My Dear Friends,

"I will make you fishers of men." These are the words of our Lord as he calls St. Andrew and Peter, two fisherman, to come after him and to become his Apostles. These are words that every man who has entered the seminary has heard somewhere and at some time in his life. Many of these seminarians go into the seminary to test the call and end up discerning with the help of a spiritual director that priesthood may not be for them. Other men who enter into the seminary test the call and eventually become ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. It is an awesome calling for a young man to be called to the sacred priesthood and to give his life for the good news of Jesus Christ. It requires total commitment on the part of the young man. In the Roman Catholic tradition, these young men, at the moment, are called to lifelong celibacy, or more importantly, celibate chastity. The celibate priesthood has been a beautiful and rewarding gift to the Catholic Church and her faithful since the beginning of the church.