SPECIAL TO JESUSCARITASEST.ORG:Here is my story to the priesthood. I was born into a fairly devout catholic family. We attended Mass each Sunday, prayed the rosary and did some fasting during Lent. We had some crucifixes in our home and religious pictures including one of the Sacred Heart. As a young boy I had the sense that ‘God, church and priests’ were about something good. I looked up to the priests. Three of our parish priests left the priesthood while that was upsetting it didn’t shake my faith in God. In high school I began to receive a newsletter from a religious Order. I had some openness to becoming a priest. I went and lived with that group for my first year of university. I can see where I was immature both personally and spiritually. I left them because I was not ready to proceed on. I traveled Europe for almost a full year. That was an enriching experience for me. Upon returning from abroad I finished off my BA. I went west after graduation and got a job in a pulp mill. One of the workers initiated contact with me. He asked if I believed in God, went to church and prayed. Yes to all that. Still my knowledge of the faith was shallow. I taught for a bit. That wasn’t my vocation. I quit and worked framing houses. During that time I went on a vocation discernment weekend. I left the weekend with two ideas: 1) I wouldn’t know if I had a call unless I gave it a try. 2) I’d be a better person for exploring the potential call. I reconnected with the religious Order that I had been with. I was with them for 5 years – from 1977-1982. Prior to my last year I was told that the upcoming year would be a “make it or break it” year for me. They had concerns about my interpersonal skills. As it turned out I didn’t make the grade. I wasn’t called to renewal of vows. They didn’t believe I had a call to priesthood. Following that I went to Madonna House in Combermere to try and discern what God wanted of me. I enjoyed my time there, but didn’t have any clarity as to whether I was called to be a priest. I returned home to Hamilton and got a job as a pastoral worker at St. Joseph’s hospital. Two things happened there that played into my searching about where I was going in life. I met a lady that was pleasant. It soon enough raised the question of whether I wanted to be married. It was an anguishing decision as I concluded that I didn’t see myself getting married. I met up with a priest at the hospital who was in to visit his parishioners. He heard my story and offered to speak to the bishop on my behalf. I wasn’t ready for that. While at Madonna House I picked up a book. It involved one exercise that was very helpful for me. I was called to make a list of all the jobs I had ever done and what I liked about each one. With the religious Order I had worked in a parish for several months. I wrote about those experiences. It was an eye opener for me. I could see that I desired to do something meaningful with my life. If I could help people love one another – that would be important. If I could help people to get to heaven that would be so much more important. The lure of money wasn’t a strong consideration for me. With this experience with the exercise I felt a need to contact the priest I had met at the hospital. In our conversation he said that knowing what he knew of me he thought I’d be happy with the Peterborough diocese. He arranged for me to meet with Bishop Doyle. He accepted me as a seminarian. I finished off my studies in Toronto and was ordained in December 17, 1988 at my home parish of Canadian Martyrs in Hamilton. I believe more deeply that it is so important for us to know Jesus, to live as He wants us to live and live our lives so as to attain our heavenly reward.God bless, Fr. Ron Meyer St. Joseph's/St. John's ParishPowassan, ON P0H 1Z0705-724-2118 EMAIL: josephjohn@on.aibn.com
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