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Parish: St. Thomas More Parish, Appleton
Birthday: January 10
Seminary: St. Francis de Sales Seminary
3257 S. Lake Dr.
St. Francis, WI 53235
What kind of music do you like to listen to?
Musical theatre is my first love; I especially enjoy belting out show tunes on long car
rides.
What is your favorite liturgical season and why?
Advent always grounds me back into the mystery of Jesus Christ. Reflecting on the Incarnation
and preparing for His second coming helps me raise my eyes to the horizon
and remember the big picture of the Christian life.
What is one small thing that almost always makes your day better?
Nothing brightens my day quite like a meaningful conversation with a friend. It can
be about almost anything, as I have a variety of interests. That said, simply being with
someone in an intentional way is deeply meaningful to me. It helps me remember that
my time is best spent not being productive or focusing on my self-improvement (although
these things are important) but paying attention to the people I love.
What advice would you give to a young man discerning a priestly vocation?
Love Jesus. There is nothing more important in discerning any vocation than to fall
madly in love with Jesus Christ. Pray that He will show Himself to you in a new way so
that you might fall more deeply in love with Him. Then, chase after Jesus wherever He
leads you. It will be a crazy adventure, but each step must be born from that first fundamental
love for Jesus. Don’t fixate on what you’re doing, but instead on who you’re
with. If He wants to be with you in the priesthood, He will lead you there.
Our diocesan patron saint, St. Francis Xavier, is also the patron
saint of missions. How do you seek to live as a missionary disciple?
My “missionary goal” has always been to let people know how much Jesus loves them
— to let His love be heard. I try to live that out by first accepting that love for myself.
If I do not let Him love me, then I can’t share His love. For me, growing in missionary
discipleship has always meant growing closer to Jesus so I can receive love from Him
and then share that love. When I let Jesus love me and start to see myself as He sees
me, I begin to change, growing more joyful and more free. When people see this and
ask me about it, I can provide a simple answer: I try to live my life in the love of Christ.
My hope is that this will open them up to learn more about who Jesus is and just how
much He loves them. By living out of Jesus’ love for me, I can invite others to encounter
that love in their own lives.
Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical is entitled Magnifica Humanitas (literally
‘Magnificent Humanity’). For you, what does it mean to be human?
To be human is to love. We are made in the image and likeness of God, and as St.
John tells us, “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). The thing that makes us uniquely human is our
ability to give and receive love. First, we can receive the love of God in a special way,
especially because God became human in the person of Jesus Christ and loved with a
human heart. Second, we can give and share love with each other. The love we receive
from God can flow through us to others, and that changes the world. All our creativity,
intellectual pursuits, and dreams take on new meaning when we understand them as
responses to the love of God to be shared with the world. This is what distinguishes
humans from other creatures and especially from machines. We have the capacity to
receive eternal love from Love Himself. The more deeply we embrace this love and
share it with those around us, the more truly we become magnificently human.
