father tony cecil

            I'll keep it brief: Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a teacher. I had that goal, even all the way up through high school. As a high school student, I had my plans completely figured out. I was going to attend Western Kentucky University, double major in Education and History, and become a High School American History teacher.

 

            Although, if I’m being honest, there’s something else I wanted to be when I was younger, too. I always loved the idea of being a priest. I was the oddball child that was always quiet and attentive during Mass. As soon as I could, I signed up to be an altar boy. But, my friends didn’t think it was normal, and those thoughts of priesthood were quickly pushed away. I honestly forgot about them for a while.

 

            So, how, then, did these thoughts of priesthood come back again? Well, it was no big event. Sadly, the sky didn’t open and there were now voices from the heavens. Rather, it was simply a few invitations. I attended the Ignite Your Torch Catholic Youth Conference, which is sponsored by a group of Third Order Dominicans in my area. While I was there, my chaperone asked me if I had ever considered priesthood, and when I thought about it, I had! When I returned to school in the fall, my Theology teacher invited me to “Dinner with the Archbishop”. I had no clue what it was, but some friends were going, so I decided to tag along. Little did I know that it was a night all about vocations. In both instances, I got a lot out of the experiences, and also got to see that priests were normal people—they were also happy people. I was intrigued by it.

 

            When my senior year of high school came, I started thinking more seriously about my plans—and I figured out why I didn’t feel right about them. I had left someone completely out—God. Everything was about me—nothing was about anyone else, and definitely none of it was about God. So, to make a long story short, I prayed about it, talked to my high school’s chaplain about it, talked about it with my friends and family, and felt like I was being called to the seminary. I applied, was accepted, and I cannot believe how quickly the years have flown by.

 

            I know in my heart that being in the seminary is exactly what I am meant to be doing at this point in my life. Every day, I learn more and more what it means to be who God created me to be, and every day, I learn more and more what Saint John Paul II meant when he said, “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure!”