Barrent C. Pease
Meet our Seminarians / Barrent C. Pease
My conversion to come back to God in His Church began to take root in the summer before my sophomore year of high school. There I was camping with to non-practicing Catholic friends when we began to look at the night sky. One of use asked the others if we believed in God. It was a deep question, and my answer was I do not know. We discussed it further, weighed the option of our decision, the order of the universe, and reason its self, and concluded that we couldn’t prove that there was a God, while at the same time we could prove there was not a God. For those who have been in this situation, Pascal’s wager comes to mind. At this moment in time I new what it meant for the need to take a leap of faith, and I did, however small it was.
During my school year God took care of the rest. Not being will catechized God put people into my life that would instruct me the Faith. The conversation that took place between a Catholic friend of mine and a Protestant teacher was the first real light I saw in a world drowned by darkness. They were speaking about Sacred Scripture, and the word of God pierced into my soul and awakened me. The teacher gave me a Bible on my request and I began to read it with vigor.
Soon I began going to Mass and receiving the Sacraments regular, especially the beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation, and my soul began to heal. Life Himself dwelt within me, I was whole once more. When I turned sixteen and purchased my first car, I received permission from my school principal to skip me first block class (second semester Junior year) in order to attend the Divine Liturgy daily (I had my required credits for graduation so missing a class wouldn’t interfere with graduation). For a year and a half I attend daily Mass being instructed by the Priest Homily, the scripture voices, and most importantly our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Up until this point I was planning on joining the Military immediately out high school. But between attending the Holy Mass daily and receiving instruction from my Catholic friends, I began to hear about the lives of the Saints. I thought to myself, I too would like to be a Saint. What most I do? The answer was simple, and our Blessed Mother told me as she tells all her children, “Do whatever He tells you!” So I began to pray, and I asked God what do you want me to do? I was hoping he would say join the military and be a successful leader, but He said otherwise. Priesthood. This call came from within me, when I would pray and contemplate on what God willed of me. But I was stubborn. I said o.k. Lord, but after I get done with my plans in the military. The more I prayed, the stronger the call became, and eventually through the intercession of the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, God got my full attention. At Boston, at the MEPS building, where I was supposed to sign my contract to join the Marine Corps, God intervened. I said o.k. Lord, you when, I will become a Priest if it be your will, but you half to get me out of here without signing my contract to the Marines. I wasn’t testing good but I was to much of a coward at the time to tell the Marines no.
O God come to me assistance, O Lord make hast to help me. Everything then went perfectly right. The Doctor that needed to sign off on my paper work wasn’t present, other paper work was missing. Out of all the men trying to enlist, only my paper work seemed to have gotten mixed up or lost. After waiting several hours to the time I should have said, No, I can’t enlist, a Marine came out and said you will have to come back in two weeks so that we can get things in order. Thank you St. Joseph, (I had asked for a paper work error from him to bail me out.) I left, spoke to me recruiter two days later (who was Catholic) and told him I wasn’t going to enlist, I wanted to become a Priest. He respected that and politely said good bye, later that day his boss called me and I had to explain to him why I wasn’t going to enlist. Thanks be to God the conversation was over the phone.
From there I discerned religious life and diocesan life, and my discernment, the Diocese of Springfield, and the will of God, has brought me here to Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Rhode Island, studying Philosophy at Providence College to prepare me God willing, for the major seminary.