Duncan Kyhl

Propaedeutic Year
Saint Paul Seminary, Saint Paul, MN
St. Pius X, Urbandale

The challenge in sharing one’s vocation story is not that it is personal, but that the full story can never be adequately communicated at one time; I can only give a piece of it. So if you hear my story and don’t relate to it, don’t worry, I’ve been in your shoes. God is always drawing us to himself, and looking back, I can see how God has been patiently preparing me to say yes to seminary over many years.

I had vaguely wondered if God wanted me to be a priest at times in middle school and high school, primarily in response to light-hearted, suggestive comments by parishioners while an altar server, though also occasionally in rare, quiet moments of prayer. While I was not opposed to being a priest, I lacked a compelling reason to seriously explore the vocation at that time. Spending a summer in Colorado with FOCUS Summer Projects, I began to understand and appreciate that every vocation has joys and challenges, and I became more open to seeking God’s will for my life. After college, I loved my job; I loved living in Chicago; I even loved a girl I knew I could live a very happy, holy life with; but, with gentle intensity, God stole my heart at the National Eucharistic Congress - a five-day conference, with 55,000 people, centered around the Eucharist.

Attending one of the talks, I heard myself say, “I would be happy as a priest”. I really felt that word ‘happy’, though the thought surprised me. The presenter invited us to pray with the person next to us. I prayed silently with a young man about my age to my left, and an older gentleman sitting in the row behind us put his hands on our shoulders. Music began playing, the crowd stood up, and as we finished our prayer, the older man said, “Good luck with your vocations.” I stood up and heard the words of the song:

I will go, Lord, if you lead me…
I have heard you calling in the night…
I will hold your people in my heart.

For me, these moments were clearly connected. In tears, I said, “I will go, Lord, IF you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.” That afternoon, people unfamiliar with my life asked me, “Is God calling you to be a priest?” and “Have you considered priesthood?”. These questions made externally real the movements I felt internally, and for these people I’m grateful.

Leaving the conference, I knew I needed to go to the seminary to discern what I felt in my heart. I also felt Christ was calling me, and all of us, to come back to him in the simple things: prayer, mass, and adoration. In these, God has proven His care for me over and over again, and they have helped me to enter seminary with profound peace and excitement. If you’re wondering if God might be inviting you to consider being His priest, know that God doesn’t hide His Will from us, and I encourage your persistence in meeting Christ in the simple things: prayer, mass, and adoration.

“The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life, but for great things…” - Benedict XVI