Paths to Padre: A Seminarian's Journey

Into Exile We Go 3/22/2020 A little birdie (my Dad) informed me that I have not posted on my blog in a long time. After checking, it has been two and a half months. My last post was New Year's Eve. So here goes nothing. Like many of you, the seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon have been sent home for the remainder of the year. We will be continuing classes, formation, spiritual direction, and counseling, as well as fraternity, online. In response to COVID-19, we have been sent to our home diocese in order to be safe and hopefully remain healthy. I will be staying at the rectory in Algona starting this week. My hope is that I can transition into online classes and everything else smoothly. I know that everyone is in the same boat. There are so many unknowns in these current times, but with God we will make it through. I must say it was very hard to leave the seminary. This time in formation since August has been some of the best moments of my life. I have learned many things abou...

Happy New Year! 12/31/2019 As I write this post, I am sitting in the kitchen of my childhood home. We have been on break for two weeks and still have the rest of this week off. It has been wonderful being home and being able to visit with family and friends and to help with the Masses at St. Cecelia's in Algona. During this break, I have taken many opportunities to reflect on the past semester, my first at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. First off, until I took the time to process everything, I was not aware of how much I actually learned about myself. Through formation meetings, classes, meetings with my Spiritual Director, and the counselor, many things have come to light these past 4 months. Notably, I am a beloved son of God. When we cast our doubts and worries on God, he truly will take care of them. This is something that I am still coming to terms with - mainly that God can love us so much, it doesn't matter how much we love him in return. I have also learned that I appr...

There and Back Again, Twice... 11/06/2019 Since it has been almost six weeks since I last posted, I thought it was time for an update. Especially in light of this week being Vocations Awareness Week. As we continue you on in the school year, I ask that you all continue to prayer for Vocations - for stronger and healthy marriages, for dedicated women and men religious, for active permanent deacons, for faithful priest, and for all devout and generous single people - may they all realize the grace and love of Christ in their Vocations. Having been quite some time, I have been back home to the Diocese of Sioux City twice in the past six weeks. The first time was over the weekend of October 5 and 6. I was able to serve as a sponsor for my cousin Riley's Confirmation. I also assisted with the Mass, and was present on the altar in cassock and surplice. This was a first in my home area, and it was very interesting. I am still not quite used to wearing them, but that is to be expecte...

9/22/2019 Warning - for one of the first times in my life, there is vulnerable stuff about me down below. I know some of you are already shocked. It has been nearly two weeks since I last wrote. It seems like only yesterday that I posted my second update from the seminary. The weeks truly seem to fly by. They are so filled with classes, meetings, and other activities that you blink and it is Friday already. The main reason a young man (or older man for that matter) comes to seminary is to discern a vocation to the priesthood. When a person enters the seminary, they are not committed for the long haul. The person is free to leave at any time they wish, as long as the decision is made through careful prayer and discernment. We are all living a life of prayer, studying, and building fraternity, to discover what God is calling us to do. A huge part of discovering what God is calling us to do includes realizing we have to be vulnerable and realizing there are people (experts in their ...

September 7, 2019 - Beginning of the 3rd Week! Since I have not posted in a few weeks, this might be slightly longer than normal. I will try to break down the first three weeks of Seminary life as best I can. Our daily schedule is fairly routine for the most part - classes fluctuate based on the day and the group with which we pray sometimes adjusts, but below is a fairly exact example of the day. 6:00 AM - Holy Hour 7:00 AM - Morning Prayer 7:30 AM - Mass 8:00 AM Breakfast 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Classes 12:00 PM - Lunch 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Classes 5:30 PM - Evening Prayer 6:00 PM - Supper 10:30 PM - Quiet While I am not in classes the whole blocks of time, class time takes up a decent amount of time. We are enrolled in a full time load of classes. I will describe briefly those classes below. Philosophy is a different animal when it comes to learning. It takes me longer to read the material and to process it, as it is mostly new to me. After being at the front of the cla...

Style As the summer comes to a close, small things happen each week that make things more and more real. Well earlier this week, I received my cassock in the mail from the Diocese of Sioux City. The cassock is an article of clerical clothing that is ankle-length, black, and comes with many buttons. At Kenrick-Glennon, it is customary for young seminarians to wear the cassock and surplice (knee-length white tunic, worn over the cassock) during Mass, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. I must say they will both take some getting used to but it makes deciding what to wear to prayer very easy! School uniforms were always something I enjoyed about going to Catholic School and I am glad that I am able to somewhat keep up with that! They say black is a slimming color also, so for the first time in my life I might look sleek and slender! Retreat This past week the Seminarians of Iowa gathered at the Iowa Seminarian Convocation in Ames, hosted by the Archdiocese of Dubuque. While at the Co...

Before the Journey Begins... Before I begin, I am new to the blogging world and I hope that this turns out okay. Resignation As many of you know, I submitted a letter of resignation to BGS at the end of the school year. As hard as it was to make this huge step in my life, it just felt right. I loved my job and my students and all of the great opportunities I experienced in the past four years, but I felt a deep calling to something more. As I write this first post this morning, I cannot help but to reflect on the amazing memories of teaching middle and high school students these past four years. Their faith and their enthusiasm for religion allowed me to realize my own dreams. For a long time, I felt that I would be a "lifer" at BGS. Instead, God had other plans for me. Just like many times in the past a seed was planted in my heart and I began to once again feel the call to the priesthood. Long story short, I will be starting school at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in the F...