My Vocation
Well, this story is a long one, as are most of my stories, but here it goes…
My vocation story is simple; it began with a thought from God that my life was meant for something more.
This thought resounded “priesthood” not only in my head, but also in my day-to-day life. Very carefully, through the influence of my parents, through the desire to attend Holy Mass more regularly throughout the week, and through my experiences with the other member of our church especially choir, God Holy Spirit (Mahal na Ingkong) was calling me to the priesthood.
The first boy in a family of eight children, I grew up in a Catholic family that for the most part went to Mass every Sunday. I attended the parochial school at the parish my family went to for grades one to eight. Through the school, I made my first confession when I was in the second grade and received my First Holy Communion in the third grade. Also through the parish school, I began serving at Mass in the fourth grade. During this time I never considered a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. I remember that in the first few years of grade school I felt a sense of awe when I stepped inside a church. At some point during grade school, that feeling of awe and that the church building was somehow different went away. As time went on, I went to Mass on Sundays and received Communion largely because that is what my family did on Sundays and I went along.
After I graduated from the sixth grade, I attended a private high school in the area that was an excellent college preparatory school. During this time I prepared for and received the Sacrament of Confirmation at my family's parish. I was mildly interested in receiving the Sacrament but to some extent, I received it because it was the next step in the life of a Catholic. My spiritual life as I graduated high school and prepared to go off to college can be summarized by the word "mechanical". I prayed before meals with my family because that is what we
My vocation story is simple; it began with a thought from God that my life was meant for something more.
This thought resounded “priesthood” not only in my head, but also in my day-to-day life. Very carefully, through the influence of my parents, through the desire to attend Holy Mass more regularly throughout the week, and through my experiences with the other member of our church especially choir, God Holy Spirit (Mahal na Ingkong) was calling me to the priesthood.
The first boy in a family of eight children, I grew up in a Catholic family that for the most part went to Mass every Sunday. I attended the parochial school at the parish my family went to for grades one to eight. Through the school, I made my first confession when I was in the second grade and received my First Holy Communion in the third grade. Also through the parish school, I began serving at Mass in the fourth grade. During this time I never considered a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. I remember that in the first few years of grade school I felt a sense of awe when I stepped inside a church. At some point during grade school, that feeling of awe and that the church building was somehow different went away. As time went on, I went to Mass on Sundays and received Communion largely because that is what my family did on Sundays and I went along.
After I graduated from the sixth grade, I attended a private high school in the area that was an excellent college preparatory school. During this time I prepared for and received the Sacrament of Confirmation at my family's parish. I was mildly interested in receiving the Sacrament but to some extent, I received it because it was the next step in the life of a Catholic. My spiritual life as I graduated high school and prepared to go off to college can be summarized by the word "mechanical". I prayed before meals with my family because that is what we