Somewhere in the midst of my grade school years at Epiphany of Our Lord in South Philly, I realized that I found something intriguing about the lives of the priests and sisters that educated me there. This intrigue was truly an adventure into the great unknown for me, as I was initially a product of the public school system. That is, until I begged my parents to take me out of public school and into Epiphany, because that was where most of my friends attended school. At least that was the conscious motivation of an 8 year-old boy. Talk about surprised! My parents had educated my older brother and sister in the public school system, so they had every reason to believe that their youngest son would do the same. By Christmas of Third Grade, I was receiving my education about things intellectual and spiritual under the guidance of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Like all parish schools, the priests of the local diocese had a constant presence among the student body, and because of their fine example, I felt moved to investigate what it might be like to be an altar boy. So, less than a year after my move into Catholic school, I was in training to serve as an altar boy.

I often think back to those days as the beginning of my vocational journey. In retrospect, it is crystal clear that it was in the care of the Sisters and priests at that important time in my life, in conjunction with parents that fostered respect for our faith that the stirrings of a vocation to the priesthood were born. It was some time before my intrigue and wonder at the lifestyle of religious in general came into my consciousness as a possible life choice for me in particular. However, I know that before I graduated Epiphany, I was beginning to speculate that maybe my experience as an altar boy was a steppingstone rather than just something attached to my grade school years.

Many of the Norbertines of Daylesford Abbey have a common link…we graduated from Southeast Catholic/Bishop Neumann/Saint John Neumann High School in South Philadelphia. I proudly share that link. I can honestly say that I don’t know where life would have led me if not for my four years at Neumann. It was there that any stirrings within me for religious life came roaring into the forefront of my heart and soul. Like at the Epiphany, I had many marvelous examples at Neumann of happy priests who generally seemed to love their work. Not only that, but I saw interaction between them at school that said to me that these men genuinely liked to be around each other! By sophomore year, I was wondering what it would be like if I was a part of their fraternity. Yet, there was also fear. Could this really be where life was leading me? In truth, my love in high school, and to this day still, is popular music. I listened day and night to Elton John, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Rod Stewart among many, many others. What I wanted was to be them! But that’s not what God wanted. As my fantasy world took me deeper and deeper into the heart of rock and roll, my experiences at Neumann drew me deeper and deeper into the heart of the Norbertine Community. And I did wrestle! I wrestled with these two seemingly disparate vocations. I could not deny the enormous power of each of these callings in my life. By the time I had graduated from Neumann, I had befriended a few of the Norbertines at school, and learned a little more about what their lives were like. I was amazed to discover that teaching was only a part of their priestly ministry. There were the Sunday Masses, the weddings, funerals, ministering to the sick and dying, their guidance to young and old through various trials and tribulations of life. It simply was more than I ever imagined! What I was afforded was the opportunity to see more than just priests who taught. It was evident by the end of my senior year that I was going to enter the Norbertine Community. I moved on to Villanova University, and again had many good examples in the Augustinian priests there. This only solidified my conviction that I was destined for religious life. In my Sophomore Year at Villanova, I applied for the Norbertine Affiliate Program, which then was a one-year residential experience, where we lived in a house on the Abbey grounds, and entered slowly into the life of the professed community. The rest is history. I eventually entered as a novice in 1979, and was ordained a priest on June 21, 1986. It is the epitome of understatement to say that the last 16 years have been varied, challenging, reflective, wonderful. To be sure, it has been a path that has been marked by saying “yes” because I promised I would, not necessarily because the road ahead was paved with guarantees and certainties!

I have had so many privileges in my life as a result of responding to the Lord’s call to service as a priest! I have presided over the weddings, funerals and baptisms of relatives and friends; I have walked the holy ground of the journeys of others who allowed me to walk beside and with them. I even went on to become both principal and president of my high school, Saint John Neumann! I am humbled when I think of these unique moments of blessing in my life, and hopefully, in the lives of others that the Lord has allowed me to know and work with. Now I reside and reside at the Abbey. My current work is in fundraising and overseeing the renovations of our Augustine Wing. As I write this, we are in the midst of a capital campaign to raise money for extensive renovations of the Augustine Wing. Like every other response to the Lord’s call, this work is taking me to places I never imagined. I am learning more than I ever thought possible about the art of fundraising, about what goes into the construction and re-construction of a beloved building, about landscaping and architecture!

Oh, and what ever became of the rock star that played every major concert hall my imagination could take me too? I’m still playing to sold out crowds in the recesses of my mind! Ask my confreres and they’ll tell you that Elton John’s music has been my constant companion in living out my vocation to the Lord (it’s been their constant companion too…by default!). I know that there are many ways to define success and fulfillment in life. Without question, I define my life as both successful and extremely fulfilling. The first step was saying “yes” to the Lord. So was the second step, and so on and so on!

I look forward to whatever lies ahead. I love being a priest and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. That’s the truth!

From "Why I am Norbertine" www.daylesford.org/whyiam.shtml