He Loved Me First ✓

He Loved Me First (25)

Chapter 25

Felicity visited the DSMME and ending up entering just two months later. Eight years later, she was professed with the name Sister Cecilia Faustina, OP. Two years after that, she was teaching high school math in a Catholic school, the same school that my sister taught preschool. She wrote to me saying that one of her students was having a hard time knowing what his vocation was. She asked me if I could help. I decided to stop by to see what I could do, praying the entire drive up that I might be able to help him in some way or another.

It was about noon when I found Felicity's classroom. I knocked on the door. “Come in!” I heard her call.

I opened the door and said, “Hello, Felicity.”

A girl in the front row raised her hand and asked, “Felicity?”

“Oh. Oops. I mean, Sister Cecilia Faustina. I knew her long before she even thought about entering a convent,” I explained.

“Class, this is Father Oliver, my best friend. I know that some of you have been inquiring about vocations lately. During our class today, you can each talk to him one on one if you wish,” she said.

A boy clear in the back raised his hand and asked, “Can I go first?”

“Of course, you may, Paul,” Felicity said to him. And to me, “You can go to the teacher's lounge across the hall.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Paul and I did just as Felicity said and took two seats in the teacher's lounge.

“So, Paul, you were pretty eager to come and talk to me,” I said. “Why is that?”

“Well, Father, I don't know where to go from here,” Paul said.

I recalled when Felicity had told me the same thing. “Let me just tell you something. You are already far ahead of where I was at your age. I had decided that I was an atheist at 17, and for five years, that's all there was. That's all there is to say about it. Except that my first year of college, I was failing my math class. I asked Sister Cecilia Faustina to tutor me, and so she did. She pulled me out of the pit I dug for myself. I almost married her...twice. And then her younger brother told me of his dream. I was told to be a priest. I sat in adoration until I decided that if I went against God's will, I would be miserable. So I said yes.

“I know that your parents and friends have probably told you their opinion of what you should do with your life, or maybe they ask you what you want to do with your life, but I'm not going to tell you any of that. I'm simply going to ask you one question.”

“And what's that?” he asked.

“What do you feel God is calling you to?”

He paused, then said, “I don't know.”

“There's a chapel here. Ask, 'God, what do You think I should do?' Go. I'll be right here waiting for you.”

I talked to a few other students as I waited on Paul. I made sure that Felicity knew that I had given him permission to miss so many of his classes like that. How long he took, I'm not exactly sure. After talking to all of the students that wanted to talk to me, I went down to the chapel myself. Paul didn't look up when I came in. I took that as a good sign.

A short time later, he walked to the back of the chapel, toward the door. He saw me there and sat next to me. “Did you come to an answer?” I asked.

“I did,” he said.

“Great!” I said. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. But I feel like I need to.”

“Go ahead.”

“I asked the question, just like you said.”

I resisted the urge to say, “And?”

“He said, 'Be a priest.' And I told Him that I wanted to be a father. I just heard, 'Be a priest. Be a priest.'” I smiled softly. Then he said, “This may sound stupid, but I don't want to.”

“Tell me something. You've spent all this time in front of Jesus today in this chapel. You should be happy, but are you?”

“No.”

“And why do you think that is?”

“Because I said no. I didn't say yes.”

“Yes,” I said. “Do you know Sister Peter Alice?” I asked. “She teaches preschool here.”

“Yeah, I know her.”

“She's my sister. And by sister, I mean sister sister. She wanted to enter this convent since she was 17. She was rejected twice from this Order, and yet, she never lost hope or gave up. Why? Because she knew what God's will was and she chased after it. And here you have it handed to you on a silver platter. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but it will be absolutely worth it. I can promise you that much. Now, do you want to change your answer?”

“Yes, but I'm afraid.”

“I know. The day before my ordination I was scared out of my mind, but once again it was Sister Cecilia Faustina that pulled me back. I had someone to lean on, and you do too. Find yourself a good spiritual director. I'm willing, if you want more guidance from me.” I laughed a little at the thought, but I knew that it wouldn't be my words he would be hearing. They were my words now; they were God's. I gave him my email address and told him to email me whenever he needed it.

While there, I decided to also visit my sister. Leaving her classroom, a young child in the hallway came up to me and asked, “Why do you pray?”

Many answers came to mind, but all of them would have been acceptable to an adult, not to a seven year old. Instead of answering the question, I asked the same question back to the small child before me. “Why do you pray?”

Without thinking about it, the child answered, “Well, God is my friend, and friends like to know what is going on in each other's lives.”1

1Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly, pg. 165