DAYS LIKE THIS ARE WHY I LIKE BEING A DIOCESAN PRIEST..........

More than thirty years ago, when I was discerning a call to becoming a priest and weighed the kind of priest I might be, like any open minded person I considered my options.  Diocesan priesthood, or entering a Religious order, with a particular charism or ministry focus.  Although deep down I was from my youth intrigued most by parish priests and what they did, as a high school and college student, the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits, also loomed in my mind as exciting avenues of possibility.  I chose diocesan priesthood, because that is where I feel the greatest opportunity to serve with the greatest diversity of activity exists.  No matter how predictable parts of it may be, there is also a dynamically unpredictable aspect to it on a daily basis, that keeps it refreshing and new.  Yesterday, was just the latest experience of which I speak.  In addition to the Liturgy of the Hours and Morning Mass, I had the following encounters.  A brief 11 am meeting with Sister Felicity, about Religious Education class registrations; an 11:30 am Sacramental appointment with a 102 year old parishioner, requesting Confession, Communion, and Anointing; a 1:15 pm meeting with Sister Theresa, regarding the Holy Childhood Association drive with the children; parish bill paying for the remainder of the afternoon and evening; meeting with the Solon Fire Control man who came to inspect and service the fire extinguishers and the fire safety of the parish hall kitchen; and a visit to the Confirmation Religious Education Class.....A mixture of events and activities that truly rounded out my day.  Days like this are why I chose to become a priest of the Sacramento Diocese and are a large part of why I like being a parish priest.  The 40th native born, local grown, Sacramento vocation for our Diocese I am, as each year of my ministry progresses I see more and more why I was also intrigued by the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits, as preaching, a simpler, more charitable way of life, and teaching, are all essential components of who I am and strive to be ever more productively.  But parish life is where the heart of the action for serving and leading is, and is where I know God wants me to be..........In The Spirit And Truth Of Being A Priest Now And Forever,   Fr.  Troy