Parish: St. Mary Parish, Ledgeview
Birth Date: March 6
Seminary: St. Francis de Sales
Seminary Address:
3257 S. Lake
Drive, St. Francis, WI
53235-3702
 

Are there any books that you love so much that you
have read them twice (or more)?
One of the few books I
have read multiple times is “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien.
When you find yourself with a “free night,” what
is something you are likely to do? When I have free
time in the evening, I like to spend it either practicing
my electric guitar, taking a short fishing trip, or getting
together with friends.

What do you remember from your First Communion?

I remember that I received my First Communion at my
home parish from Fr. Jack Harper, the first priest who
helped me to see the beauty of the priesthood. I was
excited to receive both the Body and the Blood of
Christ. After Communion, I spent a couple of minutes
praying to Jesus, truly believing in the Real Presence in
what I just received.

Where is one of your favorite places to pray, and what
makes it special to you?
One of my favorite places to
pray is the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere. I
love the crowned depiction of Joseph, as well as the
large images of the Holy Family and the Divine Mercy
image. It was in this chapel that I encountered Christ in
Eucharistic Adoration while I was studying at St. Norbert
College and received the grace to ask for an application
for seminary. Since I joined seminary, it has been a very
peaceful, quiet, and close place to pray during breaks.

What role has the Eucharist played in your discernment
of the priesthood?
I have had two encounters with Christ in
the Eucharist in adoration that stand out in a particular way
in my discernment of the priesthood. First, I encountered
Jesus during a night of adoration at Camp Tekakwitha
during my senior year of high school. As I began praying,
Jesus spoke very clearly in the depths of my heart that he
desired for me to be his priest. As I continued discernment
while attending St. Norbert College, I prayed in front of the
Blessed Sacrament during Monday all-day adoration at the
National Shrine of St. Joseph. It was there that I fell deeper
in love with Jesus and the priesthood. He slowly opened my
heart to trust more in him and consider more seriously the
possibility of applying to seminary. Throughout seminary, I
have found receiving Communion and praying in front of
the exposed Eucharist daily to be life-giving and essential
to hearing his voice.

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?

The Eucharist is not just a spiritual multivitamin or merely one means
among many to receive grace from God. Jesus very
specifically said that unless we eat his flesh and drink
his blood, we have no life within us. By receiving the
Eucharist, we become part of the Body of Christ and
share very intimately in his divine life. Jesus enters us
and shares in every part of our life — both our joys and
burdens. His heart enters our own heart and ours enters
his. It is so important to receive the Eucharist because
it is through the Eucharist that Jesus makes us more
like him. When we receive Communion, we can invite
Jesus into the very depths of our being in a personal and
intimate way. We share our life with him, and he pours
out his life to us in abundance. Receiving the Eucharist
brings us into communion with Jesus that gives us divine
life and makes us into the people he is calling us to be.
Hence, the role of the Eucharist is to make each of us
an “alter Christus,” or “another Christ,” to evangelize
the world. We are called to go forth from Mass to bring
others to the same Font of Life that we draw life from.

Which saint should people invoke for your vocation
and why?
Please pray to Blessed Solanus Casey for my
vocation. He attended St. Francis de Sales Seminary for
five years (and lived on the same floor as me) and is a
powerful example of priestly service.