Download Spring 2015 - Diocese of Des Moines

 DIOCESE OF DES MOINES
Vocation Vibes
SPRING 2015
WITH THANKSGIVING TO ALMIGHTY GOD
THE DIOCESE OF DES MOINES
JOYFULLY ANNOUNCES THE ORDINATION OF
Deacon Luis Alonso Mejia Mejia
and
Deacon Andrew Gerald Matthew Windschitl
TO THE HOLY ORDER OF PRESBYTERATE
THROUGH THE IMPOSITION OF HANDS BY
MOST REVEREND RICHARD E. PATES
BISHOP OF DES MOINES
AND THE INVOCATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE
SAINT AMBROSE CATHEDRAL
607 HIGH STREET, DES MOINES, IOWA
FRIDAY
JUNE 5, 2015
7:00 P.M.
1 DIRECTOR of VOCATIONS Father Joseph Pins
The parable in Luke chapter 15 is called the “Prodigal Son.” It should be tled the “Loving Father.” There is one father, two sons and three lies in regards to the Father’s love. There once was a man who had two sons. The first son one day asked his father for his inheritance. This is the first lie. The son believes the lie that he does not need the Father’s love. He believes worldly items will provide him with joy. As we know, he spends all those items and money and finds himself without joy. He tells himself that his father’s servants have more joy and food then he does. He decides to walk back to the father and say; “Father I have sinned against you and heaven and I do not deserve to be called your son.” This is the second lie in regards to the father’s love. We all deserve the Father’s love. No ma er what sin we commit, the Father is willing to love us when we turn away from sin and toward him. We are the sons and daughters of the father. The father runs to the son and states that he has always been his son and always will be his son. He finishes with; “Come let us celebrate!” The father’s love is filled with mercy. Then the second son hears the celebra on and refuses to enter the father’s house. The father runs out to him and asks him to join the celebra on. The second son responds with a litany of jobs he has completed for the father. This is the third lie. We do not need to earn the father’s love. The father loves us! He states to all of us who turn away from sin and those who labor for him; “Come let us celebrate!” Pope Francis has declared next year to be the Year of Mercy. The Father loves us and wants to send down his mercy. All we have to do is acknowledge His love and turn away from sin and toward the Father. Come let us celebrate! ~For more information about religious vocations, please contact Father Joseph Pins at (515) 237-5050 or [email protected].
2 SEMINARY or COLLEGE? James Downey
journey has moved from being a sense of duty to do God’s bidding to a freedom of an obedience rooted in love. That’s the idea of discernment: allowing your will to be aligned with God’s. Seminary is where this happens, while surrounded by the priests, your brothers, and the Sacraments. Looking back on the me I have spent at the University of St. Thomas and St. John Vianney College Seminary, it’s been a great four years! Aside from the top‐notch educa on at seminary, I’ve been around the world. I’ve traveled from Rio to Rome, with men who have become my brothers in crowds of millions of pilgrims from all around the globe. Having entered seminary right out of high school, you might say I never really experienced normal college and I’d agree: what I experienced was anything but normal when compared to the college experiences of many of my high school classmates. To the young men considering seminary and to their families, take me to pray, allow God the me to speak, and don’t forget to listen. Also, seek out the counsel of the wise because some mes we struggle to think clearly when it comes to ourselves. To their families, pray to be open and accep ng if one of your family does feel drawn to some voca on because it can o en be just as easy to uproot a young vocaƟon as it is to sow the seed of one.
~ James Downey is a Des Moines seminarian, graduated from
University of St. Thomas St. John Vianney Seminary and
planning to attend the North American college in Rome this fall.
College is a place where learning and growing happen, some mes in pleasant ways and some mes less pleasant. Seminary is a place where that learning and growth are deliberately cul vated in all areas of life, centering on the spiritual, centering on Christ. It is a place of discernment, the place where you have all the tools necessary to seek out God’s will for your life. I didn’t enter seminary because I already had it figured out; I s ll had how no idea what God was thinking. However, I responded to His promp ngs out of a sense of duty. I knew that this was something I had to do. Since then, the classes, the good mes, the crazy mes, the mes when God draws you close, and the mes when you’re bored to tears have all been part of my journey in discernment. My 3 DIRECTOR of SEMINARIANS Father Dan Kirby
It has been a busy few weeks in the parishes, but also with my work with the seminarians. I have had funerals, two First Communion Masses, sick calls, Confirma ons, seminarian evalua ons and the regular schedule of Masses. In all these busy pastoral opportuni es I can tell you humbly that there is within me a fi ngness that I know that our Lord has called me to serve Him and His people as a Catholic priest. I am certainly not worthy of this great gi . I am not always where I would like to be in my service of others. I make mistakes, but I know in my heart the Lord has called me to love and serve him and his people as His priest. Thanks be to God! This fi ngness of my voca on was nurtured by my parents, who made their Catholic faith the founda on of their life and ours. I saw them live out their faith and cul vate a rela onship with Christ. I was nurtured by my uncle Fr. Jacob Roth, a priest in the Archdiocese of Dubuque along with the priests of the Diocese of Des Moines that showed me the beauty of helping others get to Jesus. I was nurtured by friends, who had the courage to ask me if I ever thought about the priesthood and I was nurtured by all the prayers over the years in the pews asking for more voca ons. With this nurturing environment around me, I was able to have the courage to enter the seminary and begin my discernment. While I was in the seminary, great people helped me to grow and hear the call of the Lord very clearly. Yes, it is a great source of peace and contentment that I have this fi ngness to be a priest. I thank God every day for my priesthood. Let us con nue to cul vate throughout the diocese a culture of voca ons, so that we can nurture young people to be able to hear the call from the Lord. 4 Deacon ANDREW WINDSCHITL Families are Seedbeds of Vocations
trajectory. To be sure, the point of sharing this story is not to impress anyone so much as to provide an example of just one of the many and varied ways by which God calls men to serve Him and His Church as priests. One aspect that makes Chris anity unique compared to other religions is the fact that it facilitates a personal rela onship with God. This is also one of the greatest challenges that faces the Church today. It seems that more and more people believe it is impossible to have a personal rela onship with Him. Yet we know from Scripture how much Jesus wants to be with us. He cares so much that he raised up the apostles to act in his person. This power and responsibility has been passed on to priests through our two thousand year history. From the ini al gentle nudging by the Blessed Mother to ordina on, with seminary forma on in between, there is li le doubt that I have been called by Christ to serve as one of his priests. Of par cular help was a vision he granted me during a retreat: Whatever His will for anyone, man or woman, we seek it for them through ardent prayer. The results of a survey that is now more than several years old indicate a correla on between those areas that have Eucharis c adora on and an increase in the number of voca ons. There is clearly something going on in the Church today such that our own diocese has seen a fourfold increase in the number of diocesan seminarians and numerous religious voca ons, specifically ordered priests and nuns, with many more people showing interest. In addi on to prayer, friendship with someone else who is living in such a voca on helps the man or woman realize that this too is a possibility for him or her. Last, but certainly not least, we should encourage young couples to commit to one another in the sight of God and the Church and raise holy and healthy families because not everyone is called to religious life the same way that priests and nuns are. Furthermore, we need families to perpetuate more families and more voca ons! ~After ordination, Fr. Andrew Windschitl is assigned as
Parochial Vicar of the Church of St. Anthony in Des Moines. Standing at an altar, I saw on the other side steps leading up to three chairs. The middle and right chairs contained a foggy and misty presence. Si ng in the chair on the right was Jesus, who then stood and said, "Behold, I am with you always un l the end of the age" (Ma hew 28:20). He descended the stairs then laid down on the altar. From his body I proceeded like a priest at Mass to show the consecrated host. `táá Éy g{tÇ~áz|ä|Çz
FATHER ANDREW WINDSCHITL
St. Francis of Assisi Parish
7075 Ashworth Road
West Des Moines, Iowa
Thinking it may have just been a dream, I took the vision to spiritual direc on. With my director's help and further prayer, we determined that there was no reason to think it was anything other than a vision and affirma on of my voca onal Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
5 Deacon LUIS MEJIA Example of the Good Shepherd
"I will give you shepherds a er my own heart" is God speaking through the prophet promising to never to abandon His people (Jer. 3:15). With this beau ful quote from the Old Testament, St. John Paul the Great started the apostolic exhorta on, “Pastores Davo Vobis”. I have been in the seminary for almost nine years. During this me of forma on, I have been reflec ng on what it is to be a shepherd feeling with Jesus’ heart. Certainly this is not an easy task because we have to surrender our being to the sacred Heart of Jesus. Before entering the seminary and a er, there have been some great moments that I would like to highlight. Going back to early 2006 when I started my discernment to the priesthood, my confessor and spiritual director Fr. Maximiliano Mar ni told me, “You must remember God wants holy priests. Men with open hearts and minds that are able to give up their life for the sheep.” Although Fr. Maximiliano Mar ni has passed away, those words are s ll burning my heart. It encourages me to reflect on the kind of priest that I want to be. Moreover, during my forma on process at the St. Paul Seminary being a shepherd a er Jesus’ Heart has been part of my daily medita on. The phrase, "I will give you shepherds a er my own heart" comes out again through my spiritual director and the words of Pope Francis when he speaks of priests being “shepherds living with the smell of the sheep.” Certainly, a er listening to Jesus speaking to my heart through the Pope and the people in charge of my forma on, I do not have any doubt about my voca on journey. I know that a er eight years and seven months in seminary, I can truly say, my voca on began when God chose me from my mother’s womb and it will end when God calls me to His presence in the bea fic vision. 6 A er experiencing the joy of being a seminarian, I would like to give some advice for those who are in the journey of discernment, and for those who are seeking to discover the will of God in their lives. First, the ac ve par cipa on in the Eucharist is very important. We can take a day off from work or school but never from the Eucharist. Second, trust in God’s mercy. Third, be a man of prayer. To Speak with God every day is the most effec ve way to listen for God’s voice in our life. Fourth, be pa ent, if you are in the first year of forma on, do not disturb yourself thinking on how many years you will be at the seminary before you will be a priest. And finally, say to the Lord, “here I am my God, take my life, a priest forever I want to be.” ~After ordination, Fr. Luis Mejia is assigned as Parochial Vicar
of the Church of Sacred Heart in West Des Moines. Diácono LUIS MEJIA Ejemplo del Buen Pastor
“Os daré pastores según mi Corazón” Dios Padre a través de las palabras del profeta Jeremías promete a su pueblo que nunca lo abandonara. Con esta hermosa cita del An guo Testamento el Papa San Juan Pablo II inicia a exhortación apostólica “Pastores Davo Vobis” sobre la formación de los sacerdotes. Yo he estado en el seminario por ocho años y siete meses. Durante este empo de formación yo he reflexionado en lo que significa ser un pastor que siente con el corazón de Jesús. Ciertamente sen r con el corazón de Jesús, no es una tarea fácil. Sen r con el corazón de Jesús implica entregar todo nuestro ser al sagrado corazón de Jesús. Antes y después de entrar al seminario yo he vivido unos momentos maravillosos en mi vida que me gustaría compar r con ustedes. En el año 2006, cuando inicie mi discernimiento vocacional para el sacerdocio, mi confesor y director espiritual padre Maximiliano Mar ni, sacerdote italiano de la orden de los frailes menores me dijo “Recuerda hijo que Dios quiere sacerdotes santos. Hombres con corazón y mente abierta que estén dispuestos a entregar su vida por las ovejas.” Aunque el padre Maximiliano Mar ni ya murió, esas palabras todavía resuenan en lo más profundo de mi corazón. Ellas me mo van a reflexionar en el po de sacerdote que quiero ser. Durante mi proceso de formación en el seminario San Pablo en Minnesota, meditar en ser un sacerdote según el corazón de Jesús, ha sido parte de mi meditación diaria. La frase “Os daré pastores según mi corazón” ha vuelto a resonar en mi corazón a través de las palabras del Papa Francisco y mi director espiritual. Cuando el Papa Francisco dice “La iglesia quiere pastores con olor de oveja,” stas hermosas palabras me invitan a que Dios quiere 7 sacerdotes que sientan con el pueblo, que estén con las ovejas así como Jesucristo lo hizo durante su ministerio público. Después de escuchar a Jesús el buen pastor hablarme nuevamente a través del Papa Francisco y de mis formadores en el seminario, puedo decir que ya no tengo dudas de mi vocación. Considero que haber estado ocho años y siete meses en el seminario, son suficientes para afirmar que mi vocación inicia cuando Dios me eligió desde el vientre de mi madre; y que ella terminara cuando Dios me llame a su presencia en la visión bea fica. Con el gozo de haber sido un seminarista, me gustaría compar r unos consejos para aquellos que están en el camino vocacional, y también para aquellos que buscan la voluntad de Dios en sus vidas. Primeramente si tú quieres ser un sacerdote santo y feliz en el futuro debes mantenerte ac vo en la par cipación de la Santa Eucaris a. Tu puedes tomarte un día libre en tu trabajo o en la escuela; pero nunca de la par cipación en la santa Eucaris a. Así como tu cuerpo necesita alimentarse todos los días, de la misma manera tu alma necesita el pan del cielo. Debes confiar mucho en la misericordia de Dios. Es esencial que seas un hombre de mucha oración porque hablar con Dios todos los días es la forma más efec va de escuchar a Dios en tu corazón. Debes de ser muy paciente, si tú estás cursando tu primer año de formación, no te atormentes pensando cuantos años vas a estar en el seminario antes de ser un sacerdote. Finalmente dile al señor, “Aquí estoy señor toma mi vida sacerdote para siempre quiero ser.” Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines
601 Grand Ave
Des Moines, IA 50309
EMAIL [email protected]
CALL (515) 237-5014
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