Father Branden Gordon
I was born in Etobicoke on the tenth of April 1987. My father is a Jamaican who immigrated to Canada in the late 1970s, and my mother is a Canadian of Italian, Irish, and British descent. My parents moved in with my maternal great-grandfather—an old-school Sicilian bricklayer—when I was about eight months old. He would play a significant role in my life as a second father figure.
From an early age, my parents and great-grandfather instilled in me the importance of hard work, study, and service. In between his frequent business trips, my father volunteered his time as a youth baseball coach. My mother also served young people, working for many years as a special needs assistant in Toronto public schools. As for my great-grandfather, he taught me how to use tools, grow fruits and vegetables, and maintain the exterior of a house.
During my childhood, my family could best be described as culturally Catholic. We didn't attend Mass or pray, but we had Bibles and religious images in the home. I attended Catholic school starting in grade three, so I received the sacraments and some religious instruction during these early years.
Toward the end of elementary school, I began to drift away from God. I started to chase after that which the world says will make us happy: success, popularity, pleasure . . . all to realise that the promises of the world are empty. By grade eleven, I began to experience the preliminary symptoms of an existential crisis: What is the purpose of my life? Does God exist? Is there anything after death? These were the questions that haunted me during this pivotal time.
Seeking answers to life's big questions, I began to study philosophy and world religions. I found many elements of truth and goodness in the various philosophical and religious texts of the world, so it wasn't at all clear to me which religion I should embrace, or whether I should just remain agnostic. Then, a thought occurred to me: If I were God and I wanted to reveal myself to human beings, how would I do so? . . . By becoming human of course! This is exactly what Christians claim God did in the person of Jesus. Thus began my reconversion to Christ and my journey to the priesthood.