Discipleship IV

Parish: St. Bernard Parish, Green Bay
Birthday: December 30
Seminary: Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary
700 Terrace Heights
Box #587
Winona, MN 55987-1320

nickgklika@gmail.com

What is the best type of ice cream?
Like John the Baptist, I will be a voice crying out in the wilderness that custard is superior to ice cream as it is richer, more dense, and overall creamier.

What do you consider to be your greatest personal victory?
It is said that making fun of yourself takes that fun away from others, so my answer is learning to cook. At one point in formation, I needed help making scrambled eggs. Now I love to grill and consider hospitality, specifically cooking for others, to be one of my charisms.

What was the first thing that you learned about Jesus?
Presumably, while preparing me for baptism shortly after being born, my parents would have taught me that Jesus loves me and were so excited for me to be baptized into His family as His beloved son. While a very simple sentiment, it remains the greatest thing I know about Jesus to this day.

How have you celebrated this Jubilee Year?
It was a special honor to begin this Jubilee Year in January by serving for Bishop Ricken at the Cathedral as he celebrated his Jubilee Mass, 25 years after being ordained a bishop by St. Pope John Paul II. Another meaningful way I celebrated was by completing the Walk to Mary in May, something I have done for many years. This year felt especially grace filled, with the Shrine designated as an official pilgrimage site. Along the way, Our Lady reminded me, again and again, of the deep hope I have in her Son’s infinite and merciful love.

What is your favorite verse from St. Paul’s writings?
In Chapter 8 of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Paul is pleading with the church in Rome to live in the Spirit of God rather than living according to the flesh. For context, Paul had just warned earlier, in Chapter 7, about the interior conflict between good and evil and how “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Rom 7:15). How often have you and I found ourselves in this very situation of knowing the life of virtue we want to pursue, and yet continuing to give in to the temptations that plague our good and holy desires? This is where Paul’s words fill me with the most hope. “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18). It is always in the hope of the glory of the future resurrection that we are saved from our own futility and spurred on by the promise of an unimaginable inheritance.

Which virtue exemplified by St. Paul do you most aspire to?
In the Gospels, Matthew talks about knowing a tree by its fruits. Looking at the life and ministry of St. Paul, the fruits are abundant as Paul planted and cultivated the seeds of virtue in his life. While reflecting on the many virtues that St. Paul possessed, I feel drawn to so many of them. Fortitude in preaching the Gospel even to those who actively sought to kill him, prudence in how he went about sharing the truth in love, humility in knowing that everything he did must be for the greater glory of God, etc. However, there is one virtue that ties all of the others together, one that if gone without, all other virtues cease to exist, and that virtue is love. Chapter 13 of Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians is one we are all probably familiar with if we have ever attended a wedding, as it is Paul’s exhortation on the way of love. What Paul is expounding upon is that love is the one virtue that gives life to all others. One can have the gift of prophecy, or faith that can move mountains or even be faced with martyrdom. However, if they lack love, they will cease to prophecy, mountains will stay where they are, and they will even renounce their faith altogether at the prospect of losing their lives. “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but
the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13). If I have love, I have all.

Which saint should people invoke for your vocation?
St. Paul. Please pray that I too may desire to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified and to follow Him unreservedly wherever He leads me.