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Peace for a restless heart

Katie Bahr | Catholic Herald

Jason Burchell

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Some people know from a young age exactly what they want to
do with their life. As children, they pick a path for
themselves and they stick with it through high school,
college and beyond.

Seminarian Jason Burchell, now in his third year of theology
at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., was not one
of those people.

A born and bred “Virginia boy,” Burchell was born Feb. 1,
1980, and grew up in Charlottesville where he attended
Catholic middle school. While in high school, he played
basketball and competed on track and cross-country teams.

Burchell attended James Madison University in Harrisonburg,
where he continued his love of sports by studying kinesiology
and sports management.

“My dream was to work in the big leagues as a trainer or
sports agent,” he said. “I was really into sports, it was
always a very big love of mine.”

After graduating in 2002, Burchell realized he had other
interests he wanted to pursue so he began looking for a job
that would completely fulfill him.

“I was always the type who had numerous things planned out
ahead of time,” he said. “My dad and I had a conversation
that, ‘You’re young, you can do anything you put your mind
to, so try (those ideas) out.'”

With that, Burchell began to explore his options. First, he
wanted to work by the water, so he took a job as a lifeguard
in Nags Head, N.C. From there, Burchell wanted to travel, so
he took a job working on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship,
touring the Mediterranean Sea.

After visiting 35 countries in only five months, he decided
to change paths again. This time, he took a job working for
his father in the family business, a Chevrolet dealership.
Though he was successful at selling cars, Burchell was still
not happy. After trying out so many dreams, he finally began
to consider a different option for the first time: the
priesthood.

“From the time I was 12 to the time I was finishing the job
with my father, I think I was running away from the
priesthood,” he said. “I always thought, ‘That’s not for me,
I want to get married.’ I kept saying to myself, ‘I’ve just
got to try something else, I can’t do that.'”

Still not ready to take the leap, Burchell went back to
school. For the next two years, he worked as a graduate
assistant at James Madison, eventually earning his master’s
in athletic administration and coaching. While there, he
continued dating. He dated one woman for more than two years,
but with the priesthood still in the back of his mind, he
found he couldn’t make a commitment.

After finishing school, Burchell began working as an aquatic
director for the YMCA in Richmond. He and his girlfriend
broke up and Burchell finally took the time to hear what God
was telling him. He began attending Holy Hours and daily
Masses and, through his job, he found a love for counseling.

“I started to notice people coming into my office and sitting
down and talking to me and letting me listen,” he said. “I
always realized that I felt fulfilled when I was driving home
from those nights.”

Finally, Burchell began to put the pieces together. He
realized all of the things he had enjoyed about previous jobs
– working with people, helping others, counseling – were key
aspects of the priesthood. Then, out of the blue, he received
an email from a friend he hadn’t spoken to in years, inviting
him to a discernment retreat for the U.S. Archdiocese for the
Military Services.

Burchell decided to bite the bullet and attend. There,
listening to seminarians talk about their discernment, he
felt a peace he had never experienced before.

“After it ended, I went into the parking lot and started the
car and just sat there for an hour and a half, thinking,
‘This is what I need to do,'” he said.

Burchell was accepted into the seminary in 2006 at age 26.
The past six years since then have been some of the best of
his life, he said.

“While it’s tough, I feel like in the past six years, I have
learned to love God in a completely new way and it has really
prepared me well.”

Burchell is co-sponsored by the Arlington Diocese and the
military archdiocese. When he is ordained to the priesthood,
he will spend his first three years in Arlington before being
released to the military archdiocese, where he will serve as
an active duty Navy chaplain. Following his retirement from
the Navy, he will return to Arlington to serve as a priest.

This plan suits Burchell perfectly, appeasing his love of
service, physical challenges and adventure. And, unlike his
previous jobs, he has never had any doubts.

“There’s a huge piece of me that knows this is what I was
made to do and it makes me very happy to know that I’m doing
the Lord’s will,” he said. “Even though it’s going to be a
tough job, I know that I can do it with the grace of God.”

Looking back, Burchell is grateful for the strong
relationships he has with his family, all of whom have been
great cheerleaders along the way. For his year in the
transitional diaconate, he is most looking forward to serving
the parishioners of his new parish. One of his first acts
will be baptizing his nephew next month.

“I’m ready to work, ready to give my life for the Lord, ready
to work for the salvation of souls, and I can do it
especially this year as a transitional deacon,” he said.

Now that he has found the fulfillment he has always yearned
for, he takes great inspiration from St. Augustine, who said,
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”

“My heart was restless for all those years and it was only
when I said, ‘OK, Your turn, I’m going to stop running,’ that
I was fulfilled,” he said.

He urges other men discerning a vocation to take a similar
path.

“Your life will not be as fulfilled until you’re doing God’s
will,” he said. “No matter what you choose, if you are only
doing it for yourself, you’re not going to be nearly as happy
as you would be if you were doing the will of God.”

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