Eastern Oklahoma Catholic June 2012 : Page 12
What aspects of your Catholic faith led you to consider the priesthood? My parents raised my siblings and me in an environment that integrated the faith into every aspect of our lives. We studied the faith, prayed and received the sacraments in Catholic schools. My family often discussed faith-related is-sues at home, and we prayed together before meals and before bed every night – and we went to Mass together every Sunday. We often prayed with our grand-parents and cousins at Sunday Mass and ate brunch with them afterwards. The schools and my parents also encour-aged service to the parish, diocese and the city. This encouraged me to consider how God created me to serve in a par-ticular way. I eventually realized that it was one’s primary duty to pray and discern a vocation to marriage, priest-hood or consecrated life. The doctrine of the universal call to holiness (1 Thes. 4:3, Lumen Gentium #39) drew me to want to live the three evangelical counsels in a more deliberate way. (1 Cor. 7:32) The integrated parish life, which included school, sacraments, sports, Scouts and family, laid a foundation upon which my adult vocational discernment could be based. Every life is created to serve God and neighbor. I found that diocesan sacramental ministry would be the most beneficial way that I could serve. This joyful discovery of who I am called to be elicits a response from me to strive to be receptive to God’s grace, so as to not only serve Him, but serve Him well. Who was most influential in direct-ing you toward this vocation? My family were the most influential people in my life, and good priestly examples helped as well. My grandpar-ents, parents, aunts, uncles, siblings and cousins gave me positive examples to follow. Their love for the faith was evident in their lives. Especially after I finished college, my Grandma Donovan used to often ask me if I thought that I was being called to be a priest. I know that she would have loved to attend my ordination and first Mass, but, as I trust that she is still part of the communion of saints, she will be there, and we will be praying for each other. Deacon Sean Donovan Sean, 32, is the third of four children of Dr. Kevin and Mary Donovan of Sand Springs and a lifelong member of St. Mary Parish in Tulsa. He attended the School of St. Mary and is a 1999 graduate of Bishop Kelley High School. He studied the-ology and philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a B.A. degree in 2003. He then worked for two years in Tulsa at St. Joseph Residence and as a caseworker at Catholic Charities. He then went on to earn a S.T.B. degree from Catholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium, in 2007. Sean was then accepted into seminary at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. 12 Eastern Oklahoma Catholic / June 2012 / www. dioceseoftulsa .org
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