On the fourth Sunday of Easter, the Church throughout the world offers prayers for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The fourth Easter Sunday is called World Day of Prayer for Vocations. A reminder to pray to the Lord for vocations to the religious life and the priesthood.
I recently wrote to the priests of our Diocese and asked that as they developed their homilies for Masses on World Day of Prayer for Vocations, that they include their stories about their vocations to the priesthood. I also requested that they include in the Prayer of the Faithful petitions for vocations to the diocesan and religious priesthood and to the religious life.
I ask you to pray for vocations, especially to the diocesan priesthood for our Diocese of Camden. Pray that young men be brave and respond to God’s call to the priesthood. Pray that they be open to such a call. Pray that they not be afraid to speak with a priest or talk with one of our seminarians about the priesthood. Young men today face many challenges and barriers that prevent them from hearing and responding to God’s call. Surely, our prayers can encourage them.
When I was in college, age 19, and began to consider that perhaps God was calling me to the priesthood, my initial reaction was to get it out of my mind. To reject it. To dismiss it. However, the more I negatively responded to what was in my head and heart, the more I was bothered by thoughts of considering the priesthood. It was a confusing experience. I thought I would have to give up so much if I responded to what I kept hearing in my heart and soul. Give up my friends, my social life, a future as a husband and father of children. It was a dilemma and a struggle until I met Father Richard Burns, who was a chaplain at Iona College, where I was a student.
He was very approachable and finally, one day, I bravely poured out what I was going through. When I finished, he referred to the Gospel story about the young man who went away sad from his encounter with Jesus. That young man could not give up in order to follow Jesus. Father Burns said, “You don’t want to go away. You don’t want to be sad.” He encouraged me to give it a try. He said, “A try is not a lifetime commitment.” He suggested that I speak with my parish priest.
I followed father’s advice and, a week later, found myself sitting in the rectory of my parish with one of the parish priests whom I knew since boyhood. He listened to me and said, “Well, let’s do something about that.” He picked up the phone and called the vocations director for the Archdiocese of New York and arranged an interview for me.
That evening, I told my parents. My dad said, “I’ll drive you to the appointment in Yonkers at the archdiocesan seminary,” which was his way of encouraging me to pursue the priesthood. My mom gave me a kiss and said, “If it is God’s will, we love you, and if it is not, we will still love you.”
Three priests of the seminary faculty individually interviewed me. I remember not a word of those conversations. I do remember how nervous I was. They said, “You will hear from us,” and about a week later, an appointment for a psychological examination at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan was arranged. I completed a battery of psychological tests, followed by an interview with the seminary psychiatrist. A week later, I received a letter of acceptance with information about entrance day and what I would have to bring with me. Yes, I gave it a try.
In the beginning of September 1965, I entered Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers and began the long, six-year program of preparation and formation to be a priest of Jesus Christ. As I adjusted to life as a seminarian, I felt at ease. I felt that I belonged where I was. Yes, during those six years, I experienced real and, at times, intense struggles with the call. Each time, I worked it out with lots of prayer and advice from spiritual directors and fellow seminarians. During those stormy periods, I could hear Father Burns saying, “You don’t want to go away sad.”
This May, I will celebrate 52 years as a priest. It has been a joy-filled life of service to people, to the Lord and to His Church. It has been a life beyond what I imagined and expected. On World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I will pray that young men from our Diocese will hear and respond to God’s call to the priesthood. I will pray that they will give it a try.
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