Please pray for our seminarians

Friday, Jul. 01, 2016

The Diocese of Salt Lake City has 10 men studying for the priesthood. Nine of them are at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon, while Stephen Tilley, who was ordained a deacon on June 24, is studying at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome.

These men are supported by the local Church financially through the Diocesan Development Drive, and spiritually through prayer. So that our readers can learn a little about them, we asked each of to respond to the question: What has been your most significant experience as a seminarian? Below are their responses.

We ask that you keep these men in your prayers as they continue to prepare for ordination.

 

Hometown: Huejucar Jalisco, México 

Level: 4th College 

He is helping at San Felipe Parish and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish (Magna) this summer.

To be able to help the Holy Spirit (because HE is the one who does everything) to build God’s kingdom on earth is a very special honor. I can’t explain with words what it is to be invited to work with and for Him, I can only say that I am very happy because He has called me;  despite my defects and my mistakes He has trusted me and in me. I only ask Him to help me stand firm against the tide and achieve the goal. 

The vocation that I have received is that special hug from God. Working for Him is the best thing that could ever happen. His love is infinite.

Hometown: St. George, UT

Level: 4th College 

While I’ve had a number of fantastic experiences after three years in the seminary, our annual College Beach Weekend is the most important for me. All of the undergraduates look forward to this weekend as a time to escape the normal everyday grind of school and spend time growing in fraternity.

There is something deeply spiritual for me when it comes to going out into the wilderness, something ephemeral that is difficult for me to put into words. The Oregon coast, the destination of our trip, is a place where I can easily open up and pray and be in natural communication with God.

One of the central parts of the weekend is when we gather and have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the beach. Being able to pray before the Eucharist and hear the crashing of the waves has become one of my greatest pleasures. I have never had any particular revelations nor sudden understandings, but as I see 60 of my brothers gathered in prayer and kneeling on the beach, I can tangibly feel that I am part of the Body of Christ.

Hometown: Lima, Perú

Level: 2nd College

My most significant experience as a seminarian was being able to serve others. Last school year,  as a first-year philosophy seminarian at Mount Angel Seminary, our class was assigned to go to Saint Andre Bessette Parish in Portland and serve our homeless brothers and sisters in a way I had never done before. 

I already had some experience ministering the homeless in our local area by serving sack lunches at the Good Samaritan Program with my family before I entered the seminary. But there was something different at Saint Andre Bessette, something else that our homeless brothers and sisters are lacking, and it is not hunger for food, but hunger for love and for human care. Most of them get fed wherever they go, but only few of them are treated or even “seen” as actual human persons. 

I recall very well that day, talking to different people, each one of them with a different story, different background, and of course different “hunger.”

Among them was one man whom I will call “Carlos;” he is from Mexico. He came to the United States, “crossing the river,” (in his own words) looking for a better economic situation for his family. He has four children back in Mexico. 

Once he arrived in the U.S., he was hired by a person who exploited him, making him work overtime, paying him less than a full-time job, and always threatened by his employer “or I will call the ‘migra’ (the immigration department).” Until one day, Carlos decided to stop the abuse and never return to that place. Now he is homeless.

Sometimes WE are indifferent to our neighbor’s sufferings and this is NOT the Christian way. It’s time to open our eyes and see our neighbor as Christ himself.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.” – Matthew 5:6.

Hometown: Martinez de la Torre, Zacatecas, México

Level: 2nd theology

I remember very clearly when I was barely starting my studies in the seminary I went to a small community to support the priest; he was very busy because it was Holy Week.

 One day a family that had a relative who was dying came to the parish, asking if we could go and pray with them. I went. I clearly remember the moment when we were praying and the person passed away; everyone was very sad and I felt sad, too. 

On my way back to the parish I was thinking about that; upon my arrival the priest was celebrating a wedding. It was then that it hit me: Priests are for the good and for the not-so-good; priests share moments of joy and moments of sorrow; priests are for all the people. That moment marked me forever.

Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela

Level:1st pre-theology

One of my first and most significant faith experiences came toward the end of my college career. At the beginning of my last year in college I began buckling down in my beliefs and started attending weekly Mass. 

After a school year of continuous Sunday Masses, I walked out of church one Sunday evening and met two friends to continue our studies in the library. During our walk, I felt a happiness unlike anything I had experienced. This joy had me shining like the sun and made me belt out, “God is great; Mass makes me feel so good!” 

My friends cracked a smile, as this was a break from character because we never touched much on religion. But this was a unique feeling, a breaking forth of God in my life – maybe it was the virginal point Thomas Merton loved to contemplate. At this point I was graced with the gift of Faith. 

After a year of a constant effort to seek God, I had taken a step past obedience and opened up my heart. I took a leap into complete surrender and received the gift of faith, because from that moment on God had all my trust.

Now I still enjoy Mass very much, but I don’t know that I’ve shouted and thrown my hands up in jubilation after Mass since then. 

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Level: 1st theology

Summer assignment: Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish 

My most significant experience as a seminarian was perhaps the election of Pope Francis, in no small part because I had the grace to be there. That Tuesday, the second day of the conclave, I guessed would be the day he was elected, so rather than going to classes, I camped out in St. Peter’s Square from 10 in the morning until his election at 7 p.m. The smoke came – it was grey, no, white, and then everyone was running. I was close under the balcony in that atmosphere of joyful expectation, and then he appeared! No one had any idea who he was, but whoever he was, he radiated simplicity and humility, and in these characteristics, as well as his perpetual joy, he has been an inspiration and a model for me.

His first action as pope was to ask for prayers for Pope Benedict XVI, and I see this as very significant, as I have always seen a great continuity between the two. If Pope Francis has marked my mature appreciation of my vocation, Pope Benedict’s words at the Mass for the inauguration of his pontificate were a huge inspiration at its beginning when I was in my first year in seminary: “Are we not perhaps all afraid … if we let Christ enter fully into our lives, He might take something away from us?... No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. … Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.” Those words touched me in a deeply personal way, and I have only grown in my appreciation of them, especially as I have seen them lived out in the pontificates of both Benedict and Francis, both of whom are my greatest living inspirations in my journey toward the priesthood.

Hometown:  Taylorsville, UT

Level: 2nd College 

My most significant experience as a seminarian has been able to feel the love and appreciation of all the people no matter where I go. In any state that I have visited, when somebody finds out that I am a seminarian, they open their arms and they want to just talk. It is such a blessing to be able to hear everybody’s story, to be able to just be there for them and be able to be an inspiration for them, and in turn have them to be an inspiration for me as well.

Hometown: Sandy, UT

Level: 2nd College 

He is helping at St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish this summer.

In my first year of seminary, I had a deeply impactful experience being able to participate in the “Red Doors Retreat” within the homeless ministry at St. André Bessette parish in Portland, Ore. This was a retreat where we seminarians for a day were able to work alongside volunteers in serving and being present to those homeless individuals, whom the volunteers called their “guests.” We were able to serve them breakfast, help them with finding supplies, and just being present to them. 

What was really significant to me was that their ministry for the homeless was within the actual parish building. As you walked through the parish doors, on the left side was the church with the sanctuary, and on the right was the door to enter the area where their ministry was.

After we were done volunteering we were able to attend daily Mass alongside the volunteers and some of the guests we had just served. Receiving the Eucharist alongside the volunteers and the guests, right after we had worked and served together, was a vivid image to me of what being Church is. As Pope Francis said to a group of Catholic associations in May of 2013, “We cannot become starched Christians, too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea. We have to become courageous Christians and seek out those (who need help most).” 

There was real courage from the whole ministry and team of volunteers to be the prophet, priest, and king we all are called and baptized to be. 

This was an amazing experience that helped me realize much more clearly what pastoral ministry is: a true accompanying of encounter with our brothers and sisters in Christ who need it the most, fueled by a love of God found in the Eucharist and in the Church, as Body of Christ. 

Hometown: West Valley City, UT

Level: 2nd College 

He is helping at the Cathedral of the Madeleine this summer.

When approached with the question of what is the most significant experience that I had this past year in the seminary, there are three “moments,” you could say, that standout. First, the fraternity that was present right from the start; second, praying the Liturgy of the Hours; and third, developing a deeper prayer life. 

The beauty of the fraternity in the seminary is that it is not based on just liking someone, having the same interest, reaching for the same goals, or hanging out with the same people. While all of these are important, there is something much deeper than that – it is our union in Christ; day in and day out we are all in the chapel trying to listen to that voice that says, “Come and follow me.” 

The Liturgy of the Hours has become a great companion for me this past year. There are so many things that I would like to talk about regarding this wonderful prayer of the Church, but the one that stuck from this past year is what Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, OSB said in a conference given to the seminarians: “When you pray the Liturgy of the Hours even by yourselves you are united to the whole Church in this ‘sacrifice of praise.’… Not only are you united to the Church here on earth, but also to the Church in heaven. Ultimately you are united to the prayer of Christ himself, who prayed these same words when he was on earth. The praying of the Liturgy of the Hours is praying the words authored by the Holy Spirit, spoken by the Son, in praise of the Almighty Father.” 

The last thing that I would like to leave with our readers is a line from the Rule of St. Benedict that has helped me with my prayer life, and that line is “Listen with the ear of your heart.” 

Hometown: Ogden, UT

Level: 4th theology 

Summer assignment: Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish

The most significant experience that I have had as a seminarian has been my ordination to the (transitional) diaconate. The experience was a culmination of seven years of prayer, study and work; but most of all, it was a culmination of the many relationships that have helped form me during my journey towards the priesthood. 

Because the ordination was only two days ago, I am still processing everything that happened. However, there is one part of the ordination rite that I found strikingly poignant and beautiful. During the rite, Archbishop Wester of Santa Fe placed the book of the gospels in my hand and said, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” 

This moment was a magnificent experience because it highlighted the Gospel of Jesus Christ’s transformative nature.  Christ has patiently shaped me throughout my seven years in the seminary, and His word has been an effective instrument of his formation. The gospels have consistently been a beacon of hope, joy, and love that have fueled me throughout my time at the seminary.

The experience was also deeply personal because I had the great honor of being ordained by Archbishop Wester, the previous bishop of Salt Lake City.  During the time when he was our bishop, I developed an enormous amount of respect and admiration for him. After the unfortunate passing of my younger brother, Archbishop Wester cleared out his schedule to be there for his burial. His actions were an example of what selfless and sacrificial service looked like. He truly is someone who practices what he preaches.