All in the Family

My name is Ed Kennedy and I am a seminarian for our diocese. I am currently on pastoral year, a sort of internship year, but I study at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. I received my call to the priesthood at one of our parishes, Our Lady of Sorrows, while praying before the Blessed Sacrament. However, that is not where it all began. The diocesan priesthood is something that is very special to me, as I’m sure it is to you. I was raised, in a sense, in the diocesan priesthood. Two of my cousins are priests in this diocese, and they were an example for me of what the priesthood is all about. I saw the joy that their vocations brought to their lives. I saw the way they brought to joy to people’s lives when they celebrated weddings, and the comfort they brought to people when they celebrated funerals. They showed me that that the priesthood was a whole lot more than what we see every Sunday.

I was drawn to the priesthood not only because of their example, but because there was something in me that knew that I was called to something different. And that is certainly what a vocation to the priesthood is, a call to something radically different. It’s a call that provides an opportunity to be a part of something greater than yourself, and to help the communities in which we serve, to experience that Goodness that we preach and celebrate. The diocesan priesthood is a call to put one’s own needs aside in order to faithfully serve the people of God.

While I still have a little more than two years until I’m ordained, God willing, I’ve been able to experience the life of that diocesan priest this year at my pastoral year assignment. I am able to assist in weddings and funerals, both daily and Sunday Masses. I am able to teach religious education, take part in the many ministries in the parish, and experience the fraternity of rectory life.

Today I would like to extend an invitation, and a challenge, to the young men our diocese. The Office of Vocations currently holds Discernment groups where young men are able to come together to try and discover their own calling in life. It’s an opportunity to meet other young men who feel they might be called to the priesthood. You get an opportunity to meet some of our seminarians and priests, and if you’re lucky maybe even get a nice dinner prepared by yours truly. Most importantly, these groups are an opportunity for you to deepen your relationship with God in order to find the path that He has in store for you.

For everyone else, I ask you to pray for me and my brother seminarians, and to pray for an increase in vocations for our diocese, something so greatly needed.