If you have not already done so, pick up a copy of this year's Vision magazine, an annual publication dedicated to discerning vocations in the religious life. In the "Priests" section you will find an in-depth article on Fr. Robert Hagan, O.S.A., the engaging chaplain who spiritually anchors the men's Villanova basketball program.
If you are a man who has questioned whether you may be called to the religious life; if you are someone who has dismissed this idea; if you feel that you have too good of a career to leave behind, then you will want to read this profile of Fr. Hagan.
Here is an excerpt taken from the article describing Fr. Hagan's life immediately following undergrad:
After college, Hagan headed toward the law, graduating from Widener University School of Law and joining a small Philadelphia firm.
“My concentration was criminal defense. I was representing a lot of people who did some very colorful things. And in the course of my advocacy for them we often talked about life and how they got into this situation. That conversation could morph into their relationships and their relationship with their higher power,” he says.
“People in the end kind of thought, what a radical shift to go from attorney to priest. The reality was a lot of the same things I do as a priest I did as an attorney, and things I did as an attorney I do as a priest. You get to represent people, and you become a voice for others, and you deal with their confidences, both their joys and their sorrows. I think, as Pope John Paul II said, that our lives are not a series of random, disconnected events, but rather each one builds on the one that preceded it, and prepares us for the next. That’s kind of how I feel—none of this stuff was wasted.”
From time to time, the idea of becoming a priest rose up in him—and Augustine himself never disappeared for long.
To read the full article online: CLICK HERE. Also you can see Fr. Hagan speak of his path, in our recent video, now on our YouTube Channel: