All of that changed when I entered high school. It was not cool to talk about your faith, let alone a priestly vocation. The friends I made were good people, however, they were not very religious. I began to try to deny my vocation. It was never spoken of to anyone. All I would have to do is think about what I wanted to have and where I wanted to be after graduation…married, nice job, house. All of these were incompatible with the priesthood.

The strange thing is that no matter what I did, the calling to the priesthood would always come back. It simply would not just go. When I graduated high school, I got a full time job for a fortune 500 company. They were paying for me to go to school for business management. I got my own apartment and was looking forward to buying a house. This was my life, this was where I wanted to go, yet the calling to the priesthood would kept coming back. I named it "the haunting", because that is exactly what it was. By the end of my four years of work, "the haunting" came more often and persisted for a longer period of time. It was driving me nuts.

I was in my room in my apartment when I decided to take it up with the Lord. As I looked at a picture of the Sacred Heart, which I kept on my wall, I attempted to strike a bargain with Jesus. I told Him that I thought He was calling me to the priesthood, but I still was not sure. I told Him all the plans I had for my life. Yet, if He really wanted me to become a priest, I would go. But He had to be more specific in letting me know that this was really what He wanted me to do. I said, "if a priest comes up to me, points at me, and tells me that I'm being called to the priesthood, then I'll enter the seminary". What are the chances of that happening? As I reassured myself that something like that would never happen, I relaxed and thought "the haunting" could finally be put to rest.

Three days after my little talk with Jesus, I decided to walk into a local Catholic Church to say some prayers. As I entered, Fr. Kiley, the pastor, was outside fixing the bulletin board. I simply said hello as I walked by him. At that, he began asking me questions like, where I worked and if I went to school. When I told him I was going to school part time, he asked what I was taking. I told him that I was currently studying business management but I may go into another program. He smiled, nodded, and said, "yeah, to the priesthood". My heart dropped! Then he told me to follow him to the rectory. I was scared stiff. My legs were shaking and I could hardly walk. Then he asked me if I go to church there. I told him that every once in a while I would attend mass there. Then he stopped, pointed his finger at me and said, "I know because I see you in church from time to time, and every time I'd see you I know that you were being called by God to be a priest"! Suddenly a wave of electricity hit the top of my head and traveled all the way down to my toes. It was at that moment that I knew for a fact that God was calling me to be a priest. All I could think of was my bargain with Jesus in my room just three days before.

The rest is history. I contacted the seminary and entered three years ago. I just graduated from Providence College and now I'm heading to Rome for four more years of study. God is good. Now finally I am at peace with myself knowing that I am working toward the priesthood of Jesus Christ and, if all goes according to plan, will be ordained in 2008.