I have a vivid childhood memory of my mom and dad kneeling to pray after receiving Communion. They first taught me how to pray, and their marital witness continues to teach me about fidelity to one’s vocation.
Years later, at my first Mass, I told my father that I hoped my spiritual fatherhood would reflect his fatherhood — and I still hope for that. I wouldn’t be a priest without my parents.
Likewise, I wouldn’t be a priest without the good men who witnessed to the joy of the priesthood, or the parishioners whose ceaseless prayers and encouragement sustained me. There was also the religious sister who taught me not just calculus, but what it means to leave home and everything behind to follow Jesus. And it was a close friend’s offhand remark — “You’d make a good priest” — that sparked a period of serious self-reflection and prayer that led me to the seminary.
The Church teaches that a vocation is discovered, nourished and accepted within one’s community. Truly, I would not be a priest today without the grace of Jesus Christ and the family of faith he gave me.
Father Christopher Murphy
Diocese of Providence
East Providence Council 1528
Riverside, Rhode Island
Learn more at catholicpriest.com.








