Becoming a Catholic Priest with Fr. Matthew Bierdrzyki | The Cassandra Blanco Podcast | Episode1

Father Matthew Biedrzycki is a Roman Catholic Priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). In 2010, he graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor's in Business Administration with a focus in Human Resource Management. In May 2016 he attained a Master of Arts in Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained to the Priesthood by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. He currently serves the Parish community of St. Helena in Philadelphia. Prior to that he served as Parochial Vicar at Robert Bellarmine Parish in Warrington, PA and then the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, PA. He is an avid student of the Lives of the Saints and also enjoys the occasional round of golf and Indiana Jones Movie.

I personally know Fr. Matthew from my time serving as a FOCUS Missionary at Temple University Newman Center in Philadelphia, PA (USA).

Timestamps:
0:00- Introduction
1:41- Cradle Catholic
2:31- Faith in College
3:33- Encountering FOCUS Missionaries/Chase Pepper
4:05- FOCUS Conference
4:35- Believing Jesus is Present in Eucharist
4:47- Returning to College After Encounter with Christ
5:26- Starting to Consider Priesthood
5:46- Finding Spiritual Director
6:06- Going to Seminary
6:21- Ordained as Priesthood
6:33- Why Fr. Matthew went to Newman Center
7:50- Grandfather's Influence
9:17- Why Priesthood Instead of Marriage
10:05- Alternative Spring Break/St. Paul's House
11:43- What is a Spiritual Director?
13:25- Entering Seminary
17:37- How Seminary is Still Discernment
18:10- Choosing Diocesan Priesthood Rather Than Religious Life
18:36- What a Diocesan Priest Is
19:15- What a Religious Priest Is
20:20- Promises of a Catholic Priest
21:19- Why Diocesan Priesthood
22:26- Priests that Inspired Fr. Matthew
25:52- What Priesthood Has Been Like
29:07- Diversity of Philadelphia
30:56- Serving Parishioners of other cultures
33:34- Best & Hardest Moments as a Priest
39:05- Listening to People's Stories in Ministry
40:48- Seminary Experience in Terms of Being on excited about faith
41:57- Applying Formation to How to do Ministry in Parish
43:10- Division in the Catholic Church
47:08- Scandals of the Catholic Church
51:10- Prayer
51:40- Word of God
52:17- Reading the Lives of the Saints

Music by Oleksii Holubiev