On June 8, the eve of his 32nd birthday, Deacon Michael
Isenberg will be ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St.
Thomas More in Arlington. He said it’s the culmination of a
lifelong search for happiness.
Deacon Isenberg was born in Buffalo, N.Y., to parents Joan
and Bob. The family moved to Herndon when he was 4 years old.
A few years later, the family settled in Dumfries, where he
attended public school and eventually Seton School in
Manassas.
After high school, he enrolled at Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in
computer engineering in 2003.
His training as an engineer offered him the potential for an
affluent lifestyle. He went to work for software consulting
firms first in New York then in Tampa, Fla.
But even with increasing economic prosperity, Deacon Isenberg
was not satisfied.
“I was searching for happiness by buying things,” he said.
“(But) I wasn’t happy.”
While in Tampa, he spent a lot of time praying and reflecting
on his life. He went to daily Mass and prayed at eucharistic
adoration chapels. The prayer and reflection were slowly
drawing him to the priesthood.
He realized what had been missing in his life – a total
commitment to a priestly vocation. He called Father Brian G.
Bashista, Arlington diocesan director of the Office of
Vocations, and told him that he was interested in the
priesthood.
He applied and was accepted to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in
Emmitsburg, Md., in 2006.
He spent two years studying at the Pontifical North American
College in Rome, returning to Mount St. Mary’s in 2010.
It took Deacon Isenberg seven years to arrive at this moment
– a bit longer than most discernment, so he took time off to
work in parishes including Holy Trinity in Gainseville, St.
Catherine of Siena in Great Falls and St. John the Apostle in
Leesburg. He said it helped him appreciate the role of a
priest.
His experience with the other men studying at Mount St.
Mary’s was wonderful, he said.
“We jelled together,” he said of the friendship and
camaraderie that developed among his fellow seminarians.
For the past year, Deacon Isenberg has been assigned to St.
Agnes Church in Arlington. Once a week he teaches first,
third, fourth, and sixth grade at St. Agnes School, and it’s
something he loves.
Deacon Isenberg will celebrate his first Mass on his birthday
at Holy Trinity in Ashburn, his home parish. As the day
quickly arrives, he is trying to take in everything.
He said there have been many people responsible for helping
him find his vocation. He is especially thankful for the help
and friendship of Father Francis J. Peffley, then-pastor of
Holy Trinity.
“(Father Peffley) has been in and out of my life for 20
years,” he said. “He was very inspirational.”
Now that his ordination is just days away, he can reflect on
the events that have brought him to this point and what the
ordination will mean.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I don’t think it’s quite hit me
yet.”
