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A Journey to the Priesthood—Fr John Vazquez
When I was young the only thing I wanted to be was a Major League Baseball Player. This goal was on my mind constantly. I squeezed a tennis ball in class, I did calf raises in church and I woke early to take swings. With that said, from a young age I knew that the Church was important largely based on how I saw that my parents lived. When I was around 8 or 9, I first began going to confession regularly and found it spiritually refreshing. I started with a personal rule of prayer when I was 12 and began reading the scriptures regularly when I was in high school. I got a scholarship to college to play baseball and when I went to college I went through a time where I did not attend church as much and I struggled spiritually. Part of this was because of a rigorous baseball schedule that included games on Sundays and part of it was because I was struggling with how important it is to attend church regularly (it is very important—Remember Fr Chris’s three favorite words, “GO TO CHURCH!”). My parents continued to encourage me to practice the faith. I could not have had better parents, and for this, I am extremely grateful.
After graduating from Kent State with a bachelors degree in History I was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in June of 2007. This was a dream come true for me. I played minor league baseball for 4 years. My experience with sports taught me a lot. I learned how to work with others. I learned how to discipline myself to do things that are hard. I learned about other cultures. I learned that failure is a part of life and that things do not always turn out how you hope or think they will.
In 2010 during the off-season for the minor leagues I had an experience while reading a book where I read the words from the gospel “‘if you would be perfect, go, sell all that you have and come follow me.’” I don’t know what else to say except for, at those words I knew that God was telling me that He wanted me to be a priest. I fell down on my knees and told God I wanted to do
whatever He asked. I wanted to make a move right then but it just was not the right time.
Several years later in 2018 we visited some friends that used to attend the church that I attended growing up, St Matthew in North Royalton, OH. While there, we were encouraged to look into pursuing seminary and the priesthood. This supportive encouragement from our friends reignited that desire in me to look into this path again. I asked my wife about it again and she was very
adamant that WE WOULD NOT BE DOING THIS! I told her that I was ok with that because, despite my experience in 2010 of hearing that “call” from the Lord, I knew that this was not something I could do of my own accord. I knew that someone else would need to ask or tell me to do it. I did ask her though if she had prayed about it and she said “no.” I told her that if she prayed about it and still thought we should not, I would be ok with that. She prayed about it and
a few days later she told me we should look into it and that led us to where we are now at St George in Albany, NY. I am thankful to God for all things.
As I have come through these first three years of my life as a parish priest I am humbled by God’s many blessings. It is such a joy and honor to stand at the Holy Altar and serve the divine services. I honestly did not think I would ever find something as fulfilling as playing ball but the priesthood far surpasses that life. Give God a chance to guide you and you might be surprised!
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