By Reagan Scott
for the Register
On Saturday, May 24, at 11 a.m., Bishop Conley will ordain Deacons Isaac Wahlmeier and David Tines to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln.
The priestly ordination will follow that of Peter Foley, Bradley Moss and Patrick Burke, who will be ordained deacons at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ on Friday, May 23, at 7 p.m.
Foley and Moss will serve as transitional deacons for the diocese until their ordination to the priesthood next year. Burke will serve as a permanent deacon for St. Wenceslaus Parish in Wahoo.
A holy hour for the ordinandi will be held at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center in Lincoln on Thursday May 22 at 7 p.m. All are invited to attend.
Slideshow: Ordination of deacons, 2024
Deacon David Tines
Deacon David Tines is the son of Patrick and Mary Tines and has a younger brother and sister. A member of St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln growing up, Tines attended Pius X High School before being accepted into the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
Having grown up with what he described as a hit-and-miss relationship with the faith, Tines said that at UNL, he found himself at a crossroads. He could continue to pursue his faith, or he could give it up. Ultimately, he made the choice to put God at the center of his life.
It was this decision that would lead him to realize that God was calling him to something more. He reached out to Father Robert Matya, then pastor of the Newman Center, expressing an interest to enter the seminary. Father Matya encouraged him to take time to discern, and after two years at UNL, Tines enrolled at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward.
Looking back, Tines said, “I think the more that I’ve grown humanly and spiritually, the more open to God’s plan I’ve become. I see who I am better, and how this makes so much sense.”
In the Raikes School, Tines had a clear path laid out for him, one that likely would have seen him graduate with a degree in computer science and go on to become a software developer. When reflecting on the path he could have taken, Tines said he doesn’t know how edifying it would have been for him, or how edifying it would have been for the world.
“[The priesthood] is an opportunity to put the gifts God has given me to work for the salvation of souls, as opposed to just lining my own pockets or some tech company’s” Tines said.
Describing himself as someone who has always been one to ask questions and dig into inconsistencies, Tines said the only place he was going to get answers to the deepest questions of life was through the study of theology, which he wouldn’t have pursued if he hadn’t entered the seminary.
“[Theology study] really has been the means by which God has brought me to a place where I can be who he really made me to be, and not just ‘priest,’ generically, but David the priest, with all of the particular insights, skills and interests that go with that,” Tines said.
As his ordination nears, Tines is looking forward to being a priest, and being in a state of rest with respect to his vocation.
He said, “I will grow, I will learn. I will become a dramatically better priest in six months, but it will be a great consolation to no longer be moving toward some future vocation, but instead be committed and able to just set my sights on living out well what I already am.”
Tines is also looking forward to being able to bless people as a priest, and hear confessions.
“I think confession is going to be really beautiful, to be able to encounter people who are opening up their hearts, and to be able to receive them with the love of God and the mercy of God and the tenderness of God. I think that will be a real gift,” he said.
Tines will celebrate his first Mass of thanksgiving at St. Joseph Church in Lincoln at 12:45 p.m. Sunday, May 25.
Deacon Isaac Wahlmeier
The son of Patrick and Debbie Wahlmeier, Deacon Isaac Wahlmeier is number 14 of 15 children. He has nine brothers, six sisters and around 30 nieces and nephews. While he’s looking forward to taking on the title of Father, Wahlmeier said that he’ll always enjoy being Uncle Isaac.
Wahlmeier said his vocation journey began with discovering what real love is, which was modeled for him in his home. Growing up, he saw his parents pour out of themselves to each other, and to their children.
“God’s love was magnified through their actions. It was just the beginning of seeing how one loves best by giving themselves away,” Wahlmeier said.
When he received his first Communion, Wahlmeier said he felt a longing to be as close to Jesus as Jesus was to him in that moment. It was that longing, he said, that was leading him to the priesthood, even if he didn’t realize it at the time.
As he got older, Wahlmeier said that he tried to suffocate the longing he was feeling with different dreams and aspirations, but because they weren’t what he was made for, it left him wanting something more.
While he is grateful for the witness of every priest in his life, Wahlmeier is especially grateful for the priests who taught his high school classes: Fathers Matthew Rolling, Joseph Faulkner and Jonathan Haschke.
“My relationships to them in high school fueled the fire of wanting to follow Jesus into the priesthood,” he said.
Wahlmeier is also grateful for the example of his older brother, Father Joseph Wahlmeier, who was ordained in 2020. Deacon Wahlmeier said it was visiting his brother during his seminary formation that brought a lot of things into prospective for his own journey to the priesthood.
After he graduated from St. Cecilia High School in Hastings, Wahlmeier completed two years at UNL before entering St. Gregory the Great Seminary.
He said, “The seminary was the perfect place to discern what my life is made for, and to be awakened to the voice of God that’s within each one of us calling us into relationship with him.”
Now, Wahlmeier is looking forward to beginning his priestly ministry and getting to be a brother to Father Joseph Wahlmeier not only in blood, but also in spirit as a priest.
“In addition to offering the holy sacrifice of the Mass, I’m really just excited to begin and enter into [priestly] life, to dig in and to see how priesthood changes me, how it forms me. I’m really excited to serve and meet the people that I will be serving, and to experience the love of Christ with them,” he said.
Deacon Wahlmeier also wanted to express his sincere gratitude for every person who has ever prayed for vocations in the diocese, and who has ever given of themselves to priestly formation.
“Jesus loves his flock, and he listens to the needs of his flock,” Wahlmeier said. “There are so many graces that I’ve received that have been won by the faithfulness of his flock.”
To any young man discerning a vocation to the priesthood, Wahlmeier wanted to let them know, “Jesus Christ loves his Church, and if he’s calling you to serve his Church, he’s calling you to a life of beauty and wonder and adventure. But with that life can often come fear. But perfect love casts out all fear, so don’t rely on yourself, but rely on him and he will make it over and abundantly clear what you are meant to do. Seek his grace where it abounds.”
Wahlmeier will celebrate his first Mass of thanksgiving at St. Michael Church in Hastings at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 25.
