FAITH AS IT IS

Mass Starts at  4:40pm CT on Jan 19th 2025    (or Jan 20th, 4:10 AM IST) To watch the livestream of the Mass, please visit:   https://usml.edu/mundelein-seminary/mass-of-the-institution-of-acolyte/   or  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POw8RPqsFmc “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2) On January 19, 2026 , I will be instituted into the ministry of  Acolyte  by the Church. If you’re wondering what an Acolyte means, here’s a short explanation. For centuries, the Church prepared men for priesthood through what were known as the  minor orders : porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. These were not sacraments, but real ecclesial ministries meant to shape a man gradually into one who serves at the altar and shepherds God’s people. Following the Second Vatican Council, Pope Saint Paul VI, through his Motu Proprio  Ministeria  Quaedam , reformed these minor orders into what we now call  instituted ministries of   Lector ...

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 ord...