Author: Lindsey Tynan

I was raised a cradle Catholic and lived my faith in a pretty typical way for most of my life. When I was 15, I went to the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis with my parish youth group. That experience moved me in a way I didn’t expect. For the first time, I felt that “on fire” love for Christ, and it stayed with me for a couple of weeks after the conference. But the most important part of NCYC wasn’t the event itself—it was the friend God placed in my life there. We stayed connected afterward, and during one of our conversations, he invited me to a weeklong retreat in Damascus. Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about going. It meant giving up a full week’s paycheck and missing an entire week of soccer during my senior season. As team captain, I worried about how it would look. But I decided to go because I wanted to spend time with my friend, and I’m so grateful I said yes.

I gave God one week, and He changed everything.

At Damascus, I encountered Christ in a way I never had before. I learned that following Jesus isn’t just about obligation or rules, it’s an adventure. I learned how to pray with Scripture, I experienced Christ deeply in Eucharistic adoration, and I had a powerful encounter with Him in confession. That week awakened something in me.

After the retreat, I began dating a girl who was a beautiful, funny, intelligent Catholic woman from a wonderful family. Our time together meant a lot to me, but eventually we broke up, and it was incredibly painful. In that season, I turned to prayer more than ever. Over the course of about three months, I felt a growing conviction that God was inviting me to discern the priesthood. And so I did!

Now, 13 months later, I’m filling out my seminary application. The High Calling Program has been a huge blessing, helping me deepen my prayer life and especially guiding me in prayer specifically for discerning the priesthood.

I first felt the call to the priesthood when I was just seven years old. As a child enduring the agony of a ruptured appendix, I received the Anointing of the Sick. In that profound moment—under the waiting room lights, surrounded by my praying family, and anointed by a priest—I was forever changed. From that night on, I carried with me the deep awareness that God had asked something of me.

As I grew, I completed my education through the Catholic schools in my Diocese and eventually graduated from the local university. Yet the journey was anything but straightforward. Though I had known my calling from a young age, fully embracing it often felt distant and uncertain.

When I finally chose to pursue my vocation intentionally, I enrolled in the High Calling Program. This experience was transformative. It awakened gifts in me that had long been dormant and helped me recognize the full extent of my potential as a servant of God. Through its courses and writing assignments, I was reintroduced to the beauty and depth of discernment. The program not only sharpened my talents for the service of the Church—it gave me the clarity to understand the purpose of that pivotal moment from my childhood. On the brink of death, I had been given more time on this earth—and now I fully grasp why. It was so that I might answer the call and dedicate my life to serving God.

The possibility of being called to the priesthood was intimidating for a long time. Once I oriented my life towards God in college at Kansas State University, still the prospect of a life of service and celibacy caused me to avoid asking God meaningful questions about what I was really made for. This hesitation was based on my doubts that God’s Goodness would intervene in my life to prevent loneliness and regret in such a culturally radical decision. However, I kept praying and growing in virtue, and I began seriously discerning seminary late in college and into my time as a FOCUS missionary. 

Immediately upon arriving on campus, I realized that my decision to serve in a ministry after college opened wide the doors to trusting God. Delaying my career, fundraising, and taking a different path than my peers introduced an uneasy risk into my life, but God proved his faithfulness by blessing my experience greatly. Finally, I felt the freedom to go where the Lord calls — the freedom that is built on trust in His Goodness. If my loving God was calling me to be His priest, then why should I fear the outcome? The unexpected simplicity of the call helped shed scrupulosity and brought a peace within discernment that I really hadn’t known before. Two years of service within FOCUS still remained, which I was happy to fulfill, but I resolved to apply for seminary at the end unless God called me off this path.

Those two years serving in FOCUS were not easy, and often my ongoing discernment was unfortunately based in escapism — a longing for this future that was free from current challenges I was experiencing. My heart was in the right place, but I did not have the space to discern healthily and with others in community. My vocations director then introduced the High Calling program through the Avila Institute. Already I had many opportunities for formation within FOCUS and personal devotions, but I accepted nonetheless and began attending their weekly classes. The teachers were phenomenal; they truly were some of the most educated in their fields. Not only that, but they responded to each written assignment personally with intentionality. Despite my busy schedule, I was able to dedicate myself to the classes and discern my vocation in a space of fellowship, mentorship, and the prayerful acknowledgement of the Lord’s love. The High Calling program aided in preserving my vocation through the year preceding my application, and I’m grateful that I feel evermore prepared to begin this next stage of life!

I was raised in the Catholic faith, baptized as an infant at two months old, and later received my first communion in elementary school and confirmation in high school. My faith life at the time primarily centered around these sacraments and the religious education classes I attended to prepare for them. For me, faith meant attending CCD for an hour on Sundays, followed by Mass—that was the extent of my spiritual involvement. Because of this, the idea of priesthood or seminary never crossed my mind.

However, when I started college, my perspective on faith began to shift. I attended Seton Hall University, a Catholic diocesan institution. While I would like to say I chose Seton Hall because of its Catholic identity, the truth is, I didn’t. My focus was on studying secondary education and mathematics, and the school had a strong program in those fields, so I decided to enroll. But during my time there, my faith truly came alive. I made a conscious effort to attend Mass every Sunday, got involved in Bible studies and men’s groups, and experienced transformative moments through retreats and conferences. It was in these moments that I encountered the Lord fully, especially in the Eucharist. These retreats became the foundation of my faith journey, inspiring me to cultivate a daily prayer life.

In my senior year, I accepted an opportunity to serve with Saint Paul’s Outreach (SPO), a college campus ministry that focuses on building missional communities and forming lifelong disciples. SPO had a profound impact on me during college, and I felt called to help others experience the same transformation. At this point, the priesthood was still not on my radar, but that soon changed as I embarked on my first year of mission with SPO.

During my first few months of mission work at Washington State University (WSU), I felt the Lord calling me to something greater—the priesthood. A few months into my mission, I attended a dedication Mass for our newly renovated chapel at WSU. During the Mass, a thought came to mind—almost as if the Lord was prompting me to consider the priesthood. I was startled by this idea, knowing it wasn’t my own. However, I agreed to explore it, convinced that through discernment, I would realize it wasn’t for me and could move on. That assumption quickly proved wrong.

As I continued praying and researching seminary life and the priesthood, my perspective shifted. The idea began to take root within me, growing into a genuine desire. Eventually, I reached a point where I knew I could no longer discern this path on my own—I had to reach out to my vocation director. I hesitated, knowing that taking this step would make the possibility of priesthood real, no longer just an internal reflection.

On Holy Thursday, while meditating on Jesus’ commandment to love one another as He has loved us, I asked Him, “How can I love like You?” Almost immediately, I sensed the Lord’s response: “Be a priest.” That moment of clarity led me to contact my vocations director and continue my discernment journey.

Throughout the process, one of the greatest supports was the High Calling Program. It provided me with structured guidance for discernment, deepened my understanding of the faith through its classes, and offered intentional time each week to reflect on my vocation. It created space for the Lord to speak more fully into my life. Without the program, I wouldn’t feel as confident in saying yes to the call He is placing on my heart. Now, I am officially accepted as a seminarian, ready to embrace this journey. The Lord calls everyone to radically say yes to him throughout our lives. When called, we must be willing to respond.

Reflecting on my life, I now see that the signs of discernment were always present, though I often ignored them. It wasn’t until my baptism and confirmation three years ago that I began to take discernment seriously. Growing up agnostic and later embracing Buddhism in my early twenties, my life took a transformative turn when an encounter with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament profoundly changed me. I was fortunate to have a Newman Center at my parish and supportive friends to guide me through discernment, but I still felt something was missing.

During a discernment group hosted by the Los Angeles vocations team, the associate vocation director asked me if I would like to participate in the Higher Calling program. Initially, the idea was intimidating. Being part of a group of discerners from across the country seemed daunting, especially as a recent convert. I worried that others might be on different levels of holiness, making it hard for me to connect. The professors and classes, touching on topics like celibacy and chastity, also seemed overwhelming.

However, my fears proved unfounded. I soon discovered that the Higher Calling program brought together individuals facing similar struggles, fears, and uncertainties as my own. As a recent convert, I deeply appreciated the classes on liturgy and apologetics, though my favorite sessions were on spirituality. The program encouraged me to aspire not just to the priesthood but to a life of sanctity and holiness. It also helped me confront and overcome personal issues, detach from vices, and align myself with God’s will.

Through the program, I experienced healing from wounds and emotional challenges. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities Higher Calling provided—not just in preparing for seminary but, more importantly, in helping me grow in holiness as a beloved child of God.