Dear David,

You are in a very good place to follow up on what God seems to be doing in your heart. Take advantage of the good friendships you make at school, take advantage of the many opportunities you have there to develop your prayer life and to learn our faith, and to grow in your love for the Church.

The first thing to do always is to deepen and mature your relationship with Christ. Get beyond the feelings, spend time with him in the Eucharist, make sure you are living your Catholic life coherently for example, your behavior with friends, your use of the media and the internet, your use of drink, your honesty, your responsibility in your studies, your charity and avoidance of gossip, etc. If you find anything that needs correction in these areas, set to it right away.

Then it is very helpful to get to the essence of the priesthood; it is not a career, it is a call and a transformation. It is centered on Christ, it means to live like Christ, to give your life to him out of love, and to accept all that he asks of his priests: celibacy, fidelity to his word and the Church, work for his Kingdom, detachment from the ambitions of this world, a life centered on the Eucharist, prayer, service; charity in thought, words and deeds

Spend time in prayer considering the gift and not only the cost: a priest is called to be his presence, to work in his person, to be the Man of the Eucharist, to forgive sins, to teach, to give your life for your sheep, to go about doing good, to be the messenger of hope and forgiveness The list is long, and beautiful.

Ask Christ what he wants you to do. The fact that the there is a tug or a fire in your heart when the priesthood is mentioned, and that it gets stronger when you are in a good Catholic environment is probably a good indication that God is really making you an invitation. Follow up on this by taking the additional step of speaking to a priest about it. He will be able to take you through the signs of a vocation, and you will also find further helpful information about this elsewhere on this site.

God bless, and be sure of my prayers.