In reflecting on how I came to be a priest and still remain one, I’m surprised at how little has changed. While experience has tempered my idealism and some new factors, events and people have entered into the story, either challenging or sustaining me, much of what originally inspired me holds true. I’m very optimistic about priesthood. I like being a priest; I believe in the priesthood. In answering the call to priesthood, I believe that I am fulfilling God’s plan for me, and as such, it is the most authentic way of life that I could possibly choose. But yet I wonder if that would be enough to keep someone else going; at the end of the day, it’s a personal story, unique to every priest. St. Peter reminds us always to have a reason for the hope that is within you; in other words, know what it is that keeps you going.