Seminarian Column: Transitions help us to trust in Jesus’ plans

This year of formation has been a year of many transitions. After two years in pre-theology at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Neb., this past August I moved to major seminary at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.

As this change in my life drew nearer, I found myself encountering some uncertainties and fears. In my two years there, St. Gregory’s had become a second home. I knew many things would be different at the Mount, and I began to get nervous about some of the adjustments. Would I be able to make friends in a larger community? Would I be able to adjust to the new rhythm of life? Would the Mount become as much of a second home as St. Gregory’s had been?

In the first months, many of these fears and apprehensions did prove to be challenges. I began to miss many of the guys at St. Gregory’s. The size of the house was a bit daunting, the enrollment more than five times larger, and there were activities at St. Gregory’s I loved that were missing from the Mount. However, the fact that there have been challenges is not a bad thing. These challenges have helped me to grow in ways that I would not have been able to without them.

One of these fears surrounded integrating into a new community. There are over 100 more seminarians at the Mount than there were at St. Gregory’s, and it was a bit overwhelming at first. It was taking longer to acclimate to the larger community than I would have liked. It also seemed like it was taking longer to develop relationships with the guys than it did at St. Gregory’s. In talking about these challenges with my formator, I was able to recognize that all of these things take time to resolve. I wasn’t going to hit the ground running knowing every single person and knowing them well.

As time passed, this proved to be the case. I grew more comfortable in the new community and began to make some great friends. I overcame other worries as well. I am adjusting well to the rhythm of life in a different seminary, and while St. Gregory’s will always hold a special place in my heart, the Mount is becoming a second home, similar to what St. Gregory’s was.

Facing these challenges has helped me grow deeper in my trust of Jesus. While there have been challenging moments in this year, it has always been clear that this is where Jesus wants me to be. Once those challenges were put behind me, it became clear that those challenges were part of why he wanted me here. This has helped to highlight that even though it might not be the most comfortable thing for me in the moment, what Jesus wants me to do is always the best thing for me. There is always a purpose to what he asks, even if I don’t always see it. This has helped to show me why I constantly need to trust him, and has helped me to trust him more.

This deeper trust in the Lord will aid me long after I complete seminary formation. Be it God’s will, I will someday be a priest serving the people of the Diocese of Fargo. Part of the life of diocesan priesthood is getting assigned to different parishes, which means transitions like this are likely to be frequent in my life. Having transitions such as this now has given me a taste of this inevitable part of diocesan priestly ministry. More importantly, it has shown me what will help me through those transitions: a deep and abiding trust in Jesus.