Discernment and peace. That’s where you find the journey of C.J. Wild. The newest and only priest to be ordained in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo this year.
“I think we know if something is from the Lord if it brings a sense of peace,” Wild told BTPM NPR about his journey into the priesthood.
The Lancaster native said intentionally pursuing his calling in life through prayer and the sacraments created a level of certainty that this was his God-given calling.
“So often, I and probably many others are on autopilot, going through life without stopping and asking if this is the life that the Lord wants for me right now,” Wild said. “For me, there were significant moments, but it was a gradual growing in certainty that the Lord was calling me to be a priest.”
The 28-year-old credits this moment to his upbringing, his family, parents, several priests along the way and, especially, his time at Canisius High School.
"I went to Canisius High School in Buffalo, a Jesuit school, great emphasis on the principles of Saint Ignatius Loyola, to be committed to justice, to be totally open to the will of God, to be humble, and to surrender all that we have and all that we are to Him," he said. "Canisius and the professors and the teachers there, they helped to really draw me deeper into this mystery of faith and life of the church. They helped expose me and introduce me to the charitable arm of the church, and connecting us and my classmates with all sorts of organizations throughout the city that are helping people who are in one way or another, impoverished physically, spiritually, financially, those on the margins of society who were called to love as Jesus loves, and so Canisius was really a pivotal moment in my life. I began to understand what it really means to be a Christian, what it really means to serve as Jesus served."
After Canisius, Wild went to St. John Fisher University in Rochester, a time when, he said, he really began to grow in his relationship with Jesus.
"It was there that I continue to just grow deeper in my relationship with the Lord, getting involved in campus ministry, forming good friendships, and even from time to time, when I started maybe treading down a not so great, not so virtuous, or holy path with friends in college, the Lord was always so gentle and patient with me as I'd returned to the sacrament of reconciliation to be restored to His grace." he said.
Along his journey, Wild said there were times when he felt he was not showing up authentically or embracing where God was calling him to be; he could tell that those moments of desolation were serving him to get on the straight and narrow path.
"The Lord is nearer to us than we are to ourselves," he said, "but in college, for example, a couple of years where I was trying to be both involved in campus ministry, but also I was trying to be somebody that I was not. I was trying to be a cool, popular college guy, and hang out on the weekends, and so, for me, I began to realize that I looked at myself in the mirror, and I wasn't happy with who I was becoming. God felt distant in those moments, but it was that prompting of the Holy Spirit, who remained in my heart, who was stirring and saying, this isn't you, this isn't who I'm calling you to be, you know, and so those little stirrings of the heart that I had the sense that no, this is not who who I am, it's not who God desires me to be, and that would bring me back to reconciliation, to confession, and ultimately back to Him and His grace."
As far as being the only priest to be ordained in two years in the diocese of Buffalo, Wild said it’s a need he looks forward to serving but believes the need is not a vocational crisis but one of faith.
“I suppose it would be naive to say that it has nothing to do with the numerous factors that are plaguing the church and the faithful here in Western New York," he said. "It's not that the Lord isn't calling people to be priests, He is, He is calling people to be priests, calling men to be priests, but it's really a question of are we courageous enough or willing enough to make those sacrifices to become a priest.”
Wild’s ordination is Saturday at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo.
