Father mark goring silenced

TORONTO - Michael Goring’s father likely knew his son had a unique spiritual maturity when Michael asked something along the lines of: “Is this all there is to the faith — to pray the rosary, to go to Mass? Can we come to know God in a more personal way in our lives?”

That’s big talk for a preteen.

A self-proclaimed “valley boy” from Pembroke, Ont., the now 38-year-old Goring said it was his Catholic family — and especially a particular suggestion from his father — that fostered in him, from a young age, a love for the Church and priesthood.

In response to his young son’s questions, Goring’s father advised him to read the lives of the saints.

So Goring read the stories of men and women whose lives were transformed by Christ and who transformed others’ lives through Him. He developed a fitting fascination with St. John Vianney.

“Someone who had trouble getting through school, couldn’t even learn the Latin to become a priest, and now he’s the patron saint of all priests throughout