Kevin Yono, 28
Chaldean Eparchy of
St. Thomas the Apostle
Second-year Philosophy
MEET YOUR SEMINARIANS
Finally Asking the Question
T
he Holy Spirit can ignite the fire of
a call to the priesthood at an early
age. The first times I felt called to be a
priest was when I was about twelve.
I was at Mass at my parish, St. Thomas Chaldean, in West
Bloomfield, and Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim was speaking at our
church. I clearly remember him asking the congregation if anyone
was open to the idea of being called to the priesthood. I’ll never
forget that day because I felt my heart leap and stir, and the
desire to serve Jesus as one of his priests became, at that time, a
consuming desire within my heart.
Reflecting on this incident, I believe the intensity of this desire
was from the Holy Spirit. Time, however, ran its course. Upon
starting my first year of college at Wayne State University, the
furthest thing on my mind was pursuing the call to the priesthood
I had felt at a younger age.
But one night in prayer, I made the decision to actually ask
God what he wanted me to do with my life—the first time I had
ever asked God this question. Being skeptical, I didn’t think he
would actually answer me.
In my prayer, I also was asking God what he wanted me to do
with my life in a career sense, not in the sense of what my vocation
in life was. God, however, ignored (thankfully) the career aspect
of the question. He responded quickly and clearly—it was to his
priesthood he was inviting me.
Still, I was unwilling to respond; my heart just wasn’t open.
It wasn’t until a few years later when I underwent a deeper
conversion, facilitated by the holy example of our current bishop,
Bishop Francis Kalabat, that I was finally able to respond to God’s
call with an open heart and thus continue my discernment. I
began to see that as my faith increased, my surrender to Christ
in all things deepened, matured, and developed. I experienced a
growing desire to serve my neighbor and give everything over to
Jesus. I also began to evangelize those around me. Nothing would
fill my heart with as much joy as sharing the love of Jesus.
Our Blessed Mother Mary had, and still to this day has, a vital
role in nurturing my vocation, particularly in allowing me to
love God more purely, especially through Eucharistic adoration.
Sacred Heart has been the ideal place to discern and to prepare
myself for the vocation of the priesthood, particularly through
the example of the priests here at the Heart. I consider myself
blessed to be here.
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