each night praying for the Lord to show me what He wanted me to do with my life. I was grappling with making a decision to follow my desire to be a police officer or to follow the Lord’s call to the priesthood. March 16, 2008 was when God provided me with the answer. The next day, I contacted my pastor, Fr. Thomas Barrett (Former Vocations Director for the Diocese of Orlando), telling him the story of my experience the night before. He told me to get in touch with Fr. Miguel, the current Vocations Director, and schedule a meeting with him. In our email and phone conversations, Fr. Miguel reminded me that we, as a Church, were entering into the most profoundly spiritual week of the year and encouraged me to take time to sit with the Lord, a piece of advice I took to heart. A couple of weeks later, I began the application process to be accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Orlando.

As I reflect on this past weekend, I am thankful that the Lord was able to allow me to recall the events that led up to my decision to enter seminary. As each day passes in formation, I am reassured that this is the path the Lord is calling me to take. Each day, I wake up with a renewed vigor that the Lord is present in my life. As we go about the remainder of the Lenten season, I encourage all of you to call to mind an experience you had where you knew the Lord was present in your life. Thank Him for that and allow that experience to carry you through Lent, to the Easter season.
May God bless you and may He continue to bless the Catholic Church. Bye for now…