I know many of you are following the journey of Philip Johnson, the Naval Officer who desires to be a priest and is battling a brain tumor.
Philip writes...
Philip writes...
I have just returned from Philadelphia, where I visited St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and underwent the necessary psychological exam for admittance to priestly formation. Philadelphia is beautiful, and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary is absolutely wonderful. It feels like living at a monastery, with quiet courtyards and gorgeous chapels, and the seminarians and priests were all very wonderful and kind.
My first evening at the seminary, I received a phone call from my Neurosurgeon. He informed me that the biopsy results were worse than expected, and I have been diagnosed with a Grade 3 cancerous Astrocytoma. Brain tumors are given a Grade of 1 (slow-growing) through 4 (fast-growing) to judge how fast they grow. All of the doctors believe I have had this tumor for many years (since my brain has "re-wired around it" so far), so it is very likely that this Astrocytoma was a Grade I or II when I was younger, and later evolved into Grade III, which is typical of Astrocytomas.
I immediately informed my diocese, and shortly after I received a phone call from my bishop. The conversation touched my heart, and he informed me that he can "hear my vocation to the priesthood in my voice and in my words." He assured me that this news does not affect his position on me applying for priestly formation, and then gave me a beautiful reflection about how God works miracles when we have faith in Him.
...continue reading the rest of Philip's post at In Caritate Non Ficta: Back from Philadelphia, and Biopsy Results...
The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!