Parish: St. Thomas More Parish, Appleton
Birthday: January 10
Seminary: St. John Vianney College Seminary
Address: 2115 Summit Avenue
Mail #5024
St. Paul, MN 55105


What kinds of toppings do you like on your pizza?
I’m a meat with extra meat kind of guy.

What is one skill people would be surprised you have?
Although I’m rusty since seminary doesn’t provide opportunities for practice, I do know how to tango.

If you had a talk show, who would be your first guest?
Getting the chance to sit down and talk with Emily Dickinson, the 19th century American poet, is a dream of mine, and the odds of that happening are about as realistic as me getting my own talk show, so I’ll say her. The reason is that her poetry speaks deeply to the human experience of the transcendental.

What is your favorite line from a Eucharistic prayer?
Eucharistic Prayer III: “… so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.” This line is beautiful and moves my heart because not only is it a poetically beautiful image of the entire earth from east to west, but it speaks deeply to the evangelical mission of the Church. Christ longs for the whole world to come together to share in the divine life praising God. That is the vision of the Church expressed in this short line.

How would you advise someone who wanted to deepen their love of the Eucharist?
Remember always that Christ wants you to receive him more than you want to receive him. Christ Jesus does not want to be distant from us, but intimately close to us, united with us. This is the only way the Eucharist makes sense. The disciples did not ask Jesus, “Can you institute the Eucharist please?” but rather, without precedent or expectation, Christ simply said, “This is my body … this is my blood, given up for you.” It is God’s initiative and invitation that brings us to the wedding feast of the Lamb where Christ is our food. Whatever desire we feel to consume the Body and Blood of Christ is an echo of his longing to be with us. The great longing of Christ for our hearts is at the center of the Eucharist and thus at the center of my Eucharistic devotion. I encourage others to ponder on this mystery.

When you envision yourself celebrating Mass one day as a priest, what do you imagine will be going through your mind and heart?
When I imagine presiding at Mass, the words of Pope Francis in “Desiderio Desideravi” come to mind. In it, he writes “… to preside at Eucharist is to be plunged into the inferno of God’s love.” As I wrote before, I see the Eucharist as the center of the mystery of God’s longing to remain with us, to be united with us. The priest is the vessel through which Christ makes this possible. I hope and pray that this stays in the forefront of my mind and heart so that one day, God willing, as I am celebrating Mass, I can contemplate this burning desire of Christ in a new way; to experience the inferno of God’s love. The Sacrifice of the Mass is offered for the sake of the Church and of the world. God wants to be one with the Church, one with the world, and for the Church and the world to be one. This longing for communion is important
to me and the divisiveness that plagues our society and, unfortunately, the Church breaks my heart. I think that this will also be on my mind and heart celebrating the Mass as it already is on my mind and heart as I pray the Mass in my current state as a lay person. I wish to pray with Christ that we all may be one with one another and with him as he and the Father are one.

Which saint should people invoke for your vocation?
St. Maria Goretti is a powerful intercessor for me. About a year ago, not too long before I entered seminary, I asked for a saint to “adopt” me. The first saint that popped into my mind was her, and we’ve been friends ever since.