SEMINARY
St. Francis de Sales Seminary
3257 S. Lake Drive
St. Francis, WI 53235-3702

Pre-Theology I

BIRTHDAY
June 18

PARISH
St. John the Baptist Parish,
Howard

CONTACT
mjanczakowski@aol.com

INTERCESSOR
St. Thérèse of Lisieux. During
my discernment, she has shown
up a couple times, and I want
to start journeying more closely
with her.

If you found yourself with half an hour of free time, what would you do
during that time?
In the morning, I would pray the rosary. In the afternoon, I would take a nap.
In the evening, I would read a good book.

What is your favorite mystery of the rosary?
The Fifth Glorious Mystery — The Coronation of Mary. Our Lady’s privileged
place as Queen of Heaven is what makes the rosary so powerful, so this mystery
gives me a lot of confidence in her.

If someone came to your hometown, what is one thing they would have
to do and why?
When friends visit, I always take them to Lambeau Field. The place is simply
iconic. Even if people do not like football, they know what an impact Lambeau
and the Packers have had on American culture and on the town of Green Bay.
Our fan-based ownership of the team is especially inspiring for visitors.

Briefly, how would you explain what happens at Mass to someone?
At Mass, the Scriptures and the Bread of Life feed God’s people. First, we learn
in the Old Testament about God’s relationship with the people of Israel, and
we pray with the Israelites through the Psalms. Then, in the New Testament
we hear about the fulfillment of that relationship and how we ought to live as
Christians. This time of reading and reflection nourishes us with hope and a
compulsion to draw closer to God. Next, the priest offers Jesus in the Eucharist
to the Father, and the Father offers Jesus back to us in holy Communion.

Explain how a priest helped you discern a call to the priesthood.
A very important priest during my college years was Fr. Thomas Saucier, OP.
I remember walking into the Newman Center one time and feeling deeply
compelled to speak with him about my interest in the priesthood. He was
the first person to affirm my vocation, and he also walked with me as I began
dating in college. I think Fr. Thomas’ biggest impact was his “normalization”
of the discernment process. For me and many other men, the choice between
marriage and priesthood can become unnecessarily heavy. Fr. Thomas helped
me rejoice in the Lord’s gifts of life and free will, and his humor never failed to
lighten things up.
I still remember when Fr. Thomas introduced me to some Dominican novices
at the Newman Center. He pulled me to the front of the congregation before
Mass started and pointed at each friar in the pews (as if white-robed men
were difficult to spot). I think we all got the point.

How do you view a priest’s relationship to the Blessed Mother?
Have you ever seen an older brother care for his younger siblings alongside
his mother? He does so with some semblance of autonomy but always as an
extension of the care and vision of his mother, who is often the primary caregiver
to her children. I think of the relationship between the priest and Our Lady in
a similar light. Our Lady’s great love for our heavenly Father compels her to care
for his spiritual children and, indeed, she accepts them as her own spiritual
kids. But God also calls upon priests, his spiritual sons, to share in nurturing
the family of God. Thus the two work together, mother and son, keeping the
children of God safe and healthy during their pilgrimage toward heaven.
I am also intrigued by Mary’s relationship to the tabernacle. As we see in the
Old Testament and in our churches today, the tabernacle is a physical place
where God’s presence manifests in a special way. Our Lady’s womb, which
carried God incarnate, is not so different; Mary was a tabernacle of our Lord.
Might we see the priest, who is a custodian of our Lord, Jesus, in the Blessed
Sacrament, as a special servant to this living tabernacle, to the one who first
bore the church’s greatest treasure? I think this is something worth pondering.