Relevant Radio just wrapped up a historic week at the SEEK24 conference in St. Louis last week, which saw 30,000 Catholics in attendance, 500 of whom were priests. This life-changing conference brought several goals to the forefront for its young attendants: Encounter, Community, Transformation. And there’s no better way to encounter Christ and experience a sincere transformation than to understand your vocation!
Jake Moore, Digital Audio Content Manager for Relevant Radio, got a chance to sit down with one of those 500 priests present at SEEK24 and discuss the topic of vocations to the priesthood.
Fr. Peter A. Pomposello, better known by his nickname “Fr. Uncle Sam”, is an army chaplain who recruits Catholic priests for the Archdiocese of the Military Services. Fr. Pomposello has a very specific vocation himself, and his main goal is to help other young men find their vocation, whether that be to become a priest, a soldier, or both!
Fr. Pomposello began by saying that while the vocation of army chaplain is fairly unique and requires the buy-in of both a priest and his bishop, it’s still a calling from God that needs to be filled. He offered three pieces of advice to anybody discerning the priesthood or their vocation in life:
- Receive the Eucharist often, daily if possible.
- Go to confession twice as much as you normally do (within reason).
- Say the rosary every day and stay close to Our Lady.
Ultimately, Our Lord is calling you to be happy. And doing His will is what will make us the happiest. Doing His will is what will bring us fulfillment and salvation. It won’t be easy, and it will require us to make sacrifices, but discerning your vocation is really about learning to listen to what God is asking of you, not about deciding how to serve yourself.
Many men who reject the idea of considering the priesthood believe that they aren’t cut out for that “type of suffering”. But contrary to what they might believe, everybody suffers. We all suffer. In fact, one of the few common experiences common to every human being who ever lived is that they suffered. But that’s not what a vocation is about. A vocation is about accepting the suffering, offering it as a prayer to God, and using everything you do as a way to give glory to Him.
In closing, Fr. Pomposello asked everyone to pray for vocational discernment, especially those called to the priesthood and military service.
