
My vocation journey began in my junior year at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, during a period in my life where the Catholic faith of my youth was no longer a priority. One weekday morning I heard a voice telling me to get out of bed and go to Mass. I did, and recall standing there questioning my sanity as Mass began. Then it hit me, “You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek.” The Responsorial Psalm made me ask myself: “Am I supposed to be a priest?” After lengthy discussions with a long-time parish priest and the Vocations Director from the Diocese of Albany, I dismissed the idea for almost a decade. I then went on to earn a Masters in History and taught at Mount Saint Mary College and SuNY New Paltz for ten years. A health crisis in 2014 drew me back into serious discernment for the priesthood. The following year I applied for seminary study and served a fruitful and faithful pastoral year assignment in a suburban Albany parish. I am now ready to pursue my vocation for the Lord here at PSJS.