Passion was for the Lord, not an engineering career
By Catholic Register Staff
When he was six, Andrew MacDonald blessed himself like a priest following Mass one Sunday. At 31, he is now becoming one.“The Lord was slowly opening my heart to the reality of the priesthood,” he said.
“I had no idea at the time, but that’s the case.”
God continued to gently lure MacDonald to the priesthood throughout his youth, when he attended a number of retreats in Prince Edward Island, where he was born and raised. Attending public school in a Protestant community, MacDonald was “blown away” by being with so many other passionate Catholics.
One weekend he had the choice to attend a Teen Encounter retreat or play soccer in Montreal with a team that he thought he wanted to be on more than anything in the world. He chose to play soccer, but soon regretted his decision.
“I can actually remember feeling resentful that I didn’t go on that retreat,” said MacDonald. “And I was upset that I didn’t... The idea of missing this retreat was too much for my heart to bear.”
While attending daily Mass as he studied engineering in university, MacDonald finally decided it was time to follow the call.
“I really realized my passion was for the Mass, it was for the Lord, it wasn’t for engineering.”
Shortly after, he completed his Master in Divinity, and spent some time teaching in Alberta. MacDonald now looks forward to being ordained to serve the diocese of Charlottetown.
