I had thought about priesthood at times over the years but had never done anything about it. For fifteen years, since college, I always thought that I’d figure this out some day but had never acted on it. I always went to Sunday Mass and never did anything really bad, but I was busy in the “forest” of the world. There were times when I would feel some heaviness inside, as though I was living too superficially – just living for passing things. On one business trip to Europe this really hit me, and I felt I had to do something about this. At the same time, I knew that the woman I was dating wanted to know whether we were going to get married. I realized that I needed to make a choice.

All of this was working on me. Then, one Sunday, I went to Mass, and it was like God hit me over the head with a hammer. The Gospel was the call of the rich young man (Mark 10:17-22). He asks Jesus, “Now what do I need to do?” And Jesus says, “Sell the things you have and follow me.” It was like I was the only one in the church. It was like God saying: “I mean you; I’m talking to you.” It was like a direct call to me. I was stunned.

At that point I knew I needed to act. I shared what had happened with the women I was dating and my sense that I had to do something about this. Then I called the seminary. This was the point I moved to action. The moment I made the call, things moved. After calling the seminary, I knew that I needed to speak with someone. I asked a priest at my parish and we began to meet. From that point on, a path opened up.

See “Discerning the Will of God” By Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V., pg. 58.

My life is like a symphony. (I’m an organist.) The opening theme was when I was in high school, sixteen or seventeen years old. There was an elusive kind of feeling, like a magnet drawing me. I loved being in church, the liturgy, the music. It all drew me.

Before high school I had thought of religious life, but not a lot. I just used to admire the sisters. But I didn’t put too much thought into it. I dated. I had a couple of boyfriends, and I enjoyed life.

One day during religion class, when I was a senior in high school, I looked out the window. I could see the cross on the top of the steeple of the parish church. I was drawn to that like a magnet drawing me.

I went to daily Mass. There was something about Mass that drew me. I used to love to listen to the Scriptures. “Being drawn like a magnet” was a happy experience. There was a stillness about it. I used to like to look at the cross, listen to the music in the church, all of this.

At times I would be at a dance and it would be fun, but I always felt that there was something more for me. And the “more” was God. As a junior in high school, I was seriously thinking about religious life. By the time I was a senior, I knew. There wasn’t one moment. It was a process, over time.

I’d be at a dance or at a symphony or other social events, and I’d know there was more for me. I’d be happy with people, with friends. I’d be joyful, having a good time, but I’d feel like there was more for me, more that was drawing me. The “more” was God calling me to be his bride. When I told my parents, they cried, and I said, I have to go. There was such a drawing, like a magnet draws.

See “Discerning the Will of God” By Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V., pg. 98-99.