If you measure success by money, children, or other common goals to a secular life, then in your eyes your son will not be successful. If you measure success through your son’s eyes, his desire to answer the call and meet the challenges of leading a life in Christ and serving people to find the same, then you will be on the same page as he is and see the possibilities. The priesthood is an uncommon life and a few rare men are blessed with the calling and the skills to serve the Lord in this capacity. A priest holds an indispensable role. In the sacraments, Christ acts through his priests and provides the graces needed to reach heaven: it is the priest who gives absolution for sin; it is the priest who consecrates the Holy Eucharist; it is the priest who anoints the sick and dying. In short, it is the priest, standing in persona Christi, who prepares the soul for death and eternal life. The successes of a good priest echo through all of eternity, long after this earth has passed.

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