Fr Peter’s Story

I grew up in Shepshed, where I attended school and College before heading off to university to study law.

At the time I had every intention of becoming a Solicitor, but after all that study and beginning work I came to realise it wasn’t to be: I couldn’t see my life stretched out before me in this career. As it happens, alongside this, in God’s providence, something more was actually pulling at my heart and mind: as a practicing Catholic who was the organist for his local parish and involved in a myriad of other ways, volunteering and helping in the parish and wider community, I discovered an attraction to the priesthood.

This was something that grew gradually, influenced I believe and rooted in three things:

• The faith of my parents – they really are the credit for the strength, the knowledge of, and vitality of my faith today.
• My home parish of St Winefride’s, Shepshed – amongst the people, the community, there was always a concern for what I was doing, people were always interested and asking how I was getting on, and yes some of them even dared, God forbid, to ask whether I had thought about the priesthood.
• Finally I was fortunate to get to know our priest, Canon Balfe, whom I came to admire and respect enormously. Such was the attraction to priesthood growing in me that I used to imagine what it would be like to be at the altar, to preach, to celebrate the sacraments like him.
  
  

After offering myself to the Diocese, I was accepted and for 6 years lived, prayed, studied, and continued to discern my vocation at the Venerable English College in the heart of Rome. After ordination in 2003 I have been privileged to serve in a variety of parish communities and to assist the wider work of the Church through my studies in Canon Law.

I mentioned three things that influenced and provided a root for my attraction to the priesthood, but I only came to discern and realise God’s grace working in my life through these ways, calling me to a vocation, through my own prayer. And I mean silent prayer – it is here that we become one with the Lord and can hear his gentle voice and place those things going on in our life in the heart of his presence.

I firmly believe today that the Lord still calls. It may be the Lord is calling you through the experiences of your own life: take the risk to listen and then follow Him.

I can’t express the richness and depth priesthood has brought to my life, standing on privileged ground and bringing God’s grace into the heart of people’s lives at precious moments: all I would ask is that you reflect on its dignity and be open enough to listen in prayer to discover if God desires you too in the priesthood.