I attended parish youth group activities and joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at school. All the while, I could sense it: the priesthood was calling. Yet I felt anxious about following a non-typical path.

The summer before starting college, I was in Eucharistic Adoration and prayed that if God wanted me to be a priest, I would follow Him to the seminary. That seemed to be His desire.
I decided to accept a running scholarship to college first, though. Seminary could surely wait
a year, I thought. While at college, I met a Catholic woman and began a relationship with her that would last two years.

Yet the Holy Spirit refused to give up on me. As the relationship progressed, I felt the Spirit tugging at my heart to return to my true calling. I ended the relationship, and despite the heartbreak, I knew where I belonged. I consecrated myself to the Blessed Virgin and began serving at Mass. Every time I stepped onto the altar, I felt a great sense of purpose, meaning, and joy that I had never felt before. I now seek with all my heart to serve my home diocese as a parish priest!