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Connor Quick
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Kairos Yearconnor.quick.17gmail.comParish: St. Patrick Parish, Menasha
Birthday: June 6
Holy Name of Jesus House of Formation
2589 S. Webster Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54301-2951
Which saint should people invoke for your vocation?
St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori. His devotion to our Blessed Mother and to the
Most Holy Eucharist is something I hope to emulate.
Coffee or tea?
Comparing the two, I am reminded of a ballad from poet Malcom
Guite: “Now, I cherish my morning coffee, too / But tea is humbler
… In summer it refreshes, in winter warms ... ”
If Jesus drove a vehicle during his public ministry, what
would it be?
Jesus would not have owned a vehicle and would rather
hitchhike everywhere. In this way, he would abandon himself to
the will of his Father, trusting that he would be provided for. It
might be hard to get a hitch for 13 people, though.
What is your ideal way to spend the Lord’s Day?
My ideal Lord’s Day happened monthly last year. I’d visit Catholic
Youth Expeditions (CYE) for their Winter Institute, enjoying Holy
Hour, Mass, Morning Prayer, and brunch with the Missionaries of
the Word. Afterward, I’d visit The National Shrine of Our Lady of
Champion, making a visit to the Blessed Mother. Lately, I would
close out the night by meeting friends in Oshkosh at the restaurant
Fletches where a live jazz band plays every Sunday night.
If you could celebrate Mass anywhere in the world, where
would you and why?
Of all the potential places in the world, I would really like to
celebrate Mass at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion.
The Shrine has been a tremendous gift to me — a place for rest,
thanksgiving, reflection, and pilgrimage. The humility of the
Shrine, coupled with its palpable sense of peace, makes it a refuge
for any and all who visit. It would be a privilege beyond compare to
be able to celebrate Mass in a place that feels so much like home.
What spiritual book or author has most influenced your
journey of discipleship?
The spiritual work that has greatly influenced me is “The
Way of the Pilgrim.” This 19th-century Russian text follows
an anonymous pilgrim as he wanders across Russia seeking
to fulfill St. Paul’s command to “pray without ceasing.” Early
on he learns the Jesus Prayer, which becomes his constant
companion throughout the journey.
Two themes from this work have been particularly influential
for me: abandonment and encounter. The Russian word for
“pilgrim” can also mean “wanderer.” In this way, the character’s
wandering is not aimless but rather a surrendering to God’s will,
a disposition I have sought to adopt. Also, like the pilgrim, I
have grown in devotion to the Jesus Prayer, asking God to “have
mercy on me.” This is a prayer which essentially asks God to “do
what you do.”
The book’s focus on encounter moves me; the pilgrim’s
interactions, from sinners to spiritual masters, are never
insignificant, spiritually speaking. This has deeply influenced
how I view my own interactions, helping me to recognize Christ’s
presence in those I meet along the way.
How is the Eucharist meant to foster unity in the Church?
St. Alphonsus Liguori, quoting St. Dionysius, says, “The principle
effect of love is to tend toward union.” St. Alphonsus goes on
to say that it is for this very purpose that Our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, instituted the Most Holy Sacrament of his body
and blood. He did so that in our partaking of this sacrament
we might become one in him, “for it belongs to those who love
greatly” that they be united, so says St. John Chrysostom.
It is true that Christ desires to be united to each of us intimately,
but not so that we might be united to him in isolation. The
Eucharist is, in its institution, a meal shared in common. It is this
meal which brings together Catholics of every nation, tongue,
and trade and makes them one in worship. The Eucharist, and
in turn the Church, is not a place where “we who come together
might be divided, but so that they who are divided might come
together” (St. John Chrysostom).
This Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. The unity
garnered by our partaking together of this sacrament should
not end at our existing the church doors but be the ideal from
which we model our unity in the world.
