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Discipleship III
Parish: SS. Edward & Isidore Parish, Flintville
Birthday: January 1
Seminary: St. Francis de Sales
3257 S. Lake Drive
St. Francis, WI 53235-3702
What is the best type of ice cream?
As a former ice cream scooper at an ice cream shop, I believe cookies and cream with peanut butter never disappoints.
What do you consider to be your greatest personal victory?
The greatest personal victory of my life is that I finally built up the courage to say “yes” to the persistent calling of our Lord to enter seminary. I failed to say a full “yes” after my senior year of high school, but now the “yes” is loud and proud.
What was the first thing that you learned about Jesus?
Jesus is AWESOME and he loves me! From a young age, I had family members who showed me the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. During morning and night prayer as a child, my family always finished prayer by saying “I love Jesus,” as well as asking Him to teach me to love others just like Him.
How have you celebrated this Jubilee Year?
In June 2025, I was blessed with the gift to go on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City with the other Kairos men and Fr. Kevin Ripley. Over the
Kairos Year, I came to have a greater devotion to Our Mother. During the pilgrimage, Our Lady showed me how she has been with me throughout my life, leading me to enter seminary. After this experience, I was filled with great hope for what the Lord has in store for me in the future as a seminarian and, God-willing, a priest.
What is your favorite verse from St. Paul’s writings?
2 Corinthians 12:9: “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
Over the last year, “boasting of our weaknesses” has stood out to me. In modern culture, rejoicing in our weakness is not common as we tend to hide our weakness and instead boast about our strengths. St. Paul shows us the example of how God works in our weakness. In our weakness, we open a place for God to help us to become a better version of ourselves. St. Paul accepted his weakness amidst mistreatment and persecution to glorify God. In today’s culture, we face the same problem St. Paul faced. We are challenged with the opportunity to invite Christ into the different mistreatment or stress
of our daily lives. St. Paul has challenged me to look to him and Christ as an example of how I should boast in my weaknesses.
Which virtue exemplified by St. Paul do you most aspire to?
When I think about a virtue exemplified by St. Paul, he demonstrates humility throughout his journey. St. Paul showed humility when he had his conversion from persecuting Christians to being the one persecuted for Christ. He said in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “For whenever I am weak, then I am strong,” because he knew the Lord would give him the strength to endure what was in front of him. I find this to be a beautiful example to strive to emulate in my life as I struggle at times to accept my weakness when I think I need to be strong. God continues to show me that it is okay to be weak in order to have strength in Him. St. Paul sees suffering as an opportunity to glorify God and unite ourselves to Christ on the cross. The humility of St. Paul is shown in his mission as an athlete to win the race for Christ. He humbled himself to become all things to all people so he could win them for Christ. Growing up playing sports, I have seen
that St. Paul’s leadership as a servant shepherd can be effective to bring a team together. I want to attain the virtue of humility as a servant shepherd, just as St. Paul put humility into action in every aspect of his ministry in the Church. St. Paul, pray for us!
Which saint should people invoke for your vocation?
St. Teresa of Calcutta. She lived through simplicity for our Lord – pray for me that I may attain the meek and humble heart she longed for from Christ.
