Deacon John M. Meyerhofer’s journey to the priesthood was gradual but steady. “I found that, rather than too many singular moments in my life, God tends to work very slowly but consistently,” he said.
Deacon Meyerhofer, 30, grew up as the third of four kids. His family attended St. John the Apostle Church in Leesburg until his dad, Tony, was invited to sing in the choir of the newly founded Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls in the early 2000s. He became an altar server for the fledgling parish when Mass was in the local high school’s auditorium, or “holy Potomac Falls,” as Deacon Meyerhofer jokingly referred to the school.
The auditorium’s atmosphere was drab, but it did not dull his admiration for the priesthood. “That was when I first felt the call, during one of those Masses that the priests were saying so reverently,” Deacon Meyerhofer said.
“I did one thing — which I would recommend to people — I talked to a priest,” he said. “But then after that, I didn’t know what to do. So then I ended up not really doing much of anything — which I would not recommend.”
Deacon Meyerhofer said that while his intellectual knowledge of the faith was strong, he was lacking in his spiritual life. “I didn’t have a strong prayer life or a really strong personal relationship with God. I didn’t know how to talk to him about something like this,” he said.
But Deacon Meyerhofer said the call never went away completely. He studied chemistry at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., and went on to grad school at the University of Akron in Ohio to study polymer science. While in Akron, he found a church two blocks away from his workplace. “That’s when I started going to daily Mass and to adoration,” he said.
He also became involved with the Newman Center at the University of Akron. “The people there really showed me a good example of how to live the faith in a new way and how to pray,” he said.
After thinking about the vocation for a while, he called his parents to chat about his discernment: “I remember saying, ‘I feel like this desire is there, and it’s stronger, it’s come back. But looking back over the years through high school and college, I kind of feel like maybe the desire never went away.’ ” Just saying the words out loud made him realize, “Oh, I have to do something about this.”
Deacon Meyerhofer went on to attend St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Lower Gwynedd, Pa. After ordination, he will be parochial vicar at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria.
In the weeks leading up to ordination, he said he anticipates celebrating the Mass with a reverence like what he witnessed at Our Lady of Hope.
“I really am looking forward to saying Mass and to holding Our Lord in the Eucharist in my hands,” he said. “I think that that moment right after the consecration, (when) the priest is still holding the host, I think that’s going to be very moving for me.”
