Fr. Timothy Wysocki

It was Saturday and my family was driving home after evening Mass. No one was talking much, and I just rode along in the back seat, looking out the window. There was not a cloud in the sky, and since Texas is very flat, the sky seems to go on forever. That night, the sky was like an endless dome packed with stars. I was just gazing up and not really thinking about anything in particular when the thought came to me: “I want to be a priest”.

I was twelve years old, and it was the first time an idea like that had ever occurred to me. I remember at that moment I pushed it away because it seemed so strange to me and I had no idea where it came from. So I continued gazing up at the stars as if nothing had happened.

The next morning, Sunday, I was in the yard playing and my mom called, asking if I wanted to go to a neighbor’s house to see a priest. I said yes and I have no idea why I said it. I am a very shy person and meeting new people is not my thing. I guess I said yes because it was a strange question. On the way to the neighbor’s house I was really regretting having said yes, but since we were already on the road, there was no way I was going to ask my mom to turn around.

I do not have much of a memory of the neighbor’s house, but what does stand out is the image of priests in black suits. These priests were different. One of the legionary priest started a conversation with me and asked me about my grades and being an altar server. Then he popped the question: “When was the first time you ever thought about becoming a priest?” he asked. “Last night,” I replied. To my surprise, the priest almost fell off his chair. Literally.

All this had happened in less than 24 hours and it soon led me to enter the apostolic school, where I spent the next five years. Then I went on to an exceptional two years in Ireland for my novitiate, and then one year in Spain, and on to Rome.

Now, on the brink of ordination and looking back, I understand why the priest was so surprised that day. It all unfolded so simply and directly, from a quiet invitation while star-gazing to the “yes” I will soon give at the altar. In prayer, spiritual exercises, university studies and pastoral work I had a lot of opportunities to grow towards the certainty of my vocation. Therefore, even when I had to go through times of difficulties and confusion, I have had something to keep me straight on course: Christ called me. His living presence is the star that has led me across the span of years, from that night when I was twelve until today.

 

FR TIMOTHY WYSOCKI was born in Houston, Texas on December 14, 1980. He entered the minor seminary of the Legionaries of Christ at the age of twelve. In 1992 he moved on to the novitiate in Dublin, Ireland, before one year of studies in classical humanities en Salamanca, Spain. He has a bachelors and master’s degree in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. He worked a few years as administrator at the Oaklawn Academy in Wisonsin and is currently working in California.

Los testimonios vocacionales de los legionarios de Cristo que recibieron la ordenación sacerdotal en el año 2011 han sido publicados en el libro "Dios lo da todo".