Moved by Sacrifice: A Call to Pray for Philip Johnson

This young man's story has moved my heart and I have placed in my diary to offer up all prayers, masses, and rosaries for Philip in this week. Biretta tip to Pellegrinaggio for the link. He is a young man of 24 years who was serving in the Navy and has recently found out he has a brain tumor that is not operative. He also feels called to the Catholic priesthood. In his own words he gives us a reminder of how precious the gift of life is and particularly the special privilege of being called to the priesthood in the Church of God. Visit his blog In Caritate non Ficta.

My name is Philip Johnson and I am an officer in the Navy. After graduating from the US Naval Academy in 2006, I served as Gunnery Officer onboard USS VELLA GULF (CG 72) from May 2006-July 2008, which included one Persian Gulf Deployment. From July-October 2008, I served as Fire Control Officer onboard USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7), deploying to the Persian Gulf for two months.

In June of 2008, I awoke during the middle of the night to my arms and legs shaking, unable to move or speak, before blacking out. The doctor diagnosed me with sleep paralysis - a harmless condition. Every 4 weeks, I experienced one of these episodes. In October of 2008, a roommate on the ship witnessed an episode, and reported that after blacking out, I was convulsing for five minutes and would not respond.

The doctor sent me to a Neurologist, who immediately diagnosed me with epilepsy and ordered two tests: an EEG which measures brain activity, and an MRI which scans the brain. The EEG results were normal, but the MRI revealed a brain tumor the size of a lime. Because of the type of tumor, it can not be removed, and only an upcoming biopsy can tell how fast it is spreading throughout my brain. The tumor is growing in the portion of my brain that controls motor skills and sensation in the right side of my body. Currently, I only experience occasional numbness and weakness on the right side of my body, but the symptoms will get worse as the tumor spreads.

This blog is dedicated to documenting this long road. I beg your prayers as I deal with this tumor, but I ask you to pray even harder for those who suffer from conditions far worse than mine.

In regards to his call to the priesthood he writes here the following (there is more so read it all).

As I deal with a brain tumor, I am not sad that it may eventually cause me to suffer and die. This will eventually happen to all of us, and we must be prepared to face death at all times by remaining in the state of grace. The single worry I face every day is that because of various circumstances - some of which are beyond my control - I may never know what it is like to serve God as the alter Christus I desire with all my heart to be. It brings tears to my eyes to imagine departing this world without pronouncing the words of Christ at the Last Supper, "This is My Body; This is My Blood," before gazing upon Our Eucharistic Lord in the greatest miracle ever known to man. I pray fervently that I may one day have the privilege of absolving sins - even if I only live long enough to absolve one - showing the same mercy that God has so often shown me despite my weaknesses and sinfulness.

I offer my suffering from this illness for the intentions and sanctification of all bishops, priests, and religious, and for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. As I attempt to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary's Fiat and respond without reservation to God's call to the most extraordinary and humbling gift He can give to a man, I ask you out of charity to please join me in praying this novena to St. Gerard Majella: www.saintgerard.com/nineday.html. Please pray that through his intercession, if it will bring glory to God and to His Bride, the Church, I will be admitted to the seminary and live long enough to die as a priest should this "cup" (my illness), which I willingly take up, not be allowed to pass from me, for nothing is impossible with God.

St. Gerard was denied admittance into the Redemptorist order three times because of his frail health. After many trials and rejections, God saw to it that St. Gerard eventually became a Redemptorist priest and served the Church faithfully for the rest of his life.