Caleb LaRue, a graduate of Millard West High School in Omaha, said he began thinking about the priesthood as early as eighth grade, but, “I always envisioned seminarians and priests as guys who spend 19 hours a day in prayer and I didn’t think I was holy enough to consider it.”
While working at Lincoln’s Newman Center, however, he discovered that priests were “just regular guys God called to serve.”
Mark Heffley “grew up all over” and was a pre-med student at the University of Nebraska Lincoln who had the idea that he could be both a doctor and a priest. However, during his second year at UNL, his desire to study medicine “fell away,” and he elected to go transfer to St. Gregory the Great Seminary.
“I just loved it here so much, I decided to study for this diocese,” he added.
Sean Wilson of Gimli, Manitoba in Canada had originally intended to study for the Diocese of Winnipeg. However, various circumstances led him to enter the seminary for the Diocese of Lincoln instead.
“I ended up reading about the Bishop of Lincoln, and that made me curious,” he said. He came to visit St. Gregory the Great and was impressed with the friendly and faith-filled atmosphere.
Ricardo Izquierdno woke up to his calling just recently. Born in Columbia, he and his family moved to Lincoln around five years ago. He intended to become an architect after graduation from Pius X High School last June, but then, “I thought about that line in the Bible that it doesn’t matter if you win the world if you lose your soul.”
He woke up one morning realizing that anything he accomplished as an architect would have little impact in an eternal sense. “I felt I wanted more, to do something for God for all eternity.”
Now, he’s happy to join the other seminarians as they spend their days in prayer, worship, studying, recreation, and more prayer. This formation process helps each man fully understand their vocational calling. Some may not complete seminary. However, their time at St. Gregory the Great will always be valuable.
“They’ll grow deeper in their spiritual lives and in their relationship with Christ by entering this period of discernment,” explained Father Matya. “That’s helpful for anyone.”
Already, the seminarians are recognizing how beneficial the structured prayer life of seminary is for them. Shawn Koranda of St. Wenceslaus Parish in Wahoo said the best thing he can gain from seminary is establishing “a strong prayer life, so whether or not this is my vocation, I’ll be able to take that with me.”
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Both Father Folda and Father Matya encourage everyone to pray diligently for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
“There are lots of young men and women who are trying to discern what God wants them to do in their lives and that’s not always easy to figure out,” said Father Matya.
In the meantime, this class of new seminarians has given themselves fully to the discernment process.
“They’re right in there and full of questions, obviously prayerful and eager to learn,” Father Folda reported. “They’re going to be a great group of seminarians, I have no doubt.”