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.