HOLY NAME OF JESUS
HOUSE OF FORMATION
2589 S. Webster Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54301-2951

Kairos Year

BIRTHDAY
December 30

PARISH
St. Bernard Parish, Green Bay

CONTACT
nickgklika@gmail.com

INTERCESSOR
St. Thérèse of Lisieux. There
are not many people I would
welcome continually making
themselves present to me,
but St. Thérèse has made that
short list this summer. I would
be foolish not to follow her
“little way” and ask for her
intercession for my discernment.

If you found yourself with half an hour of free time, what would you do
during that time?
Prudent me would like to spend it contemplatively or with those around me,
but chances are I would be alone watching an episode of The Office.

What is your favorite mystery of the rosary?
The Third Joyful Mystery — The Nativity. This has been one of my favorite
images for a while now of the sweet baby Jesus lying peacefully in the manger
in the quiet night with Mary and Joseph looking lovingly back at him.

If someone came to your hometown, what is one thing they would have
to do and why?
Technically, neither the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help nor the
National Shrine of St. Joseph are in the city limits, so I cannot claim those as
Green Bay “must sees.” However, we do have a couple of good local burger
joints, so if it is not a Friday in Lent, I would suggest going to either Kroll’s or
Al’s Hamburgers.

Briefly, how would you explain what happens at Mass to someone?
The Mass is the celebration of the victory Christ won on the cross for us. We
gather in communion to not only fulfill our Third Commandment duty to keep
holy the Sabbath, but also to praise God through song, personal and communal
prayer, and sacred Scripture. During Communion, Jesus miraculously makes
himself present to us in body, blood, soul, and divinity in the form of the
bread and wine so that we can receive him and he can dwell within us for our
salvation. The Eucharist is the centerpiece of our Catholic faith.

Explain how a priest helped you discern a call to the priesthood.
I have been blessed for the past nine years to have Fr. Mark Vander Steeg as
our parish priest at St. Bernard’s. Through different youth ministry events and
trips in high school, Fr. Mark was able to plant in me the desire from God to
grow in relationship with him and start considering possible vocations.
The culmination of this came during COVID-19 when churches shut down and
public Masses were canceled. St. Bernard’s was moving to an online format
and Father approached me asking if I would be willing to help with reading
and serving the livestream Mass. I said “yes,” seeing the opportunity to be
one of the few non-priests who would still be able to receive the Eucharist.
However, as the weeks went on, I began to feel a constant tug on my heart
that there could be a deeper reason behind why I am here and that maybe
God was trying to invite me, through Fr. Mark’s invitation, to discern a call to
the priesthood.

How do you view a priest’s relationship to the Blessed Mother?
We always hear that Mary loves little children. This is because when little
children are scared, they, without hesitation, turn to their mothers and
fathers. They surrender all their fear and trust into their parents’ hands. Priests
should have that same faith in our Blessed Mother. A priest, in particular,
cannot then pretend they do not need a relationship with Mary or to ask for
her intercession, because even Jesus gave himself to his mother’s will.
When God kept Mary free from the stain of sin in St. Anne’s womb and preserved
her virginity so she could give God a human face and human heart to love us
in his son, Jesus Christ, he had the plan for Mary to be the mother of us all.
Therefore, we should go to Mary with all our struggles or fears as one would
their biological mother so that she can bring them to the foot of the cross for
us and lift all our burdens. As a priest, you need to constantly rely on Mary
and Jesus to be able to properly take care of the souls of your parishioners
because it is our duty to lead those souls to heaven. We need to love Mary
as the mother that she is and remember that she is the Queen of Heaven
and Earth and to treat her as such. Never fear loving Mary too much because
Jesus loved her perfectly.