A climb to the top of a lighthouse is not for the weak in body or faint in spirit. Slow, steady movement upwards, with a few pauses to rest and contemplate, will allow the aspirant to reach his goal of a blessed view of God’s great handiwork.

Rev. Mr. Matthew J. Pfleger’s pursuit of the priesthood might be likened to that climb. It took years of prayerful consideration, of slow, steady movement, and a few pauses to rest and contemplate before he neared his goal of the priesthood and a blessed view of God’s great handiwork in his own life.

“I was not one of those people who wanted to be a priest from the time of first grade,” he declared. The son of Joseph and the late Catherine Pfleger, Rev. Mr. Pfleger was born Nov. 3, 1982, in Livingston, but the family soon relocated within the Diocese of Trenton and joined St. Pius X Parish, Forked River. He graduated from Holy Family School, Lakewood, and Monsignor Donovan High School, Toms River.

Rev. Mr. Pfleger’s parents and older sister, Sharon, played an important role in his spiritual development, he stated, as did one priest close to his heart: his uncle, Father Phillip C. Pfleger, now pastor of St. Isaac Jogues, Marlton. “I was able to observe how my uncle lived his life, to see the priesthood as it really was,” Rev. Mr. Pfleger remembered. “Though he’s a priest, he’s my uncle first.”

Rev. Mr. Pfleger’s Catholic education and familial bonds prompted him to take his first slow, steady steps towards the priesthood, but he was not yet ready to continue the climb. He graduated from Rowan University, Glassboro, in 2005 with a degree in communications and a specialization in public relations, then worked for the Ocean County library system before beginning a new career at nearby Fort Monmouth.

The assignment at the Eatontown military facility proved to be the spiritual impetus for Rev. Mr. Pfleger’s resuming his climb to the goal of priesthood. While attending daily Mass in the base’s chapel, Father Anthony DiPalma urged the young man to reconsider God’s intermittent call to priestly service. Further conversations with his uncle and then-diocesan director of vocations, Father K. Michael Lambeth, convinced Rev. Mr. Pfleger to once again take the slow, steady steps upward towards his goal.

“Public relations is about promoting a business and making money, not about real charity,” Rev. Mr. Pfleger reflected recently. “I wanted there to be something more.” That desire for a better view of God’s great handiwork prompted Rev. Mr. Pfleger’s 2007 enrollment in St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore, where he has earned a master of divinity degree and a bachelor’s in sacred theology. His summer diaconal assignments included Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton (2008); St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel (2009); St. Dominic Parish, Brick (2010); and St. Catharine Parish, Spring Lake (2011).

Upon his ordination, Rev. Mr. Pfleger will be assigned as parochial vicar in Our Lady of Good Counsel, Moorestown, where he plans to take an active role in the parish school. “I want to go into the classrooms, teach the students formally and informally, and learn from them,” he said.

Rev. Mr. Pfleger hopes his future parishioners realize he doesn’t know everything. “I will be doing things for the first time,” he said. “I hope they will be patient and trust I will make the right decision, for you don’t learn to become a priest in the seminary. You get an education, but through the education of experience, you become a priest,” he concluded, “Experience is the best teacher.”

When queried about his advice to a man considering the priesthood, he said, “You’re going to think this is very simple: pray. Pray all you think you can, then talk to someone you trust, then find your way to the vocations director.” Pfleger will once again rely on his uncle, Father Philip C. Pfleger to be his vesting priest at ordination.

Rev. Mr. Pfleger enjoys reading classic fiction, watching movies and viewing British television sitcoms; he is a skilled snow skier and good athlete. A recent telephone call placed by The Monitor during his pre-ordination retreat found the future priest scaling the 199 steps of the Cape May lighthouse. He had heard his cell phone ring, Rev. Mr. r Pfleger later admitted to the caller, but didn’t want to stop along the way to answer.

Slow, steady movement upwards, perhaps with a few pauses to rest and enjoy the view, might be a great way to scale a lighthouse, but Rev. Mr. Matthew Pfleger plans to pause no longer. On June 9 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, his climb upwards to enjoy the view of God’s great handiwork will culminate in the priesthood.