I Always Knew!

Fr. Kevin J. Sweeney
Ordained:  June 28, 1997

I always knew!  I never hesitated for a second whenever somebody asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I answered immediately, "I want to play baseball for the New York Yankees!" That answer stayed with me through most of grammar school, until the end of 7th grade, when Sr. Margaret Mary was talking to our class about different Catholic high schools and she mentioned Cathedral Prep Seminary.  She said it was a high school for boys who might, one day, think about becoming a priest.  That was the first time I ever thought about being a priest.

That moment, in many ways, began a 14 year journey of thinking and praying about what I wanted to be and also trying to discern who and what God wanted me to be. However, during that time, I realized that my journey had begun much earlier.  I would not be a priest; I probably would not be a Catholic or a Christian, if it were not for the love and inspiring example of my parents, as they lived their faith and taught that faith to me and to my sister and brother by the way they prayed and the way they lived.  There were, also, so many priests and other people of faith who helped me on my journey.  Faith is certainly a gift that is given to be shared.

Even though the Yankees have won the World Series in three of the last four years, I don't think that their experience could even come close to the joy and blessings that I have experienced in my four and a half years as a priest, serving in the diverse, multi-ethnic, faith-filled parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Jamaica, Queens.  A vocation to the priesthood is an incredibly beautiful gift of which no one could ever be worthy.  Yet, the Lord Jesus continues to call priests to serve His Church, just as He calls every Christian, from the moment of our Baptism, to follow Him in some particular way (vocation).

It seems to me that there is nothing more important than prayer.  Jesus said:  "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find."  Each day we need to ask Him in prayer and seek with the help of His grace to know and do His will.  Then we will know and be able to share His joy and peace.  For me, asking and seeking led me to the priesthood and I couldn't be happier or more grateful for such a beautiful gift.