DIOCESAN NEWS
03/23/07
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Keep us in your prayers, third year seminarian urges
By Scott Thomas
This year, our diocese was blessed with an additional four seminarians, bringing our total to 10. Vocations Director Father Kent Bowlds has been working extremely hard traveling the diocese meeting with those in discerning a possible religious calling, especially since taking on his post full-time.
He has also traveled to Wisconsin and Louisiana multiple times to check on and care for our diocesan seminarians. This time truly is one that should be exciting for the diocese with the recent growth in the number of men answering God’s calling. But as many of our currently active priests begin to retire, a new face of the priesthood may be taking form.
I first began to consider a vocation when I was going through preparation to receive the sacrament of confirmation during my junior year of high school. It was then that Father John Bohn arrived at my home parish, St. Richard in Jackson. He was a young man who definitely was living a love for God and the work that he was doing.
And that attitude certainly rubbed off on me, causing me to consider choosing that way of life. But even before I met Father John, other figures had made impacts on my life.
Two priests who were at St. Richard for all of the seven years I attended its elementary school definitely stand out in my memory. Father Richard Somers, as my pastor, always had a smile on his face and was ready to shake my hand both before and after Mass.
Also, Msgr. Michael Glynn would always walk the halls or visit us during lunch. He always had the love of Christ on his face and a stack of prayer cards in his hand to give us. Both of these men truly were friends of my family and me.
Another figure in my life has been Father Brian Kaskie, who at one time was chaplain of St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison. He was there from before my seventh grade year to my junior year, in the spring of 2001. Father Brian has always been good to me, offering much guidance throughout my time of discernment.
I could go on for days and weeks about every priest I have encountered in my life and the impact they had on my life. And in the many different ways that they have influenced me, one thing draws them all together. Each one of them has definitely shown a desire to conform themselves to Christ so that they could bring him to life in our diocese.
So many wonderful men over the years have given their lives so that Christ may be seen in real life around our wonderful state. And in following their lead, the 10 of us seminarians have chosen to do the same with our own lives.
As a seminarian for the Diocese of Jackson, I am discerning a possible call to the priesthood. I am currently in my third year of formation and in my first year of theology.
Normally, theology lasts about four years, including an internship of about six months beginning at the end of the third year. I am a graduate of St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, La., where we currently have three seminarians – Chris Buse, Luke Arredondo, and Rusty Vincent. It was there that I studied philosophy for two years, completing my college degree and my pre-theological requirements.
Currently, I am studying in New Orleans at Notre Dame Seminary, with three other men from our diocese – Patrick Jones, Grant Holzhauer, and Charles Macko. Our other three seminarians – Greg Davidson, Lincoln Dall, and Bob Soukup – are in Hales Corners, Wis., at Sacred Heart Seminary.
Through my own discernment, I have found that a close relationship with Christ is important. But how can one come close to another if he or she knows next to nothing about the other person?
In the same way, if we wish to come closer to Christ, we must learn about him. So our intellectual formation is definitely a must during our discernment.
And luckily, we have access to three wonderful houses of formation, as seminaries have become known throughout the years. If it was not for the support of our diocese, we seminarians would not be able to obtain the education that we are receiving. And on top of that, the priests who have been an impact on my life would not be able to carry out the ministries that they do for our diocese, impacting the lives of others.
The annual Catholic Service Appeal (CSA) is a great way for the entirety of our diocese to take part in fostering much needed future priests for our diocese, as well as the many ministries that the Catholic Church supports throughout our state.
I count myself fortunate to be a part of this wonderful diocese. It has been through the help and support of many people that I have met throughout my life in this diocese that my discernment and relationship with Christ have been able to flourish.
Please keep us all in your prayers, as we continue to work in answering God’s calling for us in life. We will surely have each one of you in our own prayers.
(Scott Thomas is a seminarian for the Diocese of Jackson in his third year of formation and first year of theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.)
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