Born and raised in Mayfield Heights; a convert to Catholicism I was received into the Church on Easter 1994 at St Gregory the Great (now Sacred Heart of Jesus) Parish, South Euclid, OH. Sadly, like so many who take their faith for granted, within a few short years I stopped attending church. Thankfully, our Lord never gave up on me and on Easter 2003, empty and alone, I woke from my selfish brokenness, and simply let God love me. Following a Teens Encounter Christ retreat I saw the importance of putting my faith first in my life and became involved in my parish. These opportunities to give back to God for all He has done for me included Catholic Men’s Fellowship, serving as Lector, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, a volunteer at my parish’s annual summer festivals, and as a daily communicant. Through my growing love of God and neighbor I experienced a call to the priesthood & religious life. August 2006 I left my career, possessions, friends, and family and entered the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. This Order, founded in 1218, is an international community of priests and brothers, who live a life of prayer and communal fraternity based on the Rule of St. Augustine and the Constitutions of the Order. From this life flows the apostolic work of the Order that seeks to carry on the work of our founder, Saint Peter Nolasco, who in imitation of Jesus the Redeemer, offered even his life for those Christians in need of redemptive love. We commit to this by making public vows. On May 6, 2014 I professed my solemn, perpetual vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and redemption. August 15, 2015, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I was ordained a priest in my home parish by Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland, Ohio. I now serve as the Vocations Director of the Mercedarian Friars USA. I thank God for everything, and I look forward to helping men 18-40 to discern whether God might be asking them to join our Order of Mercy.