Hometown: Coon Rapids, MN
Year in Formation: First Year
College: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2027
College Major: Theology and Music Theory
Patron Saint: St. Valentine
Favorite Movie: Hacksaw Ridge
Favorite Books: The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
Favorite Music: Pink Floyd, Parcels, Fountains of Wayne
Hobbies: Singing, playing piano, writing music, reading, watching sports, playing ultimate frisbee
Most Memorable Prayer/Liturgy you have Attended: My Archdiocese’s Ordination Mass (St. Paul & Minneapolis, MN)
Place of Pilgrimage you Most Want to Visit and why: Jerusalem, due to the major historical and religious events that have happened in the city.
Favorite Way to Pray: Liturgy of the Hours and chant
Favorite Devotion: Litany of St. Joseph
What drew you to Holy Cross? I was drawn to Holy Cross first by the way in which the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience are practiced to promote the zeal of education in the faith. But was also drawn to their trust in God’s Divine Providence. The variety of ways Holy Cross serves the Church in teaching, parish ministry, mission work, and other great varieties of work is particularly inspiring and attractive to me.
Your Vocation Story: Ever since I was young, I wanted to be a priest. Though throughout middle school and the early years of high school this thought was often self-suppressed, I eventually came to realize the voice calling me to consider the priestly life was not going away anytime soon. In a series of perfectly aligning events during my sophomore year of high school, I learned about the Summer Seminary Immersion Program (SSIP) at the University of Notre Dame. To my surprise, I had no hesitation, no fear, and a pull to attend. This decision was the greatest decision I have ever made. It allowed me to explore what consecrated life was, what it meant, and how it was lived by the brothers and priests of the Congregation. After a second year of studying through SSIP during the summer leading into my senior year, along with a thorough reading of Confessions by St. Augustine and a reflection by writing my own spiritual autobiography, I knew I was being called to consider this life.
Favorite Verse: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” – James 2:14-17
Favorite Quote: “What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God.” -Thomas à Kempis
How can visitors to this page pray for you? Pray that God may make apparent the path he has set before me, that I may never hesitate in what he is asking of me, even in the most difficult ways.