For seminarian Vincent Asselta, there is one key emotion that helped lead him to discern the priesthood: joy.
“When I was talking to priests, trying to figure out if this vocation to the priesthood was for me, if they didn’t have that smile, I don’t think I’d be here right now,” Asselta, a seminarian for the Diocese of Camden, said in addressing all Masses Nov. 2-3 at Infant Jesus Parish, Woodbury Heights.
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“You always notice happy priests, the happy husbands and wives,” he continued. “Just one little smile can impact someone’s whole day.”
Asselta – who is in his third year at the College Seminary of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Andrew’s Hall, Seton Hall University, South Orange – was among the 11 seminarians from the Diocese of Camden who shared their vocation stories with parishes across South Jersey on Nov. 2-3, the start of National Vocation Awareness Week. The week, Nov. 3-9, is dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life.
“Going to Mass on Sunday was something I enjoyed, even looked forward to,” seminarian Nicholas Esposito shared with parishioners in Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Marmora. Esposito, who is in his fourth year at Saint Andrew’s Hall, reflected on growing up in Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Parish, Hammonton.
“I can distinctly remember sitting in the pew, looking around the church, looking at the altar, the tabernacle, the various statues of different saints … and I would wonder what those things were. What purpose did they serve. Even at a young age, that intrigued me,” he said. “Upon returning home from Mass, I would often have a pretend Mass in the living room. The cat and the dog were terrible altar servers.”
In fourth grade, he became an altar server, which he called an enlightening experience. “I got to see the Mass behind the scenes. … The priest prepares himself prayerfully for Mass to celebrate the greatest gift that we have: Jesus Christ becoming present to us in the Holy Eucharist. We are a community of faith that gathers together to celebrate Christ himself in the Eucharist. What is more beautiful than that?”
Like Esposito, seminarian Theodore Deluhery served as an altar server in grade school. “People would come up to me after Mass and say, ‘You would make a great priest,’” he explained to parishioners at Saint Clare of Assisi Parish, Swedesboro.
Though he was moved by a priest’s vocation talk when he was young and thought he was ready to give his “yes,” Deluhery went a different direction, began to pull back from altar serving and dated a girl in high school.
After about nine months, he admitted, “I knew that this girl, and the life that I had that seemed so perfect and sure, was not the one God wanted me to have.” Deluhery and his girlfriend broke up, and he began spiritual direction.
“I want to leave you with this encouragement. If you have felt the call to the priesthood or religious life, and you feel that knocking on your heart, as I did, do not be afraid,” said Deluhery, who is in first year theology at Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers.
“These past years have been the happiest years of my life. I’ve been with my brothers, I’ve been with good priests,” he continued. “Yes, there have been ups and downs, but it’s also been a joyous road. The happiness of my vocation is the light that guides me back to ‘yes’ to the Lord every day.”
Happiness is something that Asselta was seeking as a young man, too. Although he grew up receiving all of his sacraments, he wasn’t very involved in his parish or his faith. It was only during 2020, in the midst of COVID-19 as a sophomore in high school, when things changed.
Feeling closed off from the world, “I felt that something was missing. There was a deep sadness. So I filled it with different things. I learned to play guitar. I would buy this, try that. … [Then] I was left with that empty hole again.”
“One day, I heard God speaking to me … and it was like a little whisper. And I wouldn’t have been able to hear that whisper if the world hadn’t gone quiet. If I wasn’t alone with myself,” he said.
“So if you’re a younger person hearing this, I’ll tell you what: It’s hard to hear God’s voice, and sometimes you don’t know where God is calling you. But you have to take that first step,” Asselta said. “If you take a step, and it’s for you, great. But if not, God will call you on another path … because God isn’t going to call you somewhere and then not give you the grace to thrive.
“God’s not going to call a man to be a priest and not give that man compassion and love for Christ and the congregation.”
The seminarians offered advice not only for those considering a vocation, but for their friends and family, too.
“Pray for the vocation of priests, but when you see your young altar servers, ask them have they thought about being a priest. And keep asking them. And flame that fire,” Deluhery said.
Said Asselta, “Ask God to be happy. I realized I never asked God to be happy. I just expected God to give it to me.”
Quoting from the Gospel of Luke, Esposito urged, “I invite you to take to heart the words our Lord offered Simon Peter: ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’”
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