Hometown: Fayetteville, WV
Year in Formation: Temporarily Professed – 5th Year in Vows
High School: Oak Hill High School (Oak Hill, WV), 2012
College: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2016
College Major: Theology and Italian Studies
Graduate School: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2018
Graduate Degree: M.A. in Theology
Previous Jobs: High School Theology Teacher at Cardinal Ritter High School in Indianapolis, IN
Patron Saint: St. John Bosco, St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Favorite Movie: The Shawshank Redemption, Knives Out, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, The Incredibles, Kung Fu Panda
Favorite Books: He Leadeth Me by Walter Ciszek, S.J., A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
Favorite Music: Ripe, Mumford and Sons, Rend Collective
Hobbies: Improv comedy, soccer, FIshbowl, and Movies
Most Memorably Prayer/Liturgy you have Attended: Easter Sunday liturgy on St. Peter’s Piazza in Rome, when the sun came out at the moment of consecration
Place of Pilgrimage you Most Want to Visit and why: I want to visit the Holy Land, specifically to the Church of the Annunciation Mary’s yes is the pattern of all Christian’s responding to God, and the Mystery and miracle of a fatherless child who was more human than all of us took place in that very spot. Salvation burst onto the scene through that spot!
Favorite Way to Pray: Lectio Divina, or Imaginative Prayer with Scripture
Favorite Devotion: The Most Holy Rosary
What drew you to Holy Cross: Holy Cross Priest’s joyful life and inspiring witness drew me in. Then, they used their words to literally invite me to join them.
Your Vocation Story: As a 12th grade altar server, a visiting priest prophesied to the whole assembly that I would become a priest. Naturally, I ran in the other direction, studying chemistry and charting a course for marriage. Over time, I came to realize that no human love could satisfy the desire in my heart to give Jesus every part of me and to receive his long-suffering love. I felt called to celibacy through a series of clouds in the sky; to celebrating the Mass, through a daily Eucharistic holy hour; and to Holy Cross, through the holy priests, providential circumstances, and savvy vocations directors. The religious priesthood joins my love of the Sacraments with my desire to empty myself and be filled with God. God has richly blessed me through Holy Cross; all praise and glory to him for all that has befallen me.
Ways that you resonate with the Holy Cross charism, “Educators in the Faith”: Faith is not unreasonable. Too often, people take the word “faith” to mean something akin to a myth, or something sub-rational.I believe it is my mission as a disciple of Jesus Christ to help people make the harrowing journey from childish faith to mature faith. This happens effectively in parishes, in classrooms, on the playing field, and over the dinner table, and I believe that Holy Cross extends Christ’s mission in all these ways and more. I want to be a part of it!
One aspect of Holy Cross spirituality that speaks to you the most and why: The aspect of Holy Cross spirituality that speaks most to me is belief in Divine Providence. When Bl. Basil Moreau heard that many of the religious he had been sending on mission to the United States were dying of disease, his council advised him to stop sending men. After a moment of prayer, Moreau stated that God had done too much for the Congregation in the United States not to see that work to completion. I am here because Bl. Basil Moreau believed in God’s Providence more than he feared death. I hope also to care more for the service of God than for my own health and life.
Favorite Verse: “I came so that they might have life, and have it more abundantly” -Jn. 10:10
Favorite Quote: “A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one.” – St. Philip Neri and “Discouragement is a sign that you still have pride, because it shows that you are still trusting in your own power” -St. Teresa of Calcutta
Favorite Bl. Basil or St. André Quote: “Jesus is the prisoner of the tabernacle. We must let him out of the tabernacle and set him loose in our hearts and in the world!” – Blessed Basil Moreau (sort of)
How can visitors to this page pray for you? Pray that I may be humble, hopeful, and obedient to God!