National Vocation Awareness Week is observed Nov. 3-9, 2024.
Conor’s journey to the seminary, as he tells people, began with being an altar boy. He volunteered in grade school and thereafter frequently served Mass at our then-home parish of St. Aloysius in Shepherdsville, Ky. When we changed parishes to St. Athanasius, he continued to serve frequently through high school.
It was during his high school years that he first told us that he thought he may have a vocation to the priesthood. I can’t say this was a shock, but it was a surprise. He was in contact with the Archdiocese of Louisville about this for a while through high school and early college years, but gradually stopped attending the gatherings for young men considering the priesthood. I thought this meant he had determined he did not have a call.
Toward the end of his college career, he again started talking about discerning to see if he had a vocation. After he graduated from the University of Louisville, we reminded him that if he was serious about discerning whether he had a vocation, he needed to get back in touch with the Vocations Office. He did, and they were glad to welcome back their lost sheep.
So in the fall of 2022, I delivered him to St. Meinrad Seminary, and it has been an amazing journey for him and for us.
From what we can see, his seminary journey brings great joy to his life. As parents, we want our children to be happy. After a few months into the first year, we asked Conor if he was happy with his choice, because he seemed so at peace. He assured us he was and that he felt at home there in a way he had not felt at home anywhere else.
He has shared with us the gift of the friendships he has made. Because many of the young men at St. Meinrad fly into and out of Louisville, we have hosted some of his classmates. They may stay at our home after a late-night arrival, or before an early-morning flight. We have had seminarians eat at our house, and taken them out to eat. They make us laugh, and make us proud to be Catholic.
The concerns that I had, and have, about him becoming a priest are still present. After all, no matter what our children do, we worry their future will not be the happy future we want them to have. Seeing the joy that Conor has found in seminary, meeting the wonderful men he is journeying with, and seeing the joy that lights his face when he talks about his future as a priest calms those fears.
On a personal level, being a seminarian’s parent has made me reflect more on my faith. I have learned more about the church and the biblical basis of our faith and rites. Not because Conor tries to teach me, but because hearing him talk about what he is learning has made me question him, and made me look into our church’s history on my own.
This was not comfortable sometimes. Not because of the church, but because it made me realize my own shallow understanding of my faith, my own shallow dedication to Jesus, and my own need to look deeper and contemplate.
Conor’s call to discern his vocation has been a gift not just to him, but also to me. I can’t say it is a gift I would have asked for, but it is a gift I needed.
If your son or daughter expresses an interest in religious life, do not expect that your child will suddenly become an obedient child, with a rosary always in hand and gazing reverently heavenward.
‘Conor’s call to discern his vocation has been a gift not just to him, but also to me. I can’t say it is a gift I would have asked for, but it is a gift I needed.’
— Patrick B. McClure
My son is the same young man who inherited my stubborn streak. He is the same young man who plays table-top and online games with his friends. He is still my son, who at times frustrates me. After all, God builds his church with imperfect human beings, so a call to religious life does not perfect those called.
Conor’s journey is changing him for the better, though. Even if God does not mean for him to become a priest, the gifts of grace he’s received, which have flowed out to our family as a result of his journey, are a blessing.
If your child is contemplating a call to the priesthood or religious life, God will guide them, and you, to the future he wants for them. Encourage them to explore whether they are being called.
Patrick B. McClure is the father of seminarian Conor McClure.
Fantastic article. Thanks for sharing Patrick