I tell people what I am thinking

I started telling people what I was thinking.  Amazingly, nobody is surprised. (that surprised me).  My dad loves the idea.  My brother called me and we talked for 45 minutes (that was a record length for us).  He who-has-not-been-in-a-church-for-30 years is very supportive.

Some people think that I am talking about the diaconate.  They seem a but surprised when I say, "No, the priesthood", but then it clicks for them.  I'm widowed now.  I can do that.

My two best friends at church, a married couple, P&A are also very supportive.  These two folks have acted as my spiritual advisers, in an unofficial capacity, for the last 25 years.  I have come to respect their knowledge and opinions.  That they see this path as a viable option for me means a great deal.

A visit to my parish priest

It seemed that I needed to talk to somebody about this, so I went to my parish priest.  We are fortunate enough to have two and one of them was a delayed vocation.  He seemed like the right place to start.

He was very encouraging and as luck would have it, a vocation retreat was coming up in a few weeks.  He got me enrolled in the weekend.  Wow, this is going smoothly. 

In my life, I have found that when things are going smoothly, it means I am following a path that is good for me.  If obstacles start popping up, then perhaps God is sending messages that this is not the correct path.  Smooth is good!

A door opened...

Many times in my life I thought about becoming a priest.  Every time, something else took priority.  In Junior High, I choose not to go the Catholic High School.  After High School, I choose to major in Chemical Engineering at college.  In college, I met Carmen and that, as they say, was that.

Now, I find myself widowed and in my mid 50's.  Is it crazy to be thinking about 4 years in a seminary and becoming a priest?  I see 2 paths in my life. 

1) Continue working for another 7 or 8 years and retire.  Then what? 
2) Follow God's call and see where it leads me.   If this is crazy, I'll soon find out.

A door closed...

On December 6th, 2009 @ 6:33 P.M., my wife Carmen died. 

My companion, friend, and partner of over 30 years was no longer physically present in my life. This was not completely unexpected.  She had been ill for 11 years.  It still hurt, it still does at times.

Carmen's death opened up new possibilities in my life.   A week later, the proverbial "two by four" hit me in the side of the head.  I could explore that quiet call that I had been hearing most of my life.