So how the heck did I get here….
here’s a little of my story 
I didn’t start to think about the priesthood or religious life until “later in life”. The first time I even thought about a vocation to the priesthood I was a junior at college and in a relationship at the time so I kindly said to God “thanks but no thanks” because after all I enjoyed being with my girlfriend and thought “Lord as long as you allow this relationship to work out why should I consider the priesthood.”
We broke up soon after graduation and two months later I found myself in a foreign mission land working as a lay missionary with the Salesians. I knew nothing at all about this order of priests and brothers that lived their lives for youth. The more I learned about them, the more I thought that maybe Salesian life could be for me.
After a year in the missions I moved to Texas to take a great job as a High School Youth Minister and Young Adult coordinator. I also moved to Texas to see if there was any chance that it would work out with my old girlfriend. Soon after arriving I found out that while my job was awesome, my former girlfriend and I had moved on from each other. I quickly jumped into my new job and loved everyday of it. I honestly don’t remember having a bad day at work, sure there were challenges, but I absolutely loved working in the parish and especially with all of the teens. It was easily the best year of my life.
This is where God sort of stepped up His calling….I began to feel like even though I had the best life: great friends, great parish family, great teens to walk with on their journey to Christ, I wasn’t totally fulfilled if that makes sense. I gave in to going on a “come and see weekend” with the Salesians and over the course of a few days I began to see that the way the Salesians care for kids, the way they live their lives totally for the youth of this world, was something that seemed to be a part of me as well. The more I learned about the Salesians the more I thought, “Hey I know it’s crazy, but maybe I could do that.”
I now find myself in the Novitiate in NY. I am in my second year of formation and I am having a blast – learning about myself and my vocation with some other great guys. I can honestly say that when I got here I didn’t know where God was going to lead me, to the priesthood, to marriage, but now I am seeing that this life is more and more for me.
Before I entered with the Salesians I felt like I had a huge question mark on my heart – it was like God was saying “follow me” but not telling me where we were going. After entering formation with the Salesians, the question still remains somewhat, but I feel closer than ever to solving the great mystery of how God wants to use me in this life.
