Do your family and friends think it is a good idea that you're becoming a priest?
My immediate family and closest friends have always expressed a great joy in my decision to join seminary and would always be supportive
of me no matter what choice I make while discerning. My extended friends and acquaintances have taken the attitude more or less that as long as it
brings me joy they are cool with it. Do they all think it's a good idea? You get the occasional "are you out of your mind?" like response.
But after talking through it I think those reactions are often stifled by seeing the sense of direction that I've been given by placing
my life in God's hands and letting him guide me.
Do you ever have any fun? What do you do in your free time?
Fun? Is that something I should be doing? I sneak it in every now and then. No seriously, of course I have fun.
I'm a huge sports lover (baseball, basketball, bowling, ping pong, foosball, soccer, and more) so I would get antsy if I wasn't doing
some sort of active ball playing on a regular basis. Of course I love just chilling with my friends, whether it's at a local coffee house, going to a movie,
etc. Of course in San Diego it's tough to beat the beach in the summer for fun activities. Nothing quite like being at the beach on one of
those endless summer days, filled with body surfing, frisbee, laying under the sun, and a bbq/bonfire at night. I also enjoy writing poetry and
prose for a more by myself kind of past time.
If you were not a priest, what do you think you would be?
This is a tough question. My first thought is to blurt out professional baseball player or professional clarinet artist touring the European scene.
But in truth I think as I take my whole life into scope I could not see myself doing something that is not directly involved with the Church.
It would have to be a job that gives me an opportunity to be involved in helping others learn about how their lives are important to God. I think
ultimately I would find myself in some form of counseling, probably marriage counseling. In the end I'm quite a heroic romantic and a passionate writer
that wants to send a ripple effecting many peoples' lives so I'd end up writing books about whatever I was doing too.
How many brothers and sisters do you have?
I have three older brothers that have taught me a lot. Especially how being the "baby" hurts! They actually all work for the family business now,
kind of making me the odd one out. Some have commented that my family resembles a typical medieval Catholic family. All the older sons work for the
family trade and the youngest one gets shipped off to be a priest. But alas, I did go quite willingly so the analogy does break down a bit.
I love all my brothers and they have certainly given me plenty of memories to use for a lifetime of homilies!
What is your favorite TV program?
I smile big while reading this question because there is really only one TV show that I watch religiously.
24 with Jack Bauer. I do not miss a Monday evening of 24 action. Other than that its sports. There are also some classic ones from
my younger days (because I'm so old now) Saved by the Bell, Family Matters, Full House, Dukes of Hazard, Knight Rider and as a young
child my favorite cartoon was by far Looney Tunes.
Who is your favorite singer or music group?
Not an easy question to answer. My taste in music goes all over the board. Certainly there a lot of the Christian artists
who up there on the list. I have a certain place in my heart for groups like Goldfinger. But I guess for musicality purposes and
just overall phenomenal voice I would have to say Josh Groban is by far my favorite singer.
Do you ever get bored while studying to be a priest?
I certainly don't get bored studying the more pastoral and practical things about priesthood. The life of a priest is so engaging and
so demanding that to get bored (in my opinion) would be on you. However, studying theology and burying your head in books can get boring at
times, especially topics that aren't your area of interest. But it is important to have a balanced education that gives you exposure to all
different areas of theology and allows you to think critically and articulate yourself respectively.
How is a seminary different than a regular school?
There's a fair number of differences and similarities. But I would say the biggest and best difference is the fact that the guy you live
next to, sit next to in class, and eat lunch with, is striving to love Jesus as much as you do. That changes the entire attitude of the dorms,
the classes, etc. It's the same as regular school because you are still living in a guy's dormitory.
How often do you see your family?
While I was studying in San Diego doing my undergraduate studies at USD I would make it a point to try and have dinner once a week
with my parents. Now that I'm over here in Rome that's not quite plausible. I call my parents once a week on Saturday night
(for me, Saturday afternoon for them). I will see them in the summer's when I come back to work in a parish over the next few years.
Can you really be happy as a priest since priests don;t make much money?
Lets see ... I didn't make much money as a kid, certainly not as a teenager and I think I lost money in college, so not making much money won't be a
new thing. I think only a highly complex set of mathematical expressions, numbers, and operations can answer a question like this.
(Joy ? Money). No Geometric proof needed.
Who helped you decide to become a priest?
I couldn't pin it on one person its best to describe it as a whirlwind of experiences that brought me to
this conclusion. Many people helped with their friendships, mentorships, etc. But probably the one person who was the
first to point out where this path might be leading to would have to be my youth minister Pat Clasby.
When did you decide to study to be a priest? How did you know God was calling you to be a priest?
I don't know if I can say I ever really decided. I mean of course I had a meeting with the vocations director and we
filled out the paper work and stuff and there is a decision implied there, but the conscious decision to study to be a priest
I would say didn't really happen until my third year of seminary back in San Diego. It was at that point that I consciously chose
and decided to give myself over to God's hands, that is, stop playing around in the shallows and let him draw me out into deep water
so that all I could rely on is him.
What do you think the best thing will be about being a priest?
My heart pounds as I think of my answer for this question. The best thing about being a priest is that what most people go through in a
lifetime a priest can go through in a day. From the joy of baptizing an infant or presiding at a couples wedding, to the feel of
relief from confession of a man whose been away from the Church for 15 years, to the anointing of the sick for an elderly woman who
will be seeing her last breath of life take place soon, there is nothing more important for the priest, who makes visible an invisible God,
to be present at all those moments of a persons life.
