How Do We Know

By NATHAN FRANKART

Peace of Christ to you!

There’s quite a bit that I want to say in this article, so I apologize if you were looking for a long introduction. I hold within my hands something incredibly ordinary, a folder which contains a stack of papers — forms, documents, applications and medical documents. This bundle of paper I hold obviously means something much deeper than its face value. It is the stack of papers of which I would use to make a declaration. If I fill out these papers, along with all the necessary interviews and psychological appointments, I will be applying to the graduate seminary of St. Mary’s in Wickliffe, and I would be continuing in my discernment to the priesthood in a new and deeper sense.

My college days are ending soon, quicker than I realized, and much like at my high school graduation, I’m faced with a profound choice. Do I stay in formation or not?

I don’t want to trivialize this particular moment, because moving from the college seminary to the graduate seminary is a shift in focus and purpose that is profound. This would be the “real” studies of the priesthood — no more philosophy or non-theology courses. The whole purpose of the graduate seminary is to prepare for ordination and a lifetime of ministry, which is what I really truly desire. But my heart still sits in this spot — how do I know it’s what I should do? How can I be certain?

And that’s the catch. Christ doesn’t call us to be certain in our undertakings. We don’t begin the journey of faith, love and service in a place of rational, logical certainty. We start in trust. It’s this trust, this boldness, which gladdens the Father’s heart. I know that in the depths of my heart I could be elsewhere and be successful, and filled with joy. I can see and comprehend the beauty of family and marriage so clearly, and I know that my heart wouldn’t long for more as long as Christ was centered in it. But, I know something else is true, that given two good options, the one which through your own actions you glorify God is the greater of the two. Please, pray for me now more than ever to discover how the priesthood is the greater of the two for me.