I was born and raised in a strong Catholic household. My parents, cradle Catholics themselves, brought my siblings and me to Mass regularly, instructed us in the faith, taught us about Scripture, how to pray, and how to live the moral life. Most importantly, they taught us that God’s will ought to come before everything else. Given this strong foundation in the background, the possibility of becoming a priest had been in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember. As a toddler and young child I ‘played Mass’ as many Catholic children do. I was always interested in priests and what they were doing, especially in the Mass. As I grew older, my attraction to the priesthood continued to grow. The main reason for this was that I had begun altar serving at my parish. This gave me a deeper, more different exposure to the liturgy than I previously had, and it taught me so much about it.

I cannot pinpoint my perceived call to one specific, ‘lightning-strike’ moment like many people seem to. Through ordinary circumstances in living a life of faith, I gradually realized that I have an attraction to the priestly life which cannot be ignored. This led me to apply to seminary at the prompting of our vocations director, Fr. Craig Cameron. It seems that Seminary is the only way to advance my discernment of this call, to see whether this is indeed what God is calling me to do.

Greg Vess

Stella Maris Parish Halifax

Spiritual Year, St Augustine’s Seminary