Falling in love with the Mass

“Excited. And a bit nervous...” This was Father Raymond Pendleton’s answer on how he felt a few days before his ordination. After eight years in seminary, he knew he was about to enter an entirely new phase of his life.

Pendleton has studied for the last four years in Rome and will continue specializing in Canon Law for two more years. Becoming a priest was not on his radar, yet he grew up in a family very committed to the Catholic faith: “I am the second oldest of ten children; we are all very close and spend much time together,” he said. Growing up in the small town of Benavides, he has fond memories of spending time together as a family in the parish, attending many events and being an altar server after his First Communion all the way through high school.

When he left for college, his mother told him, “I don’t care if you fail all your classes or come back to live here with us – but please, go to Sunday mass.” These words rang in Pendleton’s ears as he passed his first Sunday in the dorm at Texas A&M in Kingsville. “I intended to leave my faith behind; it was becoming less relevant. But I remembered my mom's words, so I went to mass at the Newman Center.”

The Sunday masses and other events at the Newman Center drew him closer to Christ and the Church. That Sunday had a lasting impact on his life. “I saw college kids my age going to mass without their parents. I couldn’t believe that.”

Later he was invited to go to daily mass, and he picked up being an altar server. “I fell in love with mass,” he recalled. After several months, he started paying more attention to what the priest was doing – and he felt “I could do the same.”

In his sophomore year, he was invited to a vocational retreat and started thinking about the priesthood, yet he didn’t do anything to move forward. Up came another retreat of the diocese, and he was happy to receive whatever would be given to him but had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. “I couldn’t just push it back – I understood I had to apply to the seminary.”

He was pursuing a double major in Education and Communication at that time. He had to consider finishing his degree or entering the seminary right away. After discerning in prayer, he trusted God and let go of his bachelor's.

He had to tell his family: “I called my parents and told them that I had to share something important; it had to be in person.” His parents drove to Kingsville to meet with him. They were not surprised: “We already knew that,” said his mom with a smile. His siblings and friends were supportive as well.

Did he have any doubts after that first clarity? “The priestly life is full of responsibilities – I was wondering if I could do something like this,” he remembers. In prayer, he understood that he is not doing it alone, “Christ does it. He is the one who brings healing.” He overcame these doubts by turning to scripture and looking at the apostles.

During his formation, he treasured the possibility of sharing everything with a priest to receive guidance and help. And parish assignments in the summer, at a parish, the Mother Teresa Shelter and the chancery helped him to be more compassionate and ready to offer himself “as Christ did.”

He would encourage every young person attracted to the priesthood or religious life to speak to a priest, a brother or a sister and “get a taste of what it is like to live in a community.”

Pendleton, who just turned 29, thanks all the people in the diocese for their support: “Thank you for all your prayers, your generosity and acts of kindness. If I become a priest, it is not because of my own power but because you helped me.”