Episode #103: Fr. Branden Gordon on Mercy, Masculinity, and What Surprised Him Most About Priesthood

About this episode

Fr. Branden Gordon shares his experiences and insights as a newly ordained priest, discussing the challenges and gifts of priesthood.

In this conversation with Fr. Branden Gordon—a newly ordained Salesian priest serving at Saint Benedict Parish in Toronto—we're exploring something I rarely discuss on this show: what daily life looks like for a young priest navigating youth ministry, personal holiness, and the weight of representing Christ to everyone who walks through his door. Fr. Branden doesn't romanticize the priesthood. After ten years of formation, he's clear-eyed about the struggles—the loneliness, the humility of asking for spending money, the challenge of living charity when it's the virtue he struggles with most. But he's also honest about the gifts: the trust people place in him simply because he wears the collar, the unreal experience of consecrating his first host, and the grace God gives to live out demands he never thought he could meet. What struck me most about our conversation wasn't just his love for fitness or his ability to write a homily in three hours. It was his deep awareness of God's mercy—and his conviction that this is the message every struggling person needs to hear. I'll walk you through: ✅ How Fr. Branden went from substitute teacher to ten years of formation for the priesthood ✅…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Luella Jonk

Guest: Fr. Branden Gordon

Topics covered

• priesthood
• youth ministry
• masculinity
• personal holiness
• God's mercy
• charity

Keywords

• priesthood
• youth ministry
• masculinity
• God's mercy
• charity
• personal holiness
• Salesian
• Toronto

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Salesian

Places: Saint Benedict Parish, Toronto

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