A Right Feeling?

I can remember hearing from other priests and seminarians, “The moment I walked into the doors of the seminary it just felt right, it seemed like home.” Interestingly, when I first passed through the doors of the seminary on a discernment retreat, it actually didn’t feel right at all! In fact, I think I had a pit in my stomach – is God actually calling me to do this?!?! Is God actually calling me to leave my life to enter seminary and study for the priesthood? Is He actually asking me to lay down my life to be a priest?
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Yet, something inside of me knew that I needed to give God time. He speaks to both the mind and the heart. As in my case, the heart will follow if it is an authentic call, but I needed to be patient. A man considering the priesthood cannot place all of his stock in one feeling at a particular time. In fact, God generally plays the long game. As Psalm 37 tells us, “Be still before the Lord; wait for him.” Ultimately, He always comes.

~ Fr. John Gancarz