On the evening of the Confirmation celebration, I met Fr. I kept putting her off, making excuses why I couldn’t go. One of the parents of a student was always insisting that I go with their family to the La Salette Shrine in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where they often worshiped and where she was involved with a Prison Ministry Group.
While in my early twenties, I taught Confirmation class in my parish. This inner battle would continue for nearly ten more years. The thought of other kids calling me names overwhelmed me. However I kept pushing these feelings aside.įrankly, I was afraid. From time to time, it would occur to me that I somehow wanted to do what he did. During this time I would go to daily Mass. I somehow identified with them in their need. I enjoyed working at a Medical Adult Day Care Center for the elderly and disabled. I eventually finished my studies and became a Social Worker. Only when I got older did I realize that the pain and hurt that I experienced would eventually assist me in helping others who felt the same.Īs I progressed in school, my desire to help others only grew.
When I was in third grade, I remember trying to figure out why “my friends” we so unkind. The only thing that bothered me was that I was no longer with my brother. As a result, I was kept back twice- in first and third grades. Early on I had aĭifficult time with studies. My mother dressed us the same and we began school in the same classroom. When my brother, Rick, and I were young people, we would make a lot of being “the twins”. Although no one ever asked me to become a priest, I eventually learned that God does the calling and we need to be open to the call. Frequently we had parish priests over for dinner and I wasalways comfortable with discussion centered on religion. My family was active in my home parish the Immaculate Conception Church. I am one of four children, having a twin brother and two sisters. My story is similar to that of young Samuel. I am presently Vocation Director for our community. I have been a priest of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette for fifteen years. He was called several times but thought it was the voice of his teacher, Eli: There is a wonderful story in the first book of Samuel (3:1-10) about a young man beingĬalled by God. "When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ You called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
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