Deacon Martin Begley

My life before the seminary:

I grew up in Montgomery county as the oldest of seven kids and was homeschooled for my whole career in school till I went to the University of Maryland. Growing up I tried every sport under the sun, but mostly swimming and pickup games of football with friends. In high school I did Shakespeare Theater and finally settled on running as my favorite sport. I was an altar server and was also a Boy Scout till junior year. When I graduated I went to Maryland I commuted from home in order to save money, while in the summers I worked at a Deli in Bethany Beach. When I was at Maryland I went to almost every event the Catholic Student Center offered. I was also involved with the Knights of Columbus and FOCUS.

What convinced me to enter the seminary:

When I was in grade school, I would answer the classic question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” with, “I want to be a priest.” However, I did not know what seminary was till middle school. By then I did not like the idea of being a priest anymore and wanted to get married. However, since the idea never went away I felt obliged to go on all the discernment events I could in high school. Instead of going to seminary straight out of high school I went to the University of Maryland. There my friendship with Christ deepened and in sophomore year I went on one last discernment retreat. On that retreat The Lord made it abundantly clear I should go to seminary.

Other interests include:

I have always been an avid reader, reading almost anything I can get my hands on. I also enjoy running, hiking, and camping. I also enjoy any sport that I am capable of (I cannot skate so hockey is out). Basically, anything outdoors I am game to try.