SEMINARY
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Seminary
750 Terrace Heights
Winona, MN 55987-1320

College I

BIRTHDAY
October 10

PARISH
St. Mary of the Immaculate
Conception Parish, Greenville

CONTACT
mrnickhuza@gmail.com

INTERCESSOR
St. Jerome. He was zealous
for defending the truths of the
faith, translated the Bible into
Latin, and is the patron saint
of librarians. So, he is a fitting
patron for my first year of
seminary.

If you found yourself with half an hour of free time, what would you do
during that time?
I would probably write. I think it is a fun way to be creative and spend time.

What is your favorite mystery of the rosary?
The Fourth Glorious Mystery — The Assumption. I am drawn by the beautiful
image of the Assumption being a joyful reunion of Mary with her Son at the
end of her life.

If someone came to your hometown, what is one thing they would have
to do and why?
If someone is lucky enough to arrive in Greenville during the summer months,
you would definitely have to grab yourself a cone at The Twist, a local ice
cream shop. There, every cone is massive. A small ice cream cone looks like a
medium, and a medium looks like a large. Need I say more?

Briefly, how would you explain what happens at Mass to someone?
The Mass is where God meets man in a profound way. When the priest prays
the words of consecration, the bread and wine truly become the body and
blood of Christ. We not only stand in the presence of God, but we also
receive the body of our Lord, in the Eucharist. This is why the Eucharist is
the source and summit of our faith. The Eucharist is God himself. This is an
incredible blessing.

Explain how a priest helped you discern a call to the priesthood.
When I was in middle school, my parish priest was very involved in the religious
education of the students. Once a week he would teach a class about some
part of the Catholic faith. It was in this way, that I was able to see our priest
more often than just Sundays at Mass. It helped me see priests are normal
people with normal interests. This changed my view of the priesthood as
something boring to a real possibility to consider.
During my freshman year of high school while on the March for Life, I met a
young priest who had only been ordained for little more than six months. This
was probably the first young priest I had ever met. He was a joyful witness to
the priesthood and the Catholic faith. Seeing the witness of a young priest
helped me see that the priesthood was a calling filled with joy and affirmed
me in God's call to discern priesthood.

How do you view a priest’s relationship to the Blessed Mother?
How could a son forget his mother? Christ loved his Blessed Mother. Priests
are conformed to Christ by virtue of their ordination. So it follows that in order
to become more like Christ, one most also love the Blessed Mother. This
devotion does not detract from the relationship with God, rather, it helps us
grow closer to him. Our Lady wants nothing more for the priest than for him
to grow closer to and become more like her Son.
The same way a mother nurtures her child so that he may grow physically,
Our Lady's intercession and prayer help her children grow in the life of grace.
Since we are the spiritual children of Our Lady, it would be an absolute shame
to neglect her. This devotion to Mary provides bountiful assistance to the
priest striving to grow closer to our Lord. Like at the wedding at Cana, when
times get tough, our Blessed Mother sees this, prays to God for him on his
behalf, and presents those struggles to our Lord. If Our Lady could help form
Christ in those quiet years at Nazareth, she can help form the priest to be
more and more like him.