Dear John,

Have no doubt about it, your heart is on the right track if you really want to follow Christ.

But, what to make of the fact that you are aware that he is calling you to the priesthood and yet when your friends talk about love and nightlife it awakens a strong inclination to human love as well. Does this mean your thoughts about the priesthood are wrong?

I think our Lord, if he is calling you to the priesthood is purifying your heart very early on, almost as he were forcing you to go to the roots and reality of your vocation, making you dig deep and lay a strong foundation for your vocation, making you grow up fast.

I think some very simple things will be of help to you. You tell me in your note that you really want to follow Christ , Well, make sure to tell him the same, and do so often, at least when you get up each day, every time you receive him in Communion, when you pray the Rosary, and when you face temptation.

When you pray, ask him for help. "Help me, I'm weak, I want to love you but these other thoughts tend to pull me from you and limit my gift to you."

Then you need also to work on the positive side by reading some good lives of the saints - you have so many heroic martyrs in England. Read their stories over and over. Compare what they did with the other ambitions that tug at your heart and senses..., ask yourself what people around you need, do they not need priests more than anything else in the world ? Don't only ask God to let you know if he wants you to be a priest, ask him for the grace of a call so as to love him and serve souls better.

I will be praying for you.

God bless.