Seminary
University of St. Thomas
2115 Summit Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105-1048

Parish
St. Clare Parish;
Wrightstown, Greenleaf,
and Askeaton

Birthday
July 25

Are there any books that you love so much that you
have read them twice (or more)?

A book I will never stop rereading is “He Leadeth Me” by Fr. Walter Ciszek,
SJ. Another one I will read again is “Island of the World”
by Michael O’Brien.

When you find yourself with a “free night,” what is
something you are likely to do?

When I am at home, I really enjoy playing cards with my family after dinner
on a free night. If that does not happen, there is a good
chance I will either watch a movie or find out if any friends
are available to get together.

What do you remember from your First Communion?

I have very little recollection of my First Communion nor
anything that happened that day. However, I do have
a picture of me and two of my best friends standing in
church, dressed up in little suits, and smiling like we had
just won the lottery. Fortunately, what we had just received
was incomparably better than a winning lottery ticket!

Where is one of your favorite places to pray, and
what makes it special to you?

One of my favorite places to pray is at the Wrightstown site of my home parish, St.
Clare. When I am there for Mass during the week, I will
usually pray a Holy Hour before or after. It seems like there
is an ease with which I can open myself to the Lord while
in that beautiful, sacred space. That being said, I love all
three of our parish churches and praying in front of the
tabernacle in any of them, or in any church, is special!

What role has the Eucharist played in your
discernment of the priesthood?

When I began consistently attending daily Mass and praying Holy Hours
in front of the Eucharist at UW-La Crosse, the graces I
was subsequently blessed with played a mysterious yet
crucial role in my discernment of the priesthood. I can
point to several graces received through this. Jesus
would gently and persistently prod me to consider a
priestly vocation, especially while at Mass. His grace also
created in me new desires to grow in virtue. In addition,
he spoke to my heart clearly in two particular Holy
Hours that finally convinced me to step out in faith on a
path toward priesthood. The priesthood I may one day
participate in is completely his. That truth, and my utter
dependency, keep me close to him. As I went through
the Kairos Year and this past summer, I finally came to
understand that discernment is not about “figuring it
out.” It is about growing closer to Jesus’ heart, and he
will provide the next step. The Eucharist has been an
enormous part of that for me.

If there was one thing you could communicate to the
faithful about the importance and role of the Eucharist
in our Catholic faith, what would it be?

With the meaning of life necessarily rooted in our relationship
with the Lord, the Eucharist cannot be emphasized
enough on our journey because it is Christ himself! We
have the humbling privilege to receive Jesus completely.
He allows himself to be contained in the Host and is
then contained within us. That is amazing! This is Jesus’
body, blood, soul, and divinity sacrificed for us on the
cross to save us from our sins and gather us to himself.
That reality is re-presented at every Mass, meaning we
can entrust our salvation to him over and over in an
ever-renewing act of faith, trust, and surrender. It is only
his Divine Mercy that will bring about our salvation, so
trusting his merits which we receive in his complete self
in the Eucharist is of utter importance. In “Story of a
Soul,” St. Thérèse of Lisieux said on this subject, “I’m not
relying on my own merits, as I have none, but I put my
hope in him who is goodness and holiness himself.” In
realizing that the Eucharist is such a radical self-gift from
the Father, we can grow in relationship with him who
desires it most. That relationship ultimately is perfected
in heaven. Blessed Carlo Acutis sums up the power of
the Eucharist by deeming it his “highway to heaven,”
and that “by standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we
become holy.” This makes sense, for as we know, “No
one comes to the Father except through me.”

Which saint should people invoke for your vocation
and why?

St. Maria Goretti is a beautiful example of
choosing God over everything, including her own life.
Her undivided desire to follow Christ and the courage it
required inspire me to constantly ask for her intercession.