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MyCatholicVoice

I was ordained in June of 1974, in Bismarck, North Dakota, where my family still lives.  It was a privilege to be ordained in my family's parish with the people who called and nurtured me over the fifteen years of my seminary days.  I had a unique situation in my initial years of formation.  I grew up on a farm, close to a parish served by the priests and brothers of the Society of the Precious Blood.  Because many of the young men, like me, grew up in North Dakota speaking German we did not have the academic background to compete with the young men who were in the seminary in Canton, Ohio.  The Precious Blood community developed a special program called "Precious Blood House of Studies" to invite us into an experience of learning and faith development.  It was during these formative years, living with other young men, where I attended two years of Catholic grade school and high school developing the basics of English and Latin.  This program also helped  me develop an understanding of God's call in my life.  This all began at the age of thirteen.  After learning the basics I went on to finish high school in a formal seminary setting, followed with college and theology.

The Society of the Precious Blood and my family have always been a tremendous support for me.  The Catholic school I attended, served by the Sisters of the Precious Blood, was also very instrumental in helping me lay a foundation for the priesthood.  The principal of my grade school, Sr. Mary Linus, C.PP.S., who is now eighty-nine years old, still keeps in contact with me and keeps me in her prayers.
I had not attended a Catholic school until my eighth grade, and that experience is what I needed to grow in faith and in my vocation.   Even though I did not really consciously choose to become a priest until my last year of college, the people in my life up to that time, were very instrumental in my decision.

It is the positive influence that children so desperately need in our schools.  To me, Catholic education must include  faith-filled people like Sr. Mary Linus, or like so many dedicated teachers in our schools.  Young children can have the best education program in the world, but so much lacks if there are not teachers in their lives who respect them and are good examples of faith and church.  I very much believe that Catholic schools can really make a difference if there are teachers, along with priests and religious in parishes, who can be good examples of faith and of God's Word.  Most people who speak to me about Catholic school experiences do not necessarily talk about their classes, but they will remember teachers who had an impact in their lives and in their faith.  I believe in the concept of children needing positive role models so much I have always found it important to be in the classrooms and on the playgrounds in the parishes I have served.  Hopefully my modeling God's word has invited children and teachers to connect Catholicity with those who mirror the life of Christ.