Hometown: Westminster, CO
Year in Formation: Postulant
College: University of Notre Dame
College Degree: B.A. in Music (Theory/History and Organ Performance) & Theology
Graduate School: Abilene Christian University
Graduate Degree: MMFT (Master of Marriage and Family Therapy)
Career Before Formation: Education; Mental Health Care
Patron Saint: Venerable Augustus Tolton; Nicodemus
Favorite Movie: Pig (Michael Sarnosky, 2021)
Favorite Books: Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino; Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson
Favorite Music: The National, The Killers, Sufjan Stevens, Jordan Klassen
Hobbies: Writing poetry and prose; the Japanese language; cooking; tabletop games; spending time in wilderness
Most Memorable Prayer/Liturgy you have Attended: I wasn’t physically present of course, but Pope Francis’ 2020 Urbi et Orbi address.
Place of Pilgrimage you Most Want to Visit and why: The Munkeby Mariakloster north of Trondheim in Norway. They’re the first Trappist monks to return to Norway since the Protestant Reformation, building a new monastery at the site of the medieval one that was seized by the state when it formalized the Reformation. To me, they signal a new fertility for the faith in the land of my ancestors, which has long been a place of marked scarcity for Catholicism.
Favorite Way to Pray: Regularly throughout the day, I like to close my eyes, take a moment to breathe intentionally, and bring my heart and mind into the company of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
What drew you to Holy Cross? During my undergraduate years I developed authentic relationships with a number of CSC men. I resonated with the culture and apostolates of the congregation, admired its particular forms of prudence and wisdom, and was attracted to its spirituality rooted in the Cross. Ultimately, it was a strong sense of belonging—that my whole person could be seen, known, and developed to its potential as a member of the congregation—that sealed the deal.
Favorite Verse: Job 19:25-27: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he shall stand upon the dust. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.”
Favorite Quote: “A ray of sunlight shining on a smudgy window is unable to illumine that window completely and transform it into its own light. The cleaner the window is, the brighter will be its illumination. When God grants this supernatural favor to the soul, so great a union is caused that all things of both God and the soul become one in participant transformation, and the soul appears to be God more than a soul.” St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel II,5:6-7.
How can visitors to this page pray for you? For courage and fortitude.