“I want to help people and help people get closer to God,” he said.
“Discernment day allows young Catholic men to realize that the call to the priesthood is a real possibility for them,” said Father Christopher Gober, pastor of St. Lucien Church in Spruce Pine and St. Bernadette Mission in Linville and vocations director for the Diocese of Charlotte.
“The day gives them a context to see other men are thinking about it as well,” he said.
“They realize they aren’t the only ones thinking about a calling to the priesthood,” said Father Benjamin Roberts, parochial vicar of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro.
Father Roberts, who was ordained in June, has attended every discernment day since 2005 and was on hand to talk to the participants about life as a newly ordained priest.
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“It’s been wonderful … more amazing than I thought it would be,” he said.
Discernment day, said Father Gober, allows young men to see “that the priesthood is a joyful life.”
“I’ve been thinking about the priesthood for a year,” said 19-year-old Josh Herman, a parishioner of St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton.