We profess the Catholic Christian faith.

Our Statement of Faith holds to orthodoxy as it is to be found in the Tradition of the Church, and specifically in the Roman Tradition. This Tradition is constituted of the statements of Faith found in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed as expressed and validated by the Council of Trent. As such, we profess the following:

With firm faith I believe and profess all and everything which is contained in the creed of faith, which the holy Catholic Church uses; namely:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages; God from God, light from light, true God from true God; begotten not made, of one substance with the Father; through whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was made incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, died, and was buried; and He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven; He sits at the right hand of the Father, and He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and of His kingdom there will be no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who equally with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who spoke through the prophets. And I believe that there is one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins; and I hope for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

–-ECE-ECC Profession of Faith Document

When I spoke yesterday about this part of our profession of faith, I remarked that there was a lot contained in the creed: the sentences are very, very long! The early fathers wanted to make sure that there was clarity in what was being transmitted because at this time in history, there was a lot going on in terms of ‘what we believe’.

I also spoke about how, in his homily that morning, Archbishop LaRade spoke about how the Gospel reading of the day referenced false prophets, and how sometimes we may question who we are.

How do we know we’re in this for the right reasons?

The last 24 hours before I began my journey into my vocation, I had a seizure of doubt. What if I was making a colossal mistake? What if what I was doing was actually counter to what I should be? What if the Roman Church was right, and I was in fact suffering from same sex attraction, that I needed to live my life as a eunuch, unmarried, unable to experience sexual intimacy?

What if, in doing what I was about to do, what I felt called to do, I would be condemned to eternal damnation? For me, this was (and IS!) a serious consideration! Literally 3 hours before I was to make my baptismal vows, I was 90% convinced that what I needed to do was pack my things, take the train to Pearson airport, and try to get a flight back to Regina. But I didn’t. I stayed.

The next three days were a whirlwind. And graces began to flow steadily into my life.

I met the love of my life. I began to get a sense of purpose beyond what I’d been doing, a sense of needing to push beyond the limitations I’d grown comfortable in. I broke out of those limitations and discovered a joy in serving those at the margins. I finished my seminary studies, and started the relationship of Christ and priest, knowing Him through the Blessed Sacrament.

I’d lie if I didn’t say there was still some doubt in my mind, that I still have moments when I ask myself if I’m doing the right thing. The difference is when I have those moments, when those moments grow in my mind and I consider if I’m doing the right thing, I ask myself: the lives that I’ve touched, the way my life has been touches and changed and blossomed, would this be the work of old scratch?

Except if this life is, in fact, not close to God’s plan, if I am headed in fact towards damnation, I would hope God would forgive me for trying to be closer to God.