This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. By using this site, you consent to the placement and use of these cookies. Read our Privacy Policy to learn more. ACCEPT

Divinely Initiated and Totally Unmerited

A vocation is, like all graces, divinely initiated and totally unmerited. But as incarnate beings, vocations come to women and men in particular circumstances. The call to priesthood for me was mediated through family and parish. At the same time, the wider Catholic culture also nurtured my interest in a vocation. Educated in the Baltimore Catechism during the reign of Pius XII, I was in 8th grade when the Second Vatican Council really got going, and when President Kennedy was shot—two events which marked transitions in the traditional Catholic culture of our country, from a “Going My Way” sensibility (already quite absent in my own experience) to the more confused and challenging American sensibility of the 1960’s. I believe that my sense of being a Catholic helped to guide me away from some of the more destructive choices made by many of my contemporaries in those years and toward the conscious embrace of the Catholic faith, and within that a priestly vocation.

Where did that “Catholic sense” come from? Certainly through the regular practice of the faith; from my parents; certainly through the contact with our parish priests through altar serving and CYO. But the catalyst for all these other influences was the influence of the Dominican Sisters of Amityville who taught in our parish school. In addition to managing classrooms of at least 50 students every year from first to eighth grade, they taught the academic subjects superbly. But mostly I remember their religious teachings: I remember Sister Michael Therese teaching us in the 7th grade about Aristotle’s “Great Chain of Being”, Sister Theodora teaching us that evolution and divine creation were quite compatible, Sister Martin Marie teaching us about the need for frequent communion, Sister Timothy Marie teaching us about the dangers of atheistic communism, Sister Fleurette giving us rhymed couplets for making the Stations of the Cross— and many of those nuns, I discovered later, were still in their 20’s at that time! And it was Sister Isabel, the principal, who encouraged me to follow through with applying to the prep seminary. These nuns were the greatest, in my book.

The high school seminary was a great four years for me, because it gave me a sense of a vocation community that was important. We also had excellent teachers (almost all priests in those days), who set a very high standard and really set faith in the proper academic context. The college and major seminaries each in their own way also provided a structure and culture for reflection that helped me deepen my response to the call. In looking back, I can only be profoundly grateful for the many sacrifices made by the priests who were my formators throughout those years.

In an odd way, I think coming of age during the turbulent sixties strengthened my vocation. To see so many around me making destructive choices forced me, and many others, to reflect more deeply on what was truly essential, valuable and long-lasting in life. For some that led to an embrace of the Catholic faith in marriage or as committed laypeople. In my case, that reflection gave me the opportunity to hear God’s call with less distraction. As in every vocation story, mine had its own particular characters, episodes, and perhaps even a few detours.

But ultimately what won out for me was my sense that life’s meaning requires each of us to live up to the image of God within us. I was especially helped in coming to this awareness by the writings of C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton. Both these writers communicated to me a sense that the world in all its fallen beauty needs to be experienced as a place of both grace and danger, and that only with help from the Source of all Goodness can we avoid falling prey to the Evil around us. It became clear to me that therefore the role of priest was essential, and eventually that I might be called to that role, if the Church would have me. I believe that grace led me to the priesthood. Every day that I work and live in this puzzling, exhausting and exhilarating calling, I am profoundly grateful that it did.

Msgr. Sean G. Ogle

Msgr. Sean G. Ogle ’77 is the Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Astoria.



how do i take acv keto gummies keto orange creamsicle gummies keto svc gummies target keto acv gummies oprah winfrey gummy for weight loss keto luxe gummies customer service number ketogenics acv gummy reviews how to use keto luxe gummies works slimming gummies trim keto gummies gummy weight loss vitamins acb keto gummies oprah weight watcher gummies apple cider vinegar gummies fda approved goli diet gummies nutrition acv gummies reviews on keto flo gummies vital care nutrition keto gummies ketology gummies oprah winfrey diet gummy korean review pure life keto acv gummies reviews ultra bio slim gummies reviews oprah keto gummies real ingredients in luxe keto acv gummies turbo keto gummies ingredients are weight loss gummies for real bulletproof apple cider vinegar gummies reviews when is the best time to take goli acv gummies keto gummies oprah reviews dietoxone keto gummies biolyfe keto gummies reviews slim gummies amazon apple cider vinegar drink vs gummies trinity weight loss gummies when should apple cider vinegar gummies be taken oprah gummies legit keto truly gummies does oprah sell keto gummies

oct male enhancement pills do they work control male enhancement pills reviews ed gummies do they work cbd gummies science what is the number 1 male enhancement pill what is hemp extract in gummies penis enlargment pills jamaica do penis enlargement pills work longevity male enhancement pills the libido life gummies xtreme fit gummies mct oil gummies cbd male enhancement gummies near me amazon apple cider gummies rock hard weekend sexual male enhancement pills cbd gummies for anger management peyton manning ed gummies uno cbd gummies shark tank regen cbd gummies for penis growth male enhancement pills like rhino boost ultra male enhancement pills male sex enhancement pills reviews nature boost cbd gummies ed nature boost gummies reviews where can i buy keoni cbd gummies man king extra strength male enhancement pills male ultracore 1 premium male enhancement pills love bears gummies reddit order tevida male enhancement pills do cbd gummies help with erectile dysfunction

what is a cbd gummy pura kana cbd gummies can cbd gummies help headaches supreme cbd gummies shark tank can cbd gummies give you anxiety trileaf cbd gummies biolife gummies cbd full spectrum cbd gummies australia cbd gummies help anxiety sun state hemp cbd gummies how do u eat cbd gummies just cbd gummies sugar free rare cbd gummies koi cbd gummies for pain cbd gummies near beckley wv does cbd gummies help with stomach pain cbd boner gummies what is the best time to take cbd gummies cbd gummies for moms hemp infused cbd gummies cbd fuzeberries cannafuse gummy chews cleanest cbd gummies cbd gummies vapor kings review of purekana cbd gummies wyld cbd cbg gummies koi cbd delta 8 gummies best way to take cbd gummies cbd gummies without soy are food coloring palmetto cbd gummies ona cbd gummies cbd gummies amazon canada cbd pain relief gummies what are proper cbd gummies used for what is purekana cbd gummies good for