CHRISTMAS Newsletter from the Vocation Office

Fr. Jeff ShoonerVicar for Priests Vocation Director

Merry Christmas, Brothers,

As we approach this season of great joy in the Nativity of Christ, we rec-ognize God’s presence with us and the newness that He brings. In joy and sorrow, accomplishments and trials, grand events and small everyday activities, Christ has been with us this past year. In the year to come, we continue to be called to deepen our trust in God’s provi-dence; we continue to celebrate the Year of Faith and seek the ardor of the Spirit for the new evangelization. May we be full of expectation for the adventure of min-istry and following Christ.

The following pages contain letters from our seminar-ians. They are thoughtful, caring, dedicated, generous men filled with great love for those in our Archdiocese. They continue to grow in Christ and in discerning God’s call in their lives through their formation. I am thankful for their openness in this process and recogniz-ing that God works in different ways, in different times through each of us.

We have two transitions occurring as part of this dis-cernment process. Effective at the end of the term, Sean Raley will be leaving formation. I am very thank-ful for the dedication, study and prayer Sean has put into his formation and the open heart he offered in the process. We will miss him and wish him only the best. We are also welcoming back a familiar face to the forma-tion program, Shayne Duvall. As you all know, Shayne has worked in the Archdiocese in Evangelization and as the head of the Advancement Office at Holy Cross High School. He has also continued to discern God’s

call, which has led him to return to priestly formation at Saint Meinrad Seminary beginning again in January. We welcome him back. Please keep both men in your prayers as they continue their journey in Christ.

I will continue to pray for you daily in the year ahead. Thank you for all you do daily in living out your own call, extending God’s call to all, and encouraging those seeking to follow.

Fraternally yours,

Jeff

Ms. Linda C. BankerAssociate Director for Formation

Greetings from the Vocation Of-fice!

Looking back at this year, we’ve lost good and faithful priests, friends and our dear Archbishop Kelly. It reminds me quite clearly of all those – for many generations – who have gone before us. We stand on the example and bless-ings of many shoulders. I pray as future generations look back to our days, they will call us blessings, too, for building up Our Lord’s Kingdom and caring for Our Holy Mother the Church to the best of our ability.

Challenge, change and worldy peril seem unending some days; but constant for each of us are these Saints who have gone before us and the merciful hand of God to protect and heal us. Constant is courage we find in Mary’s ‘yes’ to carry and give birth to Our King, Our Savior. Constant is our faith and trust in He who sent him. We are so blessed!

We are grateful to our priests who have hosted, men-tored and supervised our seminarians this past year. Thanks to our priests who went out of their way to visit the fellows at seminary and take them to dinner, keep-ing them connected to the rest of us here in the Arch-diocese. Thanks for sending a note or card in the mail. We are all grateful for each prayer and gesture of kind-ness. We certainly could not maintain such a high level of integrity in our ministry without the support of each of you, especially your prayers.

Finally, thanks be to God for three upcoming ordina-tions – three fellows to be ordained to the priesthood, and one to be ordained a deacon. What a humble bless-ing and honor it is for me to serve in this role. You are always in my prayers for health, happiness and joy in your hearts. After all, a happy priest is the best adver-tisement for new vocations.

Peace of Christ, Ms. Linda C. Banker

Carrie WilliamsonAssociate Director for Vocations

Greetings,

As I write this letter I have finished a bit more than a year in the Vocation

Office. It has been a challenging yet extremely rewarding year. I have met many wonderful people and learned so much. I am thankful to all of you who support our office in a multitude of ways: to opening your doors to vocation awareness programs, hosting seminarians and events, offering ideas and feedback…the list is endless. We have experienced great success in creating a culture of vocations through our essay contests, visits, Dinner with the Archbishop, our Guys for God retreat and our high school girls overnight, our first “Nun Run,” the “Men for Christ” discernment retreat, our first REV event and many other activities as well as opportunities to meet many of you, your staff and those whom you serve in your parishes.

As we enter the new liturgical year and approach 2013, I also finish the end of my studies at St. Meinrad. If all goes well, my coursework will be finished by next fall and I will settle into the business of writing. I am thank-ful for the support of Fr. Jeff Shooner and Fr. Mark Spalding, in particular, but also to all of you who have offered your prayers and words of assurance over the last two years of my classes. I am very blessed.

Many thanks and many prayers of support to all of you in the year ahead!

Peace, Carrie Williamson

Below: Cooper Ray leads the group in song and prayer inside St. Gabriel. (Photo: Rhonda Becker)

Dinner with the Archbishop

Above: Fr. John Schwartzlose, Pastor of St. Gabriel, and seminarian David Farrell, enjoying dinner with their table. (Photo: Rhonda Becker, St. Gabriel)

Nick BrownTheology IV Saint Meinrad

Greetings Fathers!

The Christmas season is upon us once more and for me, it is my last Christmas season in seminary. This school year is flying by as always. Things are busy here for a Deacon, but it is all very good. The class this semester that is the “big one” would be Sacrament of Reconciliation. How hum-bling it is to learn the fine art of Confession. Amidst the challenges, it is a true blessing to finally be at this point.

The rest of my time, apart from St Meinrad, has been spent with Fr. Dale Cieslik at Mount Washington and Taylorsville. Over the semester, I have been going there about once a month to deacon and preach. It’s been a joy, and it is always exciting for me to get to experience areas outside of the city.

It was wonderful to get to be with many of you for the Presbyteral Convocation. As I write this, I am about 6 months away from ordination. I look forward immense-ly to receiving the gift of Holy Orders and becoming part of the Louisville Presbyterate. What a six years it has been!

Peace, Deacon Nick Brown

(Nick was born and raised in Louisville and is a member of St. Barnabas parish. He previously attended Bishop Brute Semi-nary in Indianapolis IN)

Steven HenriksenTheology IV Sacred Heart School of Theology

“For everything there is a season; and a time for every matter under heaven (Ec-clesiastes 3:1).”

Dear Friends:

Whenever I cite the verse above, I feel a need to add, “Turn, turn, turn,” in the spirit of the Byrd’s musical rendition of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes! And, in many regards, it is a season for turning: backward in reflection upon my seminary experience and forward in anticipation of my first assignment.

As many of you know, the Archbishop recently an-nounced that a date had been set for my ordination as a priest: Saturday, February 2, 2013 (11:00am at Holy Trinity parish). I---along with so many others---greeted the Archbishop’s announcement with great joy! Please know that with more personal invitations being provid-ed to each of you shortly, that I hope you will mark this day on your calendars either to attend or to keep me in special prayer.

My studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology will con-clude in early December. After over five years in semi-nary, I am sure that you can appreciate the mixture of relief as well as anticipation which accompanies gradua-tion! I have enjoyed my experience here in the Milwau-kee area and will miss the many friends who have been a part of my life as a seminarian.

However, it is, indeed, time to move on and begin what I trust will be years of service with the Archdiocese.

I am especially grateful to those of you who have sup-ported me over the past years. To Fathers John Burke, Don Hill and Donald Goetz: thank you for hosting me during my summer ministry assignments. To Fathers Bill Bowling and Jeff Shooner: my great appreciation goes to you for your mentorship as “my” Vocation Di-rector during this journey. Finally, I want to recognize Father Mark Spalding who not only supervised my as-signment in LaGrange (at Immaculate Conception) but also my previous summer’s experience at Holy Trinity. And there are so many others---I hope to have a chance to see you either at the ordination or soon thereafter at gatherings of the presbyterate.

So, as we enter the season in which we anticipate and celebrate the birth of Our Lord, I begin my own Advent journey with a particular sense of gratitude and with a heart full of thanksgiving for those who have supported---and sometimes carried---me to this point.

Peace and Joy, Deacon Steven Henriksen

(Steve was born and raised in the Lutheran Church and entered the Catholic Church in 1983 as a young adult. He has had a career in both political jobs and public service, most recently having worked in the Illinois Student Assistance Commission while residing in Deerfield, Illinois. His mom lives in Floyd Knobs, IN.)

Christopher LubeckeTheology IV Saint Mary’s University & Seminary, Baltimore

Greetings from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore,

“To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.”

This quote is from the entrance antiphon for the 1st Sunday of Advent. The psalmist tells us is that if we raise our minds and souls to God; we will find Him whom we trust. As a result, we enter into a mutual rela-tionship with our God as we begin this new church year.

By the time you read this, our semester will be over and all of us seminarians will be back in the Archdiocese assisting in our various ways in our home parishes. For me, I will be leaving on pilgrimage to the Holy Land from December 20 to January 4. My travels this Christ-mas will include a short stay in Jordan, followed by one week in Israel, and will conclude with a week in Egypt. My plan during this pilgrimage is to read both Pope Benedict XVI’s new book “Jesus of Nazareth: the Infan-cy Narratives”, along with the Holy Father’s Apostolic Exhortation “Church in the Middle East.”

I am excited that in addition to the normal pilgrim sites we plan to visit, our group will also be meeting with lo-cal church leaders in Jerusalem, Cairo, and even in Al-exandria. Additionally, while we are in Bethlehem, our group will also visit the Holy Family Hospital of Bethle-hem, a site noted as the premier maternity hospital and newborn critical care center located in the West Bank.

I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2013. I humbly ask for your prayers as I return to the seminary in January for my final semester, one filled with comprehensive exams in late January and early February. Please be assured that I will continue to keep each one of you, along with our great Archdiocese, in my prayers as well.

Peace, Chris Lubecke

(Chris was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He joined the military and served honorably for 20 years, serving his last years at Fort Knox and then doing consulting work upon retirement)

Adam CarricoTheology III Saint Meinrad

Dear Archdiocesan Priests,

The season of anticipation is upon us yet again and I am without doubt eagerly waiting the coming months. While, in a very real way, my life in seminary has been full of anticipation of the priesthood, this year has proven even more so. I find that this is the case, because, as the final steps of preparation for my diaconate ordination come and go, I have realized that this period in my life is also coming to fruition. With my diaconate ordination only months away, what I have been working and striving towards these many years is within sight. I am at the same time shocked that it has gone so quickly, as well as pleased to see how I have grown through formation.

Seminary formation is full of excellent lessons. One lesson that I have tried to learn this year is that self-sufficient, singular people, are ineligible for a vocational

Deacons Christ Lubecke, Steven Henricksen and Nicholas Brown kneel in prepartation for their ordination. (Photo courtesy of The Record.)

call (no matter which vocation that is); nevertheless it is through Christ’s Incarnational participation in our lives that we find that which makes us worthy for those vo-cational calls. This true spirit of humility and gratitude is something that I pray I will be able to appreciate, not only through these Advent and Christmas seasons, but throughout the years of ministry that lay open before me. This lesson helped me survive my summer of CPE at Baptist East, which was challenging and rewarding in so many ways. I truly feel blessed to have been with many people in some of their most intimate and terrifying mo-ments. Those blessed moments when I had an opportu-nity to form a relationship with a patient, family mem-ber, or staff person at Baptist East helped me to realize the value of relationship in ministry all the more. I can only begin to imagine the limitless possibilities for form-ing ministry relationships that exist in parish ministry! I am being enlightened to this in my ministry assignment for Saint Meinrad, working under Fr. Dale Cieslik out at Saint Francis Xavier and All Saints parishes. I have enjoyed the experience thus far and am confident that many more opportunities for learning will occur over the next years and a half. I also remain indebted to Fr. Mark Spalding, who generously hosted me over the sum-mer, and listened to what must have been hours of sto-ries regarding CPE fears and confrontations. Following my rants, Fr. Mark typically had some subtle, or not so subtle, piece of advice to offer that would make the next day, or midnight trip to the hospital, a bit more possible. Of course, I could never have gotten this far without the leadership and example of Archbishop Kurtz, and Fr. Jeff Shooner, as well as the loving concern of Linda and Car-rie. I am a better, more confident, and more prepared for ministry because of these people and countless others, including several Archdiocesan priests, who have been great examples and role models for me and the other men in formation.

Thank you all for who you are and for what you do. I cer-tainly look forward to joining you in building the King-dom of God shortly. I will continue to pray for you and the success of your ministry and I ask, if at all possible, to remember me in your prayer particularly in this season of renewed vision.

Peace, Adam Carrico

(Adam was born and raised in Louisville. He is a recent gradu-ate of the University of Louisville and a member of St. Aloysius parish in Pewee Valley)

Peter BucaloTheology II Saint Meinrad School of Theology

As I write this letter to you, I am still coming down from the incredible Thanksgiving dinner that I and nine other St. Meinrad seminarians were blessed to share with Fr. Ron Knott, who treated us to a five course meal at Volare, on Saturday of Thanksgiving week. I still feel like the guy in the Monty Python film, who exploded after eating everything on a restaurant menu. My week of Atkins progress has been thoroughly undone, but it was worth it. I am so grateful to you good and faithful priests for your continued generosity. Ear-lier this fall Fr. Dale Cieslik and Fr. Don Goetz treated the Louisville guys to dinner (one that lasted longer than we intended, but it was good company nonetheless). My advice is to never walk into a restaurant full of High School cheerleaders when there is only one person in the kitchen. I am sure that Frs. Dale and Don will be happy to share the details with you.

This past summer I was privileged to attend the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska. The ten-week program included an eight day silent retreat as well as some intense course work, and I experienced signifi-cant spiritual growth in spite of the long, hot, drought-laden time spent Creighton University. I don’t think the Sherman-Minton Bridge ever looked as good as it did the day I returned home to Louisville.

It is hard for me to believe that I am now in my fourth year of formation here at St. Meinrad. As I am sure each of you remembers, second theology is a difficult year, full of challenges that can put ones discernment to the test; it has been no different for me. I have struggled at times, occasionally questioning whether I have what it takes to serve God in this way, or whether I am really being called into this kind of service at all. Yet in the midst of those struggles, I have received numerous affirmations, from the formation staff, my fellow students, Fr. Jeff Shooner, and even from Archbishop Kurtz himself. Sometimes in the most intense periods of self-examination, God speaks to us through others, and helps us to hear what we may have a tendency to drown out with our own thoughts. I still recall Fr. Philip Erickson’s comment to me that, “seminary is not the priesthood.” I am so grateful to those who continue to urge me on when I am unable to see the light with my own eyes.

And so it goes. We are now heading into the last few weeks of the semester, and all they entail. Please pray for me that I may keep my eyes on the prize and run the race well. Know also of my prayers for all of you, and of my deepest gratitude for your dedication to the priesthood,

and for your support of those of us in formation. May God bless you all with a joyous Advent and Christmas season.

Peter Bucalo

(Peter worked for many years as a local radio personality on WDJX prior to entering priesthood formation. He is a member of St. Louis Bertrand Parish)

Jason HarrisTheology II Theological College

Fathers,

I hope this letter finds each of you well during this busy Advent sea-son. May God continue to bless you and your parishes as we approach this Holy Christmas Season.

As a part of the second year at CUA, I have been tak-ing the Basic Supervised Ministry course. Through this course, I work as a Chaplain at Georgetown University Hospital. Every time that I visit with patients, I am so humbled by the patients’ openness and willingness to share their life story with me. It reminds me so much of the great work that priests can do with the power of the Holy Spirit. I have been so blessed and have learned so many things about myself as a result of the class and my

interactions with patients. I wonder sometimes if I am receiving more from the visit than the actual patient. Who really is the patient?

The other course which has been thoroughly interest-ing is my Pentateuch class. This is the first time that I have officially studied a portion of the Old Testament in depth. In the readings and assignments for this class, I am beginning to understand more about the people of the Old Testament and their struggles to accept the rule of God and not follow other idols. In particular, I was introduced to other creation myths from other cultures that influenced some of the authors of the Old Testa-ment.

I have been so fascinated this year by the things that I am learning and studying as a Second Theologian. And the year is only half ove!. Thanks to each of you and your parishes for all the prayers and support for all the seminarians. I feel so blessed to have such a great sup-port network back in Louisville. It gives me strength and courage to continue this, the Lord’s adventure.

May the peace of Christ be with each one of you during this season of joyful anticipation.

Peace in Christ, Jason Harris

(Jason grew up in Evansville Indiana and, after graduation from college, he worked as a middle school teacher in Henry County. Jason is a member of Annunciation parish in Shelbyville)

Below: Kirby Rust and Robert Barnell.

Above: Brandon DeToma with his dad, Michael, and Fr. Donald Goetz.

Seminarian and Family Summer Picnic

Shayne DuvallTheology II St. Meinrad

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. For you I wait all the long day, because of your goodness, Lord.” –Psalm 25:5.

First off, let me say how happy I am to be back in for-mation as a seminarian for our archdiocese. I want to thank you for your support and encouragement these past two years, as many of you have helped me make this decision to return to the seminary. I tend to forget, so often, that our time and our plans are not necessar-ily the same as what God has in mind. The above verse from the Psalms helps me remember just that. It was a blessing to work in evangelization ministry for the arch-diocese and it was a blessing to return to my alma mater, Holy Cross High School, as I directed their Office of Advancement. I have learned so much from these two opportunities as they allowed me to continue to min-ister. They have brought me closer to Christ and gave me a deeper understanding of how He works in and through others. I look forward to doing God’s will as I discern priesthood. May you and the people you serve have a blessed and joy filled Christmas.

Peace, Shayne Duvall

(Shayne grew up in Louisville at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. He is a graduate of Holy Cross High School, the University of Louisville, and just recently completed his Masters in Theologi-cal Studies from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theol-ogy. His parents are Randy and Kay and he has an older sister, Heather. Shayne has worked in the Archdiocese furing the last two years as the Coordinator for Evangelization and as Director of Advancement at Holy Cross High School. He was the public address/stadium announcer for the Louisville Bats for the 2012 season and is active in the athletic department at the University of Louisville.)

Wilfredo FernandezTheology I Sacred Heart Seminary

Dear Priests of the Archdiocese of Louisville,

The birth of our Savior is approach-

ing and the end of the year with it. This year I have received so many blessings. On May 5, I graduated from Marian University and from Bishop Simon Bruté Col-lege Seminary. After I graduated, I had the opportunity to go to Bolivia and I spent seven weeks there with my family.

My youngest brother got married and my youngest sis-ter, who lives in Cuba, came to the wedding. It was a blessing for my family because the whole family was to-gether for the first time in five years. After I got back from Bolivia, I worked with Father Bill Bowling and Fa-ther Chris Rhodes in Lebanon and Calvary. I spent one month there. It was a nice experience.

In August I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where I started my first year at the Major seminary. I can’t believe that I am in Theology 1. However, Mount St. Mary’s of the West was not the right place for me. After praying and consulting with my spiritual director and Father Jeff, I will continue my formation at Sacred Heart in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. I went to visit there in November and I had a great experience. I spent Thanksgiving with my dear friend Father Franklin Duran, a Bolivian na-tive.

After our annual Christmas gathering in December, I will go to Bolivia and spend the holidays with my fam-ily. I will meet my two newborn nieces. One is three months old and the other one will be two weeks old.

May God continue blessing your ministry and your families.

Sincerely, Willy Fernandez

(Willy grew up in Bolivia and began studies for the priesthood there. He came to the United States over three years ago and spent the spring semester at JCTCS while he discerned)

Sean McKinleyTheology I Theological College

Dear Friends in Christ,

I pray that you have become more healthy, wealthy, and wise this year. For me, this year has brought many blessings although some were in disguise. During the spring semester, I was blessed to be able to complete my studies in philoso-phy and be accepted into the School of Theological and

Religious Studies at Catholic University. I also received the ministry of acolyte here at Theological College in February.

Over the summer months, I was blessed to be able to attend the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, NE. Being able to experience the Ignatian Spiritual Ex-ercises in an eight day retreat and some of the other prayer tools have been a great benefit to my spiritual life especially as I am headed into theological studies. Unfortunately, my niece went into the hospital on her twelve month checkup and soon she was diagnosed with an extremely rare strain of leukemia. She spent most of the next five months living and growing up at Kosair. Although it was difficult being away from my family dur-ing that time, I was blessed with the resources to visit them and help out in small ways. I want to thank all of you who have prayed for and offered their services for little Eleanor. She was discharged from the hospital before Thanksgiving and we were blessed to be able to spend the holiday together in her home and she is now in remission.

With the fall semester, I have been blessed to begin stud-ies in theology along with a new all blackoutfit. We also had to weather Hurricane Sandy at the seminary, but we did not see the brunt of the storm. We also were able to bond over the experience of maintaining the seminary, cooking for everyone, and cleaning for the couple of days that the staff could not come in.

This past year I have been blessed to bond closer with my family and friends, to strengthen my spiritual life, and to take a huge step forward on this journey in for-mation. I hope to see many of you soon and may you all have a prayer-filled Advent and a blessed Christmas!

Pax Christi, Sean McKinley

(Sean grew up in Hardin County and graduated from the Uni- versity of Louisville. He worked in Huntsville, Alabama when he discerned to enter seminary and returned to Louisville)

David FarrellPre-Theology II Saint Meinrad

Dear Archdiocesan Priests,

It is a pleasure to write to you this season to reflect on God’s work in

my life. My first summer placement was at St. Marga-ret Mary with Fr. Stephen Pohl. I had the opportunity to learn from the talented parish staff there. I also en-joyed many pastoral visits with Fr. Pohl to the elderly and homebound. To live and to serve within the parish community brought me joy and affirmed my continued discernment of priesthood.

I am now in my second year of formation at Saint Mein-rad. You may be anxious to read a summary of all that I am reading in my philosophy classes, but alas there is not time, so I will tell you about everything else I do. Each Wednesday I help lead a Theological Reflection Group for teenagers at St. Boniface in nearby Fulda. On Saturdays, I collect and split firewood for the needy in our community. It is wonderful to have time to serve others twice a week. Sports and exercise are a welcome routine as well. We hosted soccer teams from Bishop Brute College Seminary and the Josephinum for a very fun weekend tournament. I look forward to traveling with the basketball team next semester. Soon, my first two years of seminary will end in graduation (Already!!?) and I will begin another summer of formation, prob-ably at the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska.

Spiritually, I am much at peace. I have been blessed with a wonderful spiritual director, and I can feel that my relationship with Christ has grown in the past year. We have a new image of St. Joseph holding Christ the in-fant in our chapel. I like to meditate on that image of fatherhood and love. Needless to say, I’m looking for-ward to the spiritual blessings of the Christmas Season.

Thank you all for the love and support you have given me on many different occasions this year. I know that this is a busy and important time of year for you and for the people whom you serve. I pray that your Advent and Christmas will be full of joy and Christ’s presence.

Peace on Earth, David Farrell

(David is from Brandenburg, Kentucky. One of four children, he has two brothers and a sister. His parents are Joseph and Pa-tricia. David grew up in St. John the Apostle Parish and went to Meade County Schools. He graduated from Murray State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Wildlife Biology.)

Michael MartinPre-Theology II Sacred Heart School of Theology

Dear Priests of the Archdiocese of Louisville,

I sincerely hope you all have a won-derful Blessed Christmas and con-tinued good health in the New Year. Thank you for all you do for God’s people of the Archdiocese of Louis-ville.

I currently live at Sacred Heart Seminary. For the last 2 ½ years, I have been studying at Cardinal Stritch Uni-versity in Milwaukee. As of January 2013, my studies will move to Sacred Heart. Each day has been a reward-ing experience for me and I look forward to all the new year holds.

I feel truly blessed to be a seminarian for the Archdio-cese of Louisville, with such wonderful priests, religious, and fellow seminarians. I want to give a big thank you to Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, for being a wonderful shep-herd to God’s people. We in the Archdiocese are truly blessed with having you as our Archbishop. A few words of special thanks to everyone in the Vocation Office for

all you do: Fr. Jeff, Linda Banker, and Carrie William-son. Many thanks also to Fr. Roy Stiles, Fr. John Burke, and Fr. Toan Do. I am truly blessed having met such wonderful priests! You are wonderful friends and men-tors and I am deeply grateful.

Peace & God Bless always, Michael Martin

(Michael is from Southern Indiana and was an affiliate with the Archdiocese while he lived in the House of Discernment at St. Bartholomew.)

Casey SandersPre-Theology II Theological College

Happy Advent to each one of you! Having just celebrated Thanksgiv-ing, I realize how truly grateful I am for the witness that each of you gives to Christ’s simple but profound command to come, fol-low me. In my few short years of being with the Arch-diocese of Louisville (after all, I’ve only been Catholic

At the ordination of Frs. David Carr, Stuart Priddy and Chris Rhodes. (Photo courtesy of The Record.)

for 4.5 years now, and what a wild ride it’s been!), I have already had the pleasure of getting to know many of you, and what an inspiration you have been for me. I look forward to getting to know more of you over the coming years and seeing how Jesus is at work within you.

My second year of formation here at Theological Col-lege has taken quite a different shape than my first. Last year, I mostly worked on transitioning into seminary and understanding what it’s all about. This year, I am really beginning to see and focus on the areas of myself that God is calling me to bring into formation so that I can be the man He needs me to be as priest. Part of this awakening has helped me to understand that Christ simply calls me not because who I am not, but rather be-cause of who I am. What a great message this is to give to the world: God loves you and accepts you and simply asks you to glorify Him precisely as you are. Once we truly believe that in our hearts, how easy our yokes and light our burdens become! Of course, I haven’t quite yet figured out how to get out of the way totally and let God do His thing, so I’ve still got some work to do. But that’s where faith and formation come in! All in all, it’s been a great and enlightening semester, though certainly not without its challenges, and I look forward to seeing where He takes me in the next one!

I pray that each of you continues to be blessed with an enjoyable and life-giving priesthood.

Have a blessed Advent and God bless, Casey Sanders

(Casey grew up in southern Indiana. He was baptized and received into the Catholic faith at Easter Vigil in 2008 at the Cathedral of the Assumption. Casey holds a BS in Mathemat-ics from the University of Evansville.)

Robert BarnellPre-Theology I Mount Saint Mary’s of the West

Dear Priests of the Archdiocese,

My name is Robert Barnell, and I grew up in Louisville and belong to St. Margaret Mary. I went to Indiana University in Bloomington and then moved to Indianapolis, where I worked for a year at the Catholic Charities Refugee Program.

This fall I started Pre-Theology at Mt. St. Mary’s Semi-

nary of the West, in Cincinnati. We are just now start-ing winter quarter, and I am really enjoying my classes. I have seven classmates, from the dioceses of Cincinnati, Toledo, and Youngstown. One of my philosophy pro-fessors actually commutes from Springfield, KY—so he probably belongs to one of your parishes! In addition to ancient philosophy, logic, and catechism, I’m taking Latin and Hebrew. On Thursdays we have Spanish table during lunch.

The seminary is a close-knit community. Only about fifty seminarians and eleven priests live here, and we spend a lot of time together, including praying many of the hours together. There seems to be an emphasis on music, since we are all required to be in the schola, and we rotate being the cantor at mass. On Wednes-days we have community night. Earlier in the year we would play sports outside; now we spend more time in Bar-Jonah. We recently had “Taste of the Dioceses,” and so I made some Kentucky bourbon balls, which these Ohioans really took a liking to. Though it is a small seminary, it is part of the Athenaeum of Ohio, which is an educational center for the Archdiocese of Cincin-nati, so many people from around the region, including deacon candidates and lay ministry students, come here for classes and other events. This past quarter one of my professors was the local Dominican prior.

For apostolic works, I have been volunteering at the Old St. Mary Pregnancy Center in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood near downtown. Mainly I have been in the donation distribution center giving out clothes and other baby supplies, but I have also gotten to lead Bi-ble studies and sit in on a chastity class. Though our world’s problems are formidable, it’s exciting knowing what transformation God can bring about, one soul at a time. For the winter quarter, I’ll be switching to an agency called Su Casa, where I’ll help Spanish-speakers learn math skills in order to obtain their GED.

I’m looking forward to experiencing a summer pasto-ral assignment, in order to understand better what it would mean to be a priest. I also look forward to better knowing you and our Archdiocese. I will keep you in my prayers. Please pray for me, too. May you have a prayer-ful Advent and a peaceful and joyful Christmas!

In Christ, Robert Barnell

(Robert is in his first year of studies at Mount Saint Mary’s of the West in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents are Thom and Joan Barnell. Robert is one of three children. His home parish is St.

Margaret Mary where he attended grade school. He is a gradu-ate of St. Xavier High School. He attended Indiana University in Bloomington and received a Bachelor’s degree with a double-major in Spanish and Geography.)

Brandon DeTomaPre-Theology I Saint Meinrad

Dear Archdiocesan Priests,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

These words have summed up for me what formation into the Christian community means for all Chris-tians; including, but not limited to, those of us being formed as seminarians. As the Church moves into the Advent season, a season for opening up your heart to God through the celebration of His only son, may we continue to put God’s will in the forefront of our heart.

This first semester of formation at St. Meinrad has thus far been one of exciting challenges: getting moved in, going through orientation, navigating the never ending stairwells and hallways to getting your first Latin test back. The most rewarding experience, (thus far), has

been the fellowship being established within the First Philosophy class. Another rewarding experience is my ministry assignment in observing various women’s reli-gious communities within Indiana and Kentucky. This has opened my mind to the great gift these communities offer to the Church and I have been humbled by their great faith in God.

I am enjoying my time in seminary at Saint Meinrad. Thank you all your prayers for my brother seminarians and vocations for our Archdiocese.

Ad multos annos. Oremus pro invicem.

Brandon DeToma

(Brandon is in his first year of studies at St. Meinrad. He is the son of Michael and the late Geri DeToma. He has one brother. Brandon is a graduate of Trinity High School and Transylvania University. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Religion. Brandon served in the Army from 2007-2012 in both a Special Forces and Aviation unit. His home parish is Epiphany.)

Anthony CecilCollege II Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary

Dear Priests,

It’s hard to believe that this time of year is here once again! Advent is upon us, and celebrating the birth of our Lord is right around the corner. This is by far my favorite time of year—it is a time filled with joy. It is my prayer that this letter finds you enjoying this time of preparation for the Christmas season.

I’m deep into my second year of seminary, and the end of the semester is quickly approaching. Academically, my philosophical studies have consisted of two courses that were offered this semester: Plato and Aristotle, and Logic. Both have definitely been a challenge, but a chal-lenge that I have greatly benefited from.

The sophomore year of seminary formation at Bishop Simon Bruté is built on learning to focus on others more than we have before. Since we will not get a min-istry assignment until next year, our emphasis is on ser-vice to others, especially the poor. This has been a great blessing for me, and has opened my eyes to how blessed I truly am, and how faithful people in even the worst cir-cumstances can be. I have learned how much one must Tony Cecil and Casey Sanders at CLI.

be a man dedicated to the service of others.

It has been a very exciting and fruitful year. Our semi-nary is growing at an astounding rate! We now have about thirty-five seminarians representing nine different dioceses. The chapel was just renovated and expanded, and a new wing is being added onto the building which will house twenty more seminarians and two priests. A new dining hall is also being added, as we’ve grown to our maximum in the current refectory. Besides that, the Indianapolis Archdiocese was blessed with the appoint-ment of a new Archbishop after over a year of waiting. The seminarians were very blessed to be able to attend his installation at the Cathedral on December 3rd.

I am very thankful for this break, but am excited to get back to school and continue formation! I want to thank all of you for your prayers, your support of the seminar-ians, and being such positive examples for all of us. I hope that you enjoy these Advent and Christmas seasons.

Peace in Christ, Tony Cecil

(Tony is the son of Anthony Cecil of Lebanon Junction and Vio-let Vincent of Elizabethtown. He is a 2011 graduate of Bethle-hem High School in Bardstown. Tony is a member of St. James in Elizabethtown.)

Kirby RustCollege II Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

Archdiocesan Presbyterate,

Greetings during this Advent! With great joy I am writing to inform you of how my initial steps of seminary life has gone so far. I arrived in St. Louis in mid-August at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and so far my formation has been nothing short of fruitful and rewarding.

After pounding my alarm clock at 4:45 every morning, I prepare for morning meditation with the Angelus and Morning Prayer in the chapel with my brother seminar-ians. So far I have been able to engage the youth of St. Louis by working with the Sisters of Charity in their af-terschool program, and also visiting parishes to give wit-ness as a seminarian during this Advent. I cherish both of these facets of seminary life dearly, although the chil-dren can be difficult at times. One of the most difficult things that I have found in seminary thus far is Latin. For those gifted souls who are able to catch onto the lan-

guage quickly and master it, I envy you.

Kenrick-Glennon Seminary has been under a massive renovation this past year and I was lucky enough to have Bishop Rice (the college director), take Fr. Jeff Shooner and myself on a tour at the end of November. Knowing that all of the funds that provided for such a project came strictly from the People of God is very moving. I invite you to check out Kenrick’s website at kenrick.edu and watch a brief episode where Archbishop Carlson, parents of seminarians, and all those involved with the renova-tion thank the generous people of St. Louis who made the renovation possible.

As I continue to embark on this great mission, I request that you pray for me as I assure you that I pray for the Archdiocese of Louisville daily. Thank you!

Et Verbum caro factum est. Et habitavit in nobis.

Fide et caritate, Kirby Rust

(Kirby is in his second year of college studies at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. He is from Boston, Kentucky. Kirby is the son of Chuck and Beth Rust. Kirby and his twin, Jodey, are the youngest of five children. He attended Bethlehem High School and his home parish is St. Catherine of Alexandria in New Haven.)

Daniel RossCollege I Bishop Simon Bruté Seminary

Dear Archdiocesan Priests,

May the peace of Christ be with you during this time of preparation for Our Lord’s birth. I am glad to have this opportunity to tell you about what is happening in my life and my for-mation now. Because I am new I will introduce myself first. My name is Daniel Ross and I am a first year colle-giate studying at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis.

My first semester here at Bruté has been amazing. I have met many wonderful seminarians and priests; and in these short four months I have become close friends with many of them. I never imagined I would meet so many great guys who are passionately seeking God in their lives. It is truly a blessing to be here and I love every minute of it.

Upcoming Dates:

January 13-19: National Vocation Awareness Week

February 2, 11:00 am: Presbyteral Ordination of Deacon Steven Henriksen (Holy Trinity Church, Louisville)

February 3: World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life Jubilee Mass, Holy Trinity, Louisville, 2:00 pm

April 27, 11:00 am: Diaconate Ordination Adam Carrico (St. Aloysius, Pewee Valley)

May 25, 11:00 am: Presbyteral Ordination Deacons Nicholas Brown and Christopher Lubecke (Cathedral of the Assumption)

In terms of academics, classes are going well. At Bruté we have all our classes at Marian University which is a Franciscan university. Marian, because it is a liberal arts school, requires all its students to study a wide variety of subjects in addition to the courses that pertain specifi-cally to the student’s major. I am currently taking: his-tory, English, philosophy, theology, and Latin. These keep me quite busy, but I enjoy learning about all kinds of things so it has been fun.

It is so nice to be here and be able to go to Mass every day. The formation meetings and spiritual direction I receive are a great aid to my growth in the spiritual life, but the time spent with our Eucharistic Lord is simply unparalleled. Human formation is a primary focus for Bruté in the way the seminarians are prepared for priest-hood. I have learned much about myself and the way I relate to others in the short time I have been here.

As we finish up this semester I am looking forward to Christmas break and seeing family and friends back home, as well as my brother seminarians from the Arch-diocese. At the same time, I am already anticipating what is to come in the spring semester, with the trip in January to D.C. for the March for Life and the new classes I’ll have. I am certainly looking forward to it! Please pray for me as I continue to discern God’s will for my life. I will be praying for you.

Yours in Christ, Daniel Ross

(Daniel is originally from Washington, DC. He is the son of Dante (Donna) Ross and Marcia (Paul) Gilbert and has 2 brothers and four sisters. His family was chosen as the Knights of Columbus International Family in 2012. His home parish is Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Campbellsville. He is in his first year of college at Marian University and lives at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary.)

Adam Carrico, Willy Fernandez and Casey Sanders at St. Meinrad for graduation, May 2012.