St. Gregory the Great Seminary welcomes 52 young men to discern a call to the priesthood
by Fr. Brian Kane
Rector, St. Gregory the Great
Seminary; Director of Seminarians
“Come and See” took on a new meaning at St. Gregory the Great Seminary last month as we welcomed 52 young men to listen more deeply to Jesus’ voice.
“What are you looking for?” is what Jesus says to two disciples who had started following Him after hearing the preaching of John the Baptist. Jesus sees the two, turns to them and asks the question (Jn 1:38-39).
There is so much in our culture today that can capture the attention of our young people. Everywhere they turn, the pace of life, level of excitement, and seemingly endless opportunities can be mesmerizing.
That is what is so significant about the seminary’s “Come and See” weekend. We expected to host about 40 men as in past years, but we saw very clearly that Jesus’ question, “What are you looking for?” is resonating with a growing number considering the priesthood. The first night of the weekend, an additional 12 men arrived at our doors, asking if we still had room for them!
High school and college men from across the Diocese of Lincoln, as well as from the dioceses of Fargo, Colorado Springs, Kansas City-St. Joseph and Santa Rosa, were here to consider that God may be calling them to answer the call to be his priests.
In the Gospel of St. John, one of the two disciples who heard the words of Jesus was Andrew, who quickly found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Andrew’s simple invitation to his brother had a powerful impact on the Church, giving us St. Peter.
Many of the young men who joined us for the “Come and See” weekend also received a simple invitation or suggestion from a family member, friend, priest, sister or parishioner to be open to God’s call. Some of them may become our next priests.
The weekend focused on the most important part of discerning a call, the ability to hear the voice of Jesus. Before young men know what the call is, they need to grow in the ability to put aside the mesmerizing sound of the world and be comfortable listening in the quiet. A young man needs to experience the voice of the Father saying, “You are my beloved son in whom I delight.” Building a seminary culture in which that call can be heard depends also on fraternity, men spending time together, enjoying each other’s company, and living as witnesses of virtue, patience when we struggle, and encouragement to start over again.
We are not able to do all of these things without the support of so many people. The month of March concluded with the seminary welcoming more than 200 guests for the annual Table of St. Gregory Banquet. The evening gave us the opportunity to pray together and celebrate the seminary’s 25 years of service to the Church by helping men grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. Mark your calendars: our banquet will be held April 14 next year.
During the dinner, we had the pleasure of recognizing and thanking our faculty and staff members who have worked at St. Gregory for the entire 25 years the seminary has been open. Special thanks to Father John Rooney, vice rector; Dr. Terrence Nollen, librarian and professor; and Mr. Jason Homan, facilities manager!
We will also celebrate Dr. Nollen as he retires this year. The celebration, Friday, April 21, will begin with Vespers at 5:30 p.m. An open house will follow until 8:30 p.m. Please join us for hors d’oeuvres and a chance to congratulate Dr. Nollen.
