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From our Pastoral Intern Eben MacDonald
When
did I first experience God calling me to priesthood? Although I have
been a practicing Catholic virtually all my life, and came from a loving
Catholic household, as a child I was not an altar server and I never
thought about becoming a priest while growing up. I had typical
schoolboy fantasies ranging from wanting to be an astronaut to policeman
to fireman. As a teenager, I discovered drama and had ambitions of
becoming a professional actor, and eventually I went on to study acting
in college.
While in college, I drifted away from the Church for a
time, as so many young adults do nowadays. I devoted myself to my
studies and was heavily involved in performing in stage productions, but
after a time I realized something was missing in my life. I found myself
feeling empty. There was a void in my life that I couldn’t put my finger
on. It was during this period that I felt called to reconnect with the
Church. I began attending daily Mass and through the frequent reception
of the Eucharist I had a conversion experience. I felt like I had come
home and I experienced Jesus inviting me to become more active and
involved in my faith.
I decided to become involved in youth ministry in my parish back in
Michigan. The head of the youth ministry at the parish at that time was
a new associate pastor who was only a few years older than me and was
newly ordained. My involvement in ministry with this young, vibrant and
enthusiastic priest stirred something inside me. I thought to myself,
here is this young priest not much older than me… maybe that is the life
God is calling me to. This was the first time I felt God inviting me to
consider priesthood. |
