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Mr. Andrew Nelson
2nd Theology
St. Mary’s Seminary
Baltimore, MD
Describe your most powerful encounter with God?
Growing up whenever I heard people speak of their vocation story, they seemed to take one of two forms. People would either cite one defining moment when God called them to religious life or they spoke of knowing what they were meant to do since being a child. For me God’s call took a much more subtle route. It was not one definitive moment or a shout from God, but rather a whisper in my heart. It was in the ordinary that God spoke to me, in prayer, the Sacraments, through coworkers, students, friends and the world around me.
Why did I choose to go to Seminary?
I will not lie choosing to go to the seminary was the hardest decision I have ever made. In entering the seminary to discern my vocation I had to leave behind the job I loved, my friends, my family and my life. However, for many years I felt God’s call, His tug, in my heart and I knew that I needed to take some time to see if He was calling me to the priesthood. In this day in age people often mistake entering the seminary with joining the priesthood. I entered the seminary to discern and figure out if God was calling me to the priesthood, not because I knew he was. By taking time in prayer, study and formation I will be able, with God’s assistance, to figure out if He calls me to serve the Church in this way or if He is calling me elsewhere.
Name one thing you wish people knew about you?
When people hear the word Seminarian I think sometimes they think only of prayer and religious matters. I wish people realized that Seminarians, Priests, and Religious are regular people, called to serve in a different ways. I am just an average guy. I love good music (my ipod), funny movies, tennis, skiing, hiking, politics and good food. I also believe firmly that spreading the joy of Christ to all and that humor is a great way to share in this joy.
What was the biggest obstacles in discerning your vocation?
For me the biggest challenge in discerning my vocation was time. It is so easy to crowd prayer, discernment and God out of your slife. Between the pressures of work, social life and the busy pace of life I found it very easy to put off formally beginoing the discernment process. There is always another day, another project, another reason to wait. Finally one day I decided enough is enough and that I needed to listen to my heart and find out if I was truly called. So I picked up the phone and made the call (very tough to do). However, the moment I did it was as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
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