It is getting real!!! :)

Click here to RSVP by 9th July, 2025

My exquisite gifts I have reserved for you, my Love! (cf. Song of Solomon 7:13)

August 7th, 2025, will be a deeply meaningful day in my journey toward the priesthood. On that day I will be received by the Holy Mother Church in the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders.

But if you’re wondering what this is all about, keep reading!

Up until this point, much of seminary life was centered around discerning if God is calling me to the priesthood. But candidacy marks a change. It’s no longer the question, “Lord, are You calling me?” but rather the prayer, “Lord, thank You for calling me, and help me to prepare and configure myself to you well.” From here forward, the discernment continues, but it puts on a new veil: not of exploration, but of configuration to the heart of Jesus Christ and the Holy Mother Church.

And it is in this mass I publicly express this, and the Church, in turn, receives me as a candidate for Holy Orders. This rite is not an ordination, and no sacrament is conferred. Yet it is a sacred moment.

To offer a simple comparison (and please note this is merely an analogy!), candidacy can be likened to engagement before marriage. It is not the “wedding” itself (ordination), but it is a step that says: I believe God is calling me here. And I am ready to continue preparing, seriously, and wholeheartedly, configure myself to Jesus, my love.

If you are familiar with religious orders, you might compare it to first vows, though not exactly the same, it is a significant step of formal commitment. It's a yes made in the presence of the faithful to God through the Holy Mother Church.

God willing, candidacy is followed by other ministries on the road to priesthood:

  • Institution as Lector (ministry of the Word)
  • Institution as Acolyte (ministry of the altar)
  • Ordination to the Diaconate
  • And finally, Ordination to the Priesthood

Each is important as they build upon the last. But candidacy stands as the first public yes.

Please pray for me, that I may be faithful, that I may grow in holiness, and that I may be emptied of myself and filled with Christ.

This journey is not mine. It is God’s and God’s alone.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! (All for the greater glory of God!)

Location: Rochester, MN, USA

Comments

  1. Anonymous3 July 2025 at 21:52

    Hello John Paul! Jan Schnack here, your Spiritual Mother. I am looking into attending the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders. Will you be at St. John’s tomorrow for Mass at 9 am?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John Paul Philips3 July 2025 at 21:59

      Hello Jan, yes I will be around. I could catch up by the fountain after mass. Or you can text/call me at 507-313-4248

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4 July 2025 at 06:06

      I will be at the fountain after Mass.

      Delete

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