By Sean McBride
At a young age, I knew what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a … zookeeper.
That’s right, I actually had no interest in being a priest when I was a kid. I was born and raised Catholic, and went to a Catholic school, but wasn’t thinking about being a priest.
As a kid, it was very easy being Catholic, all I had to do was listen to mom and dad. It wasn’t until I was 16 that my faith was challenged for the first time in a big way. My parish pastor said to me, “Sean, God may be calling you to the priesthood. You should pray on it.”
My response was, “UH NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. I have my own plan. I want to be a zookeeper!”
I did not pray on it. Instead, I went to college to study biology.
In college, for the first time, I was on my own. It was up to me to practice my faith. I admit that I became complacent very quickly. I made excuses to skip out on Sunday Mass, and I still wasn’t praying. Instead, I was focusing on other things that seemed more important, more exciting and more conducive to MY plan.
At the same time, I knew something was missing. I couldn’t forget what my pastor said: “Sean, God may be calling you to the priesthood. You should pray on it.” However, I still wasn’t ready to do that, and instead I continued with MY plan.
Eventually, that plan changed a little bit. By graduate school, I was no longer planning to work with animals; I moved on to studying plants.
This is when I tell people how “I watched the grass grow.”
During graduate school, I still had the feeling that something was missing. Even the grass wasn’t enough to fill that mysterious void! I couldn’t seem to forget my pastor’s comment from when I was 16. So, I made a small concession: I prayed on it.
Nothing happened, not right away at least. However, I kept praying on it; I went to Mass every week – no more excuses – and I was receiving the sacraments. Over time, I did notice a change. As I grew in relationship with Jesus, I started to feel a growing sense of peace and confidence. I was beginning to trust in God.
The world has a funny way of telling us what our plans should be. The world tells us that happiness comes from possessions or popularity – and that those things are what we should focus on.
What the world doesn’t tell you is that God has a plan, and it’s God’s plan that really leads to happiness. By following His plan, we not only find happiness, we are able to share it with others through service, too.
As I grew to trust God, I began to seriously consider what His plan might be for me. Not long after – through the help of the pastor who encouraged me all those years ago – I reached out to a vocations director for the Diocese of Camden.
After 10 years of ignoring my pastor’s comment to consider the priesthood, I entered seminary. Now, in my second year, I can confidently say that entering was the best decision I ever made.
God has a definite plan for all of us, and He calls us all in different ways. Sometimes, all it takes is a brief comment to encourage someone to take that first step in discerning God’s plan – even if, like me, it takes them years to finally make that move.
For anyone who can relate to my story and feel a pull toward the priesthood or religious life, please don’t be afraid – trust in God. You might be unsure, but God knows what He’s about. He has a definitive mission He is calling you to. He will not steer you wrong, and He will not give up on you. All you have to do is take that first step.
The question that remains is, “How will you respond when God calls you by name?”
Sean McBride is a seminarian for the Diocese of Camden who attends Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y.
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