In Latin, the word for "priest" is "sacerdos." It means someone who is occupied with making life and all things sacred. For us, the word priest certainly includes "making sacred" in matters that pertain to the altar itself, but rarely is it inclusive of the world ? for which the altar exists!

I was drawn to the priesthood by a desire to make the world a better place. That will not happen unless and until we again accept the primacy of worship and the imperative of love as essential in the critical business of conducting human affairs. In my heart and mind, I know that today there is nothing more essential or demanding than being a priest at the altar and in a world increasingly materialistic and profane. I was drawn to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, because the Founder, Fr. Jules Chevalier, saw the relationship between worship and mission, bonded in love.

- Fr. Vincent T. Freeh, MSC
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart

The oldest of three, I have two younger sisters and have lived in Annapolis, Maryland since I was three years old. I am blessed to have been raised in a good Catholic family, and the faith has always been a part of my life. However, I never really made the faith "mine" until my first year at Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA), where the campus Newman Club helped me take my faith more seriously. This renewed desire to better understand my Catholic faith led me to take classes in philosophy and religious studies, which I immediately fell in love with. It was at this point that I began to feel a call to articulate and defend the faith through academia and teaching.

I first began to seriously discern a vocation to the priesthood during my experience at the 2005 World Youth Day. Hearing the Holy Father directly ask the young men present to open their hearts to the possibility of serving the Church in a radical way, and seeing that service in action in all of the priests from all over the world who were present there, the priesthood became a living option for me. As I continued to pray about it and talk with my spiritual director, I grew more and more attracted to the religious life and, in particular, to the Order of Preachers.

JEFFREY REESE, 21
Novice, Order of Preachers

The Brother's vocation is a unique opportunity for men to serve Jesus and his Church in a variety of ways while living a consecrated life, a life of prayer and the evangelical counsels focused on what is really important for this life and the next. In more than forty-five years in a community of Brothers dedicated to evangelization through education, I have had the opportunity and been challenged to do so many things that I would never have dreamed would have been possible. I have taught at the high school and now college levels, been a guidance counselor, and ran a school's business office. I was also a religious education coordinator at the parish and diocesan levels, and for a brief time was in the foreign missions. I have met some wonderful people along the journey. I have been truly blessed as a Brother.

Brother Guy Roddy, FIC
Brothers of Christian Instruction

"Hey Brother, You've got a quick whistle! Hey Brother, that ball was too low for a strike!" These were just two of many comments said to me during my time as a basketball and baseball official in the parish where I served.

Even though this was a hobby of mine, I saw sports as one opportunity to give witness to the brotherhood and religious life. Besides "game talk" I was often asked, "So then, who is a brother? What do you do?" These occasions would occur at the oddest times, such as a "one minute time out" or between innings."

A brother is called to meet the needs of the Church in a variety of ministries as a vowed member of a religious congregation by professing the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. My ministry as a Pauline Brother is to bring Christ, the Divine Master to the world through the modern means of communications: the press, radio, television, the internet and much more - even from the basket ball court or the baseball field.

Brother Dominic Calabro, SSP
Society of Saint Paul