Having little to lose, I accepted his number

I’d like to briefly share my story in support of the difference a catholic priest has made in a life

I left the Church in 1975 as a 17 year old…for many of the worn out reasons people have left for centuries. In the end, it was mostly due to ignorance of what was ‘being left’.

Fifteen years later, I found myself a married father of three children, living a ‘relativistic life’: unhappy and in spiritual and emotional pain. My sister suggested I speak with a priest who had helped her. Having little to lose, I accepted his number. (The grace of my parent’s continuing prayers on my behalf enters here, in an unusual moment of openness…)

This priest was living life with a great deal of personal sanctity. In fact, I later learned some of his students called him ‘Father God’. ‘In Persona Christi’ was (and is) his mode of being. We didn’t speak about the faith and he didn’t attempt to convert me. Its hard to describe but the effect of his presence was penetrating, profound and immediate. Entering our first meeting a confirmed ex-Roman Catholic, I left that meeting with a changed heart. And so it came to be.

Almost 20 years later, I have been an extraordinary minister for some years. Now a conservative Catholic, having ‘colored outside the lines’ for a large part of my adult life, I know the pain of sin and its consequences. My wife and I have had our vows blessed and we have returned to full communion (with the faith). I know the Catholic faith as it proceeds from the Seat of Peter is true because He who deposited that faith is Truth itself. I know this in my head. Perhaps more importantly, I know this also in my heart, which now belongs to Him.

I thank God often for that priest; called to an extraordinarily high level of sanctity, he answers that call everyday at 4:21am as he rises to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.


Chris