Ryan Simas
Meet our Seminarians / Ryan Simas
The prophet Jeremiah writes “Even before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” (Jer. 1:5) Growing up, my family fell away from the church for some time and in the fifth grade, I remember asking my mom what this “CCD” thing was all about. My friends at school were talking about what they were learning in their religious education classes and I really had no concept of what they were. My parents decided that maybe we should start going back to church and I should start going to religious education classes. Shortly after starting classes, my teacher told our class that the pastor was looking for kids to be altar servers and I decided to volunteer.
While it’s difficult to really pinpoint the exact moment, I’d say my own vocation story began around the eighth grade. I remember wondering, like most kids do, about what I wanted to do with my life. I had always known I wanted to do something that helped others, but the priesthood wasn’t even on the radar, to say the least. As I entered high school, I was still altar serving and I began working at my home parish of SS. John & James in West Warwick as the weekend sacristan. It was here, probably around freshman year, that I had started thinking seriously about the priesthood.
I tried my hardest to put it out of my mind thinking there was no way I could be a priest. I began exploring other options. I come from a family with a long line of firefighters and EMTs, so I joined a volunteer fire company, hoping this would quell my desire to help others. After a year or so of training as a firefighter, I realized something was missing. I then set my heart on becoming a doctor, among other things, but all with the same result: a feeling that something was missing. Still, however, the idea of the priesthood was always in the back of my mind. Finally, one Sunday in between Masses, I was feeling fed up. I didn’t know what that part was that was missing in my life. Then it hit me: priesthood! I remember praying and telling God, “fine, if this is what You want from me, I’ll do it—but you’ve got to help me out here!” All of a sudden, a sense of peace came over me and with continued prayer and involvement in my parish, that piece of my life that was missing all of a sudden started to disappear. More and more, I began falling in love with the priesthood and the idea of spending my life in service to God and His Church.
I made the decision to enter the seminary during my senior year of high school. I figured, if the priesthood was not for me, then I’m sure the Lord would tell me in the seminary. Now in my fifth year of formation, perhaps one of my seminarian brothers put it best, “I’m 22 years old, celibate, very little money in my pocket, and the happiest I’ve ever been!” As Jeremiah prophesied, God knows us better than we could ever know ourselves and He has a plan for each of our lives. His plan isn’t always the same as our own and the plan is sometimes difficult to understand, but if the Lord wants you to be a priest, you will be a priest. Until then, we need to trust in the Lord and pray constantly.